2020-Citizen Science: Abandoned Mine Mapping @ Saguache

Start Date-End Date: 10/03/2020-10/04/2020 Land Manager Office: BLM - San Luis Valley Land Manager Contact: Rebecca Fincham Funding Partner: Programmatic Partner: Summary: Map and record old mine pits and structures for the Bureau of Land Management. Description: Read Before You Register! Need-to-Know Details: We greatly appreciate you volunteering your time and energy to care for Colorado's outdoor places during COVID-19. To help provide a fun and safe experience for all, there are a few temporary changes to be prepared for: You may sign up for one or all days of this project,though we encourage multi-day registration to limit the number of interactions and potential exposure. You may only register yourself.Every volunteer must sign our digital COVID-specific forms ahead of time to be able to attend. You must provide your own food and, if desired, overnight accommodations.VOC will not be providing campsites or meals at this time. Campsites will only be offered as needed to VOC Crew Leaders and Project Team members. You must bring a face mask and work gloves.Pleaseclick herefor our full packing list of required and recommended items. Please come prepared to use the bathroom outdoors.VOC is not providing portalets at this time and public restrooms may be unavailable. Pleaseclick herefor more information on how to "go" outside. Cancellation & Waitlists:Due to this year's limited number of projects and volunteer spots, we expect projects to fill quickly with waitlists. If you need to cancel, please emailoutreach@voc.orgas soon as possible so we can free your spot for another volunteer and have a full workforce. If you are waitlisted for multiple projects, please call us at 303-715-1010 ext. 130 and we can help you find an open project, if available. Where You'll Be: The San Luis Valley in southern Colorado is full of natural and cultural history: many residents are descendants of early Spanish settlers and the valley is home to Colorado's oldest town and church, the headwaters of the Rio Grande River, and the stunning San Juan Mountains and Great Sand Dunes. On this project, you'll be in the area near the town of Saguache. What You'll Do: Sign up for one or both days to take a walk through Colorado's mining history on this "citizen science" project. Throughout the day, we'll be hiking across the landscape in a grid formation to record data on any old mining infrastructure including survey pits or prospector pits, addits, shafts, and more. We'll capture these "Abandoned Mine Land" (AML) features using either a mobile/electronic platform and/or paper forms, capturing a photo of the feature, the GPS location, and other descriptive details to help the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) better manage the area. Why It Matters: The minerals/geology program within the BLM needs to collect AML information in order to properly close or mitigate any potentially hazardous mine features on the landscape, but the data set is nowhere near complete. The data you collect will be a significant help to the BLM in their work to move forward in properly managing these abandoned mine features. About Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado (VOC) ?Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado (VOC) is the state's oldest, largest, and leading outdoor stewardship nonprofit organization. Founded in 1984 to motivate and enable people to become active stewards of Colorado's natural resources, VOC has engaged nearly 125,000 people in more than 1,000 volunteer projects for a donated labor value of $25 million. Through award-winning youth and volunteer programs, leadership training, capacity-building programs, and collaborative efforts with nonprofits and land management agencies, VOC is an invaluable resource in Colorado, especially as our outdoor stewardship needs are approaching near-crisis levels. For more information, visit www.voc.org or call 303-715-1010. Latitude/Longitude: 38.102509, -106.163786 Additional Information: We greatly appreciate you volunteering your time and energy to care for Colorado's outdoor places during COVID-19. To help provide a fun and safe experience for all, there are a few temporary changes to be prepared for: You must provide your own food and, if desired, overnight accommodations.VOC will not be providing campsites or meals at this time. You must bring a face mask and work gloves.Pleaseclick herefor our full packing list of required and recommended items. Please come prepared to use the bathroom outdoors.VOC is not providing portalets at this time and public restrooms may be unavailable. Pleaseclick herefor more information on how to "go" outside. Camping Available: No Physical Difficulty: Moderate, Difficult High Altitude Project: Yes Desired Number of Volunteers: 8 Total Adult Volunteers Attended: 15 Total Youth Volunteers Attended: 0 Total Volunteer Days: 12 Total Unique Volunteers: 13 Total Volunteer Hours: 130 Staff Hours: 45 Stipend Hours: 0 Project Summary: Abandoned Mine Mapping Citizen Science at Saguache- October 3 and 4, 2020 Volunteers hiked across huge swaths of BLM land in grid formation to survey and record data on abandoned mine land (AML) features for the SLV BLM geology program. Volunteers were joined by Rebecca Fincham, the SLV FO geologist, who was able to discuss mining history, mapping, and geology topics about the area. Day one involved hiking in open country just NE of the town of Saguache. Day 2 took volunteers into the forested hills NW of Saguache. Surveyed 1,146 acres; recorded 31 mine features, removed 5 bags of trash 8 volunteers, 130 hours, $2937.60 on in-kind labor value contributed Successes and Challenges: Lessons Learned: Special Notes: Stewardship Education: Key Concerns or Comments from Staff or Volunteers: Description of Accidents/Incidents: none Description of Work Completed: