Description
Start Date-End Date: 10/02/2021-10/03/2021
Land Manager Office: CPW - Lake Pueblo State Park
Land Manager Contact: Shane Ewing
Funding Partner:
Programmatic Partner:
Summary: Build timber steps to access to fishing ponds near Pueblo.
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 pack your own lunches. Please see below for more information on meals.
You must bring a face mask and work gloves. Please click here for our full packing list of required and recommended items.
All volunteers must keep a mask within reach at all times.We will ask you to wear a mask when working closely together (within arm's reach) on a task, such as moving a large rock.
If you are not vaccinated,we encourage you to reconsider your participation at this time due to the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant. People who are unvaccinated are more at risk of serious illness, hospitalization, and death. If you choose to volunteer while unvaccinated, you must wear a mask for the duration of the project.
Cancellation & Waitlists: Due to limited spots on this year's projects, we expect projects to fill quickly with waitlists. If you need to cancel, please email outreach@voc.org as 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. 116 and we can help you find an open project, if available.
Where You'll Be:
The Chain of Lakes at Lake Pueblo State Park began as gravel pits and now serve as important reclaimed habitat for fish, birds, and other wildlife. The ponds have become a popular site for fishing and the rest of the park offers ample opportunities for recreation as well, including hiking, mountain biking, sailing, water skiing, and more. With over 60 miles of shoreline on the reservoir and 10,000 acres of land, it's no wonder Lake Pueblo State Park is a favorite destination for many Coloradans.
What You'll Do:
Join us for a fun fall weekend at Lake Pueblo State Park! Open to volunteers ages 12+, we'll spend the days installing a series of timber steps at different access points along the shoreline of Pond #4. While most of the work will be focused on building these steps, we'll likely have time to clear brush and vegetation and cut some new trail as well.
Camping is available on both Friday and Saturday night, and VOC's volunteer Crew Chefs will provide breakfast on Saturday and Sunday as well as dinner on Saturday night. Bring a fishing pole or fly rod for the evening, get out on the water at Lake Pueblo, or hit up the swim beach just up the road from our campsite as a welcome reward for your efforts!
VOC is also hosting a training on timber step building the day before on Friday, October 1, through our Outdoor Stewardship Institute (OSI) program for interested volunteers. This training is not required to volunteer, but is a great option for those serious about expanding their trail-building skills! Please contact Dan Williams at dan@voc.org or 303-715-1010 ext. 117 for more information.
Why It Matters:
The Chain of Lakes have become a popular fishing destination, but there are no access trails leading to the water. The banks are steep and erosion has caused sediment deposits to pollute the water. By building small access trails and installing check steps, you will stabilize the bank, prevent further degradation, and encourage the restoration of a healthy ecosystem. This project will not only provide improved fishing access, it will keep users from disturbing the habitat of osprey and heron on the north edge of the pond. Colorado Parks & Wildlife hopes to beautify and restore the remaining ponds as part of a much larger management plan to increase wildlife habitat and provide responsible and sustainable recreation opportunities.
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: 38.258627, -104.693035
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 pack your own lunches.Please see below for more information on meals.
You must bring work gloves.Pleaseclick herefor our full packing list of required and recommended items.
If you are fully vaccinated,you may work without a mask. If you are not yet fully vaccinated or if you prefer to wear a mask for any reason, please continue to wear a mask on VOC projects. We will have spare masks available if needed.
Camping is available on both Friday and Saturday night. Please note that VOC doesnotprovide any camping equipment (tents, sleeping bags, etc.) but will providebreakfast on Saturday and Sunday as well as dinner on Saturday night. More information about camping will be sent via email approximately two weeks before the project.
VOC will also host a training on timber step building the day before on Friday, October 1, through our Outdoor Stewardship Institute (OSI) program for interested volunteers. This training is not required to volunteer, but is a great way to improve your skills. Please contact Dan Williams at dan@voc.org or 303-715-1010 ext. 117 for more information.
Camping Available: Yes
Physical Difficulty: Easy, Moderate
High Altitude Project: No
Desired Number of Volunteers: 20
Total Adult Volunteers Attended: 38
Total Youth Volunteers Attended: 4
Total Volunteer Days: 41
Total Unique Volunteers: 24
Total Volunteer Hours: 398
Staff Hours: 32
Stipend Hours: 0
Project Summary: VOC partnered with CPW- Lake Pueblo State Park to for a Timber Step skill training and full project weekend. On Friday, many of the Crew Leaders met on site to learn the process for designing and constructing Timber Steps. Crew leaders stuck around after the training to get the first step for each of the 5 staircases in place to help speed up the process on Saturday morning. On Saturday, volunteers meet at the Rock Canyon Swim Beach for breakfast and check-in. From there, Volunteers joined the caravan to the site where we had private parking. Volunteers were split into 4 Crews of 4 Crew Members and began construction. Supplies and tools were brought in through a private access road, and therefore crew members did not have to hike materials more than 20 feet or so. All volunteers were within 500 feet of each other.
On Saturday, the weather remained in the 70's with decent cloud cover which allowed for crew to work all day until 4pm. During this time, we were able to construct 25 cribbed timber steps. One set of stairs was constructed non-traditionally. On Sunday, crews were able to construct 23 steps. Finishing all but one staircase. The final staircase was only missing the last 2 runners.
Successes and Challenges: Success: Completing a 21-step staircase in full. Developing out timber step construction skills for a variety of reoccurring volunteers.
Challenges: Having a TA with minimal knowledge on Timber steps. The agency was often changing the plan which lead to a delay with the work at times. There was a difficult interaction with TA and Land Manager as the TA did not fully acknowledge that the land manager has final say about the technical decisions for the site. Having a crew leader who was not very confident (despite attending the training) which lead to a confused crew.
Lessons Learned: Crews should be better notified that it is important to fix small "imperfections" with steps being level or pieces being flush, Otherwise, these imperfections will multiply with the next step. A lot of crew members had the mentality "Close enough".
If electricity is not available on site a generator would be necessary to recharge batteries overnight. We used close to 10 charged batteries each day.
Special Notes: The 21 step staircase was built with the runners attached to the side of the risers as apposed to the back of the risers. this was due to a mistake in pre-cutting the timbers. This new design required 10" timberlock screws that are inserted into the side of the runners locking into the side of the risers. Bob Powers and Dan Williams are familiar with the design for future reference if needed.
Stewardship Education:
Key Concerns or Comments from Staff or Volunteers: Mike Scott was a last minute cancellation and his advanced knowledge would have helped smooth over issues with the confused crews. Luckily, Nick Guthrie jumped in to crew lead AND sawyer. However, having Mike would have let us divide and conquer those who attended the training a bit better.
One of the staircases turned out looking not quite to VOC standard. the crew leader who was confused about the work ended up using runners that were two long. this essential pushed the steps way back into the hill and did not get the staircase "out of the ground". The agency wanted to install a series of very short runners to help make up for the needed height, but the technical advisor pushed back on this as the staircase would not have the right "rhythm". VOC staff was assisting other crews while this happened, and was unable to be apart of the decision making process.
Description of Accidents/Incidents: None.
Description of Work Completed:
Details
| 12 and older |
