2021-RESCHEDULED: Accessibility Improvements @ Kemp Breeze State Wildlife Area

Start Date-End Date: 05/08/2021-05/09/2021 Land Manager Office: CPW - Kemp Breeze SWA Land Manager Contact: Jeff Behncke Funding Partner: Programmatic Partner: Summary: Increase handicap accessibility in this mountainous wildlife area on May 8-9 (previously May 1-2). Description: Project photo by Sally Wier This Project has been rescheduled for May 8-9 (previously May 1-2). 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 herefor our full packing list of required and recommended items. 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: Conveniently located in the town of Parshall immediately off of Highway 40, the Kemp Breeze State Wildlife Area is a popular spot for sportsmen and women from across the country. The area grants easy access to a "Gold Medal" stretch of the Upper Colorado River from the parking lot and restrooms, attracting hunters and anglers alike. What You'll Do: Spend Saturday and/or Sunday restoring three handicap-accessible structures in this popular fishing and hunting spot. The Kemp Breeze State Wildlife Area offers a fishing pond with accessible pier; an accessible fishing pier right on the Upper Colorado River; and an accessible waterfowl hunting blind on the river. All three of these structures were built over 20 years ago, and volunteers will help repair and rebuild them. This project is open to volunteers ages 12+ and tasks include installing new decking, building railing, and painting. Camping is available Friday and Saturday night; VOC's volunteer Crew Chefs will provide breakfast on Saturday and Sunday as well as dinner on Saturday night. You might also get the chance to glimpse wildlife from waterfowl to birds of prey, moose, deer, elk, pronghorn, black bear, beavers, foxes, and otters! Why It Matters: This stretch of the Upper Colorado River attracts thousands of visitors each year as they arrive to fish, hunt, watch wildlife, and enjoy the outdoors. By rebuilding the handicap-accessible structures at Kemp Breeze State Wildlife Area, you will improve fishing access to the pond and fishing/hunting access on the river for many of these visitors, including those with physical disabilities. By helping to attract visitors, this project will also help provide economic benefits to the nearby towns of Parshall, Kremmling, and Hot Sulphur Springs. 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 126,000 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: 40.063831, -106.190883 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 a face mask and work gloves.Pleaseclick herefor our full packing list of required and recommended items. 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. Camping Available: Yes Physical Difficulty: Easy, Moderate High Altitude Project: Yes Desired Number of Volunteers: 25 Total Adult Volunteers Attended: 50 Total Youth Volunteers Attended: 6 Total Volunteer Days: 56 Total Unique Volunteers: 35 Total Volunteer Hours: 537 Staff Hours: 40 Stipend Hours: 0 Project Summary: On Mother's Day weekend, VOC partnered with Colorado Parks and Wildlife on the Kemp Breeze State Wildlife Area outside Parshall, Colorado. VOC Staff and Volunteers leaders arrived on site at 4 pm on Friday to set up camp and the cook tent. On Saturday, crew members arrived between 7 and 8 am, and after a welcome talk, crews were dispersed around 8:30. The worksite was in close proximity to the camp ground area, and so there was not a delay in dispersing crews and beginning work. One crew was sent to begin work on the trails section, one crew was on the picnic table restoration, and one crew was on the kids fishing pier restoration. Crew members with carpentry experience were asked to join the pier restoration group. The picnic tables were disassembled, the frames were spray painted, new wood was painted with a water proof sealant. Finally, the tables were re-assembled. For the kids fishing pond pier, the decking was replaced and the handrails were removed and replaced at a shorter height to serve as more handicap and child accessible. Initially, the second pier along the river and hunting blind were scouted for this project. However, the second pier had structural issues that needed to be addressed and VOC staff felt that including the hunting blind may be a bit ambitious. Those items were removed from the scope. The trails portion was widened from 2 feet to over 6 feet, using a skid steer for the initial widening. Some small drainage dips were created in steeper sections. CPW had a large group of staff on site, and served as the technical advisors for the carpentry work. Saturday was met with challenges due to the variable weather in the area. We received rain, sun, strong wind, hail, and lightening. Crews were asked to wait in their cars during the lightening event, although the storm blew by quite quickly and we were able to resume work in less than 30 minutes. On Sunday, we had slightly lower numbers due to it being Mother's Day. 5 new Crew Members joined, and they were dispersed to the pre-established groups from Saturday. Sunday was met with nice weather, and no concern for storms. By 2 pm on Sunday, all work was completed and crew members helped load tools into the CPW trucks and VOC box truck. Successes and Challenges: Successes: All work that was initially determined was completed. This was a logistically complicated project, however, Crew Members and Crew Leaders noted to VOC Staff that the project seemed well planned and the directions given were clear and concise. Thanks to CPW's ample involvement, the project was smooth running, and we had all the supplies and tools necessary. Despite using power tools and working over water, there were no injuries on either day. Challenges: Upon removing the decking on the pier, there were several issues spotted that were not originally discussed. For example, the lateral supports on the boardwalk portion were in poor condition and required CPW to bring in an excavator to help remove the old lateral supports. Because of the use of the excavator, there was a small portion of trail that was unable to get done (the excavator needed to exit on that path). Lessons Learned: The power tools that VOC owns are almost entirely corded. For this project, they were not of much use to us, as using corded tools over the pond was risky. Ultimately, we used VOC's corded tools on the picnic tables and opted to use CPW's cordless tools onto the pier. Also, having crew members with carpentry experience helped immensely with the flow of the project, it would be great to market that desired skill on the website. Special Notes: This section of the Upper Colorado River is known for Gold Medal Trout Fishing. Many anglers come to this location from all over Colorado and will use our newly built trail, picnic tables, and kids fishing pond. Stewardship Education: Key Concerns or Comments from Staff or Volunteers: Planning was difficult for VOC staff as knowledge on the work being done was limited. Would have been nice to have Joe and Nancy as the TM on this project, as their knowledge for building and construction helped while loading up tools at the ops center. they happened to be there loading for a separate project, but stepped in and helped with the Kemp Breeze Project. Description of Accidents/Incidents: None Description of Work Completed: