2021-Trail Construction @ Sacramento Creek Ranch #2: Mike O'Brien Memorial Project

Start Date-End Date: 08/21/2021-08/22/2021 Land Manager Office: Mountain Area Land Trust Land Manager Contact: Dylan Sondermann Funding Partner: Programmatic Partner: Summary: Spend a weekend building and maintaining trails at the beautiful Sacramento Creek Ranch property. 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: In the spring of 2019, Mountain Area Land Trust (MALT) acquired the land and assets of Beaver Ponds Environmental Education Center, a 70-acre property located near Fairplay on Sacramento Creek and bordering the Pike National Forest. The property is now known as Sacramento Creek Ranch and serves as an access point for Forest Service trails as well as an outdoor learning lab for many educational groups, including local schools, universities, and the Keystone Science School. Thanks to a 2020 partnership with VOC, an additional mile of trails were constructed last August. With expansive views, a sense of solitude, and beaver ponds dotting the landscape, Sacramento Creek Ranch is well worth a visit. What You'll Do: Join us as we return to Sacramento Creek Ranch for the first of two projects this season. This year, we'll work to complete necessary maintenance on a loop trail that follow Sacramento Creek as it travels through the property, as well as build approximately a half-mile of a new trail that will complete an additional loop near the creek. Those seeking a challenge will enjoy building boardwalks and elevated turnpikes in some sections. Friday and Saturday night camping will be available on the Sacramento Creek Ranch property, just 10 minutes from the town of Fairplay. Additionally, volunteers will have access to the lodge facilities at Sacramento Creek Ranch, including indoor bathrooms and running water - a camp luxury! VOC's volunteer Crew Chefs will provide breakfast on Saturday and Sunday as well as dinner on Saturday night. Why It Matters: Trails on this property are frequently used by the local community, including several youth groups. MALT has a partnership with Keystone Science School and provides the property for outdoor education opportunities including annual visits by first-time campers. Adult groups from the South Park Land Steward program use the property, as do scientists who conduct high alpine research in the region. The general public has access to the trails on the property and frequently visits. Your efforts will help improve recreation access, promote the South Park region's economy, and enhance educational resources and natural resource protection. 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: 39.228247, -106.042213 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 on the Sacramento Creek Ranch property, just 10 minutes from the town of Fairplay. 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. Additionally, volunteers will have access to the lodge facilities at Sacramento Creek Ranch, including indoor bathrooms and running water. More information about camping will be sent via email approximately two weeks before the project. Camping Available: Yes Physical Difficulty: Moderate High Altitude Project: Yes Desired Number of Volunteers: 20 Total Adult Volunteers Attended: 41 Total Youth Volunteers Attended: 2 Total Volunteer Days: 43 Total Unique Volunteers: 22 Total Volunteer Hours: 409 Staff Hours: 31 Stipend Hours: 0 Project Summary: Day one: Four crews were formed and sent to their respective sections of trail. Much rock and duff removal (as well as a number of willows) commenced. By the end of the day a rough trail was completed to the point we agreed to end at. I felled 6 trees with the help of Lisa Janeway from MALT who helped clean up what I cut. Day Two: The bucket brigade begins! Crews meshed together to form three crews after a crew lead left for the weekend. Together on their respective sections of trail they each began to move small cobble onto the trail to rebuilt the tread lost by the duff clearing and then moved on to filling in with dirt bucket, by bucket until we finished the whole trail around 2PM. A few folks had to leave early, but we were still able to come together as one big team at the end of the day simply moving buckets of soil until we had a definitive trail. Successes and Challenges: Successes: Trail completed! Tons of boulders rolled off trail or used to create monowalls to keep in the tread High PMA the whole way through Muscle gains Challenges: Lots of rock and duff to get off trail Dead trees did not want to fall over requiring a lot of wedging (whew) Hard to find good soil to use on the tread Lessons Learned: Rose likes sandwich bags to pack cookies individually for people. Do not bring quart sized bags! Special Notes: Stewardship Education: Both Lisa Janeway and Lisa Weiss talked a little bit each morning going over why we were there and what Solidground Denver was as well. Key Concerns or Comments from Staff or Volunteers: Description of Accidents/Incidents: Description of Work Completed: