2021-Weekday: Fence Construction @ Community Ditch Trail

Start Date-End Date: 08/25/2021-08/25/2021 Land Manager Office: City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks Land Manager Contact: Beau Clark Funding Partner: City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks Programmatic Partner: Summary: Spend a Wednesday constructing fence along a popular trail near Boulder. 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 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.VOC will not be providing meals at this time. You must bring a face mask and work gloves.Pleaseclick herefor 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 this year's limited number of projects and volunteer spots, 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 iconic Flatirons are your backdrop for this volunteer day just south of Boulder as we work to install fencing along a Habitat Conservation boundary which will help reduce undesignated trails. Originally home to Native Americans, primarily the Southern Arapaho tribe, this area later became a popular area for coal mining and the foundations of structures still remain. Now, the area is a balanced space where recreation and conservation of plant and wildlife habitat coexist. What You'll Do: Volunteers will spend the day removing temporary fencing and installing new, permanent fencing to direct trail users to designated trails and provide a buffer for the City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks Habitat Conservation Area. Please note: This project was formerly scheduled to include trail rerouting, but has since changed to fence construction. If you would like to update your registration, please contact us at outreach@voc.org. Why It Matters: The Southern Grasslands Habitat Conservation Area protects a 3,000 acre remnant of intact grassland and the plant and animal species that depend upon it. Visitors to the area may see wildlife such as badgers or burrowing owls. Currently, there are approximately 1 mile of undesignated trails in this area and volunteers work to install fencing will help to guide and educate the public about the importance of the Habitat Conservation Area. 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: 39.959069, -105.199513 Additional Information: 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 meals or campsites at this time. 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 Available: No Physical Difficulty: Moderate High Altitude Project: No Desired Number of Volunteers: 40 Total Adult Volunteers Attended: 25 Total Youth Volunteers Attended: 0 Total Volunteer Days: 25 Total Unique Volunteers: 25 Total Volunteer Hours: 203 Staff Hours: 12 Stipend Hours: 0 Project Summary: This project was originally planned as trail construction along tenderfoot trail, however Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks changed the location due to completion of tenderfoot trail work prior to the project date. The new project scope included removing temporary buck and rail fencing and installing permanent post and rail fencing along the Conservation Area the borders the Open Space. The funding from Boulder OSMP for procuring supplies came from a GOCO grant. At 8am Volunteers arrived at the Mayhoffer- SIngletree Trailhead for registration. the trailhead was busy with various users, however there was enough room for all volunteers to park along the shoulder of 66th. From there, we loaded the BOSPM trucks with tools and began the 1 mile hike to the worksite. The trucks drove around the backside and met us at the worksite in which the timing was perfect. Volunteers were divided into 4 crews and given a tool and safety talk. Crews began by removing the buck and rail fencing which was accomplished in under an hour. At this point, installation of the post and rail fencing began. Post holes were pre-dug by an auger before the workday which was the most efficient and necessary for the day. Posts were set 28 inches deep and back filled using road fill gravel. All supplies were within 350 feet from each crew. After installing one fence link, crews found their rhythm and were able to increase their efficiency. There were a few sections of fence that were skipped at the discretion of the land manager as the augered holes were out of place. The land manager preferred to create custom length rails than to have crews dig new holes. By mid-day the heat and lack of shade began to slow crews down tremendously. However, all work was completed with 1 hour to spare. Successes and Challenges: Success: All work was completed, pre-augured holes made the work manageable, crews enjoyed the teamwork aspect of the job Challenges: The heat was excessive. Due to the change in project location, the VOC staff had not visited the site prior to the project, which resulted in a bit of confusion when hiking up to site. Lessons Learned: The soil type of there is extremely hard. It would have been impossible to dig all the holes. 1 hole 2 ft deep took over an hour for crews to dig. Special Notes: Stewardship Education: Key Concerns or Comments from Staff or Volunteers: The speed at which passing mountain bikers came by was dangerous and not planned for. No close calls occurred, but it would have been worth having more signage near the worksite. Description of Accidents/Incidents: None. Provided Medicine-D to volunteer Elaine Borton for minor congested nose. Description of Work Completed: