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Happy Summer from Friends of the
Dillon Ranger District! I hope everyone is having a
terrific summer with friends and family, enjoying all that our local National
Forest lands have to offer!! I
also hope you have been able to join up with the many great organizations and
their volunteer efforts that are featured on the Summit County Summer 2005
Summer Volunteer Calendar. You can view this calendar
online at www.dillonrangerdistrict.com/fdrd.htm.
If you have any feedback,
suggestions, and ways to improve this newsletter, please share them with
me. ENJOY!! |
FRIENDS OF THE DILLON RANGER DISTRICT
July 2005 Newsletter
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WHAT’S
HAPPENING
Saturday, July 9 – Weed Pull Day – 8:30 AM- 1:00PM – Please join us for
a fun day on our local National Forest lands! Volunteers are needed to help pull invasive plant species
in the White River National Forest.
Lisa Taylor, Summit County Weed Control Coordinator, is joining us for
the day, and will include an education segment and be there to answer all
your Weed Questions!! We will meet at 8:30 AM
at the Dillon Ranger District Office in Silverthorne for coffee and
bagels. The District Office is
about a half-mile north of the intersection of I-70 and Highway 9. Dress for a day
outdoors - dress in layers, bring water, work gloves, long pants and
long-sleeved shirt, sturdy boots, sunglasses, sun hat, rain gear, sunscreen,
and lots of enthusiasm! Snacks and beverages will be provided at the end of
workday tailgate party (around 1-ish).
Contact Troy Wineland at troywineland@comcast.net or
970-485-2961 to RSVP for this service project. Service Project Team – Be a part of a team that makes these fun days happen!! It’s a great way to meet the
wonderful people and businesses of our community, while giving back to your
local National Forest lands.
This effort includes:
·
distribute
flyers throughout the county
· solicit food donations for the day · pick up food donations for the day · distribute press releases and contact the media for exposure By being a part of our Service Project Team, you will help
to assure the smooth organization and logistics for each of our volunteer
days. In addition, we will clap loudly
for you after the successful completion of each project!! If you are interested in
participating on this team, contact Troy Wineland at troywineland@comcast.net
or 970-485-2961. Saturday-Sunday,
July 30-31 - Wilder Gulch and Gold Hill Trail Restoration – These projects are sponsored by Volunteers for
Outdoor Colorado (VOC) and Dillon Ranger District. If you are interested in crew leader training, this is a
great opportunity to “shadow” the crew leaders and observe first-hand how
large projects are organized.
Although the projects are nearly full, VOC has offered to save a few
spaces for FDRD members to sign up as a group. If you are interested in these projects and approaching it
from a crew leader training perspective, contact Guff Van Vooren at guffvanvooren@msn.com. For more information on the trail
days, check out the following website: www.voutdoors.org.
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WHAT’S
HAPPENED
Volunteers pulling up barbed wire in
a beautiful meadow in Iron Springs area of Summit County Saturday, June 11 – Forest Restoration – A big thanks goes out to FDRD volunteers who joined in on the fun at our Forest Restoration Day on June 11. These 22 volunteers and 2 Forest Service personnel generated 88 hours of volunteer stewardship for our National Forest lands. They took down one mile of barbed wire fencing (and 3 miles of barbed wire!) in this important elk habitat. By pulling up this fencing, these volunteers helped to assure the improved habitat in this important elk migration corridor. A special thanks goes out to our sponsors - New Belgium Brewery, Subway, City Market, and Keystone Resort– for providing us with tasty treats at the end of the day! Remember to support our sponsors on your next food and beverage run!
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DATES TO
REMEMBER
Mark your summer calendars for these upcoming FDRD
events:
·
Volunteer Crew Leader Training and
Trail Days (Tentative) ·
Weed Pull Day (Sat., July 9) ·
Wilder Gulch Trail
Restoration-Dillon Ranger District/Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado
(VOC) (Sat.-Sun., July 30-31) ·
Gold Hill Trail Restoration-Dillon
Ranger District/VOC (Sat.-Sun., July 30-31) ·
Fuels Mitigation Day (Sat., August
6) ·
Volunteers Celebration Day (Sat.,
September 10) ·
Make a Difference Day (Sat.,
October 8) |
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NEXT BOARD MEETING Tuesday, July 5, at 6:00
PM at the Dillon Ranger District.
Open to our members and other interested parties. If you plan to attend, RSVP at guffvanvooren@msn.com by Sunday, July
3. |
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NATURE NOTES(Send in your cool facts, stories, or activities for future publication!!) Ptarmigan Tales I have owned my little A-Frame in Summit
Cove since 1976, and I have seen a lot of changes in Summit Country. I
moved here full time 10 years ago and became an active hiker. Today, June 24th, three of us hiked
Ptarmigan, I had to leave early to meet out-of-town guests but the almost two
hours was again a blessed experience.
The wildflowers were abundant - we identified 15 or more. Early Columbine were sparse but even
more precious. There was a
meadow just full of wild Iris, what a joy to see them - they may be around
for a few more days. Others we
identified were: Balsamroot, Lupine, Pussytoes, Flox, Flax, Stonecrop,
Wild Rose, Arnica, Sweet Peas, and others. To make the steep climb worthwhile the Aspen groves were
cooling and beautiful and running through them we saw two elk (or deer) that
stopped to give us a look that said, "Welcome to our woods". This is why I am a member of the FDRD
- we want to
Friends of the Dillon Ranger District |
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Thanks again to all our wonderful
volunteers for a successful Forest Restoration service project on June
11. I hope to see you on July 9 at our Weed Pull Day, and hope you have
a fun-filled July 4th Holiday Weekend. See you
on the trails! With sincere thanks, Guff Van Vooren Executive Director Friends of the Dillon Ranger
District |