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Hello
Friends of FDRD, A fun time was had by
all at our 2nd Annual Party and Community Celebration on March
27! Thanks to all who made it
that evening; and for those who didn’t, we will be sure to catch up with you
in the coming months. We are actively
recruiting for our summer volunteer efforts, especially our Forest Stewards
Program, including the Volunteer Trail Crew Leader, Volunteer Ranger Patrol,
and Volunteer Outreach Educator initiatives. Please read on to learn how to get involved in this
ongoing program. The next community
event that FDRD will participate in is Earth Day Action Fair, on Saturday,
April 22. This event is
co-sponsored by the Town of Silverthorne, The Summit Foundation, Blue River
Group of the Sierra Club, Continental Divide Land Trust, Blue River Watershed
Group and High Country Conservation Center. Please see “Dates To Remember” below, to learn more about
this event. If you have any feedback, suggestions, and ways to improve this newsletter, please share them with us. ENJOY!!
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WHAT’S HAPPENING
Forest Stewards Program - Be a part of this new ongoing program, by participating in one of the following initiatives: · Volunteer Trail Crew Leader - The volunteer trail crew leaders will lead crews in the maintenance of trails. They will scout trails, take inventory of trail maintenance needs, train a crew and lead them on trail days. They will participate in training sessions and in mentored trail days. · Volunteer Ranger Patrol - The volunteer ranger patrols will provide education outreach to the public - make the public aware of how to enjoy our public lands, while minimizing their impact. They will survey the number and type of users, the users’ needs, and quality of their experience. As well, they will survey the number, and type, of non-native plant species. They will participate in a training session and in 2 mentored patrol days. · Volunteer Outreach Educator - The outreach educators will include the following roles: front desk support at DRD office, hosts at trailheads; and in future years, naturalists at local ski resorts, and facilitators for forums. They will participate in two training sessions and will survey visitors’ needs and quality of their experience. Please contact Guff Van Vooren at guffvanvooren@msn.com or 970-389-6058 to sign up for this program. A Forest Stewards application and information on specific program and job descriptions and will be posted on our website very soon. We will contact those who have signed up when this process is in place. Applications are due May 1 and the first training session is May 13. We are looking forward to a very exciting summer with our Forest Stewards! 2nd Annual Summit County Summer 2006 Volunteer Calendar –Look for this calendar to role out in May. We hope it is a useful resource to you as you determine ways to give back to Summit County by participating in the volunteer efforts of the many wonderful non-profit organizations dedicated to natural resource management in our community! Last year, 23 organizations participated in this calendar and a few of them have started to add their dates to the calendar, via our website. If you are one of these organizations that has not, please CLICK HERE or visit www.fdrd.org and click on “2006 Volunteer Calendar Procedure”. Deadline for including dates is May 1. Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado (VOC)/FDRD Crew Leader Training – VOC and FDRD are co-hosting an annual crew leader training in Summit County. Mark your calendars for July 7, 8, and 9. Both individuals and organizations are encouraged to participate in this exciting training and education opportunity. FDRD will register our Volunteer Trail Crew Leaders for this training. All others should register through VOC by one of the following methods: phone 303-715-1010, email voc@voc.org or web: CLICK HERE or go to www.voutdoors.org, click on “Find Volunteer Opportunities”, select “Training Opportunities”, enter date range 07/07/2006 through 07/09/2006, click “Search”, and then “Crew Leader Training - 2006”. If you have any questions, contact Guff Van Vooren.
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WHAT’S
HAPPENED
Kathryn Grohusky and Scott Fussell, FDRD representatives,
left, share with Gary Rodgers, Copper Mountain representative, the many
exciting FDRD summer volunteer opportunities at FDRD’s Party FDRD
2nd Annual Party - Approximately 70 community members and 11
organizations, dedicated to local natural resource management, made our 2nd
Annual Party and Community Celebration a big success! These organizations included Friends
of the Eagles Nest Wilderness, Keystone Science School, High County
Conservation Center, Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado, Continental Divide Land
Trust, Summit County Open Space and Trails, Blue River Watershed Group, Colorado
14ers Initiative, Silverthorne Parks Open Space Recreation and Trails, Summit
Huts Association, and Colorado State University – Cooperative Extension. That evening, these
participants provided very valuable ideas for action items to support FDRD’s
strategic plan and for trail maintenance needs throughout the Dillon Ranger
District. In addition, many
participants became FDRD members, renewed their membership, and signed up for
various volunteer efforts this summer, including FDRD’s Forest Stewards
Program and eight service projects.
Finally, a few participants expressed interest in FDRD Board Member
positions. We would also like
to thank our local sponsors for that evening — City Market, Safeway, Subway
Sandwiches, Beaver Run Resort Catering, Mi Zuppa and Pug Ryan’s — for
providing the community with delicious food and beverage offerings. Please remember these businesses on
your next food and beverage runs! In addition to our
62 members, 260 service project volunteers, and over 20 local business and
individual sponsors, FDRD would like to thank The Summit Foundation and National
Forest Foundation for their generous support of our organization and
programs. We appreciate
everyone’s interest and support and look forward to working together with you
in the future. |
DATES TO REMEMBER
(mark your calendars!!!)
Please contact Scott Fussell at scottafussell@yahoo.com or 970-846-1530 for more information on these events. |
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NEXT BOARD MEETING
(FDRD Board Members will meet on the first Monday of each month at DRD at 6PM) Monday, April 3, at 6:00 PM at the Dillon Ranger
District. Open to our members
and other interested parties. To
RSVP or to include potential agenda items for FDRD Board consideration for
future meetings, contact me at guffvanvooren@msn.com
by Sunday, April 2. |
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If our Annual Party and Community Celebration
is any indication of the great times that await us this summer, we’re in
store for a really fun one! We
hope you are able to join us in giving back to Summit’s Greatest Gift – Our
Local National Forest Lands. We are very thankful for the community support
we have received in the past few years, and hope our volunteer efforts
provide opportunities to connect you to our community and to our local
National Forest lands. See
you on the trails! With sincere thanks,
Guff
Van Vooren Executive
Director Friends
of the Dillon Ranger District |