Hello Friends of FDRD,

After months of planning for our 2006 season, summer has finally arrived – and with that comes many opportunities for you to join in the fun through our volunteer efforts.  Your first chance is on June 3 and we hope you will come out to celebrate National Trails Day with us.

Read on for more details on how to get involved in the plethora of June events – we hope you feel that one of them was made just for you!

If you have any feedback, suggestions, and ways to improve this newsletter, please share them with us.  ENJOY!! 

FDRD - FRIENDS OF THE DILLON RANGER DISTRICT

June 2006 Newsletter

#14

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Saturday, June 3 – National Forest Clean-Up Day – 8:30 AM- 1:00PM – FDRD invites you to celebrate National Trails Day by joining us for our first Summer 2006 volunteer service project, National Forest Clean Up Day.

Meet at Dillon Ranger District, located in Silverthorne across from Target at 8:30 for bagels and coffee.  From there, we will carpool to our site location.  Snacks and beverages will be provided at the end of the workday tailgate party.

Volunteers will help pick up litter visible after the spring snowmelt at the Green Mountain Reservoir.  Volunteers should dress for a day outdoors - bring water, work gloves, layered clothing including long pants, long sleeved shirt, sturdy boots, sunglasses, sun hat, sunscreen, rain gear, and insect repellent.

To RSVP for this project, please contact Scott Fussell at scottafussell@yahoo.com or 970-846-1530. 

Wednesday, June 7 – Summit County Environmental Education Session – FDRD, Colorado State Forest Service-Project Learning Tree, and Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education are hosting an informal brainstorming session on Summit County’s Environmental Education efforts as they relate to other Colorado-wide efforts.  Learn about other state and local efforts and about potential areas for collaboration.  To RSVP and for more information, contact Guff Van Vooren at 970-389-6058 or guffvanvooren@msn.com.

Saturday, June 24 – Forest Restoration Day – 8:30 AM- 1:00PM – Join us for a fun day of giving back to your local National Forest lands!  Volunteers are needed to help restore an area of the forest – past projects include pulling up of barbed wire fencing in elk migration corridors and campsite restoration in popular recreation areas.  Coffee and bagels will be served at the beginning of the day and snacks and beverages will be provided at the end of the day tailgate.  To RSVP and for more info on the project, contact Scott Fussell at scottafussell@yahoo.com or 970-846-1530. 

Service Project Team Members – Volunteers are needed for the following efforts leading up to the June 24^th project: distribute flyers in your area of the county, solicit food donations for the day, pick up food donations for the day, and/or distribute press releases and contact the media for exposure.  If you are interested in any of these efforts, please contact Scott at the above email or phone number above.

Other June Happenings:

• June 1, 8 PM – PBS Airing of “The Greatest Good” - America’s public lands are its greatest treasures, and the saga of how they became national forests - as well as national grasslands, parks and wilderness areas - is an achievement of American democracy. “The Greatest Good” tells the epic story of the U.S. Forest Service’s fight to use and maintain the nation’s resources in the face of natural disasters, economic demands and political controversy. Narrated by veteran newscaster Charles Osgood, “The Greatest Good” uses rarely seen archival footage and photographs, spectacular scenic images and dozens of interviews to capture the early days of the conservation movement.
• June 7, 7 PM - The Denver Museum of Nature & Science will offer a related panel discussion called “The Greatest Good: What Does the Future Hold for our National Forests?” The event will bring together four retired U.S. Forest Service chiefs: Jack Ward Thomas, Dale Robertson, Max Peterson and Mike Dombeck. They will discuss the issues they faced managing public lands and the challenges that lie ahead. The discussion will be moderated by Penelope Purdy, Denver Post editorial writer, and will feature additional footage from “The Greatest Good.” The event is presented in conjunction with the Continental Divide Trail Alliance and the Fausel Foundation.  For tickets and information, call 303-322-7009 or 800-925-2250.
• Master Mountain Composter Program – This 7 week program covers the fundamentals and science of composting, setting up a composting pile, and much more.  Applications due June 12.  For more information, and to obtain an application, contact the High Country Conservation Center (formerly Summit Recycling Project) at 970-668-5703 or recycle@colorado.net.
• Wildlife Trackers Needed on Vail Pass - Southern Rockies Ecosystem Project joins the Gore Range Natural Science School and the Denver Zoo to present a new volunteer "Citizen Science" wildlife-monitoring project on Vail Pass.  Training Workshop on June 10 or 11, 2006.  Application deadline - June 2.  For more information and to download the application form and waiver form, visit http://www.restoretherockies.org/citizen_science.html.

WHAT’S HAPPENED

The 2006 Forest Stewards take a break during their first training session

Forest Stewards Program – A huge thanks goes out to FDRD’s Volunteer Forest Stewards, who kicked off the inaugural season of this on-going program with their first training session on May 13.  These 18 volunteers gained more knowledge of Dillon Ranger District, FDRD, and the three initiatives of the Forest Stewards program.  As well, they were educated on TREAD Lightly and Authority of the Resource principles, and on invasive plant species in Summit County.  In all, 25 volunteers will participate in trail maintenance, trail patrol, and outreach education on our National Forest lands throughout the summer season, in order to improve the quality of our natural resources, and improve the quality of the multiple-use recreationist’s experience on these lands.  FDRD is very excited to work with these amazing volunteers this summer.

A special thanks goes out to our sponsors – Subway Sandwiches (Breckenridge and Frisco locations), Steaming Bean, Safeway, and City Market (Breckenridge and Dillon locations) – for providing us with much-deserved, delicious treats at the beginning and end of the day.  Please support our sponsors on your next food and beverage run! 

FDRD Rolls out Logo -

2006 Summit County Summer Volunteer Calendar – Friends of the Dillon Ranger District (FDRD) has compiled the 2^nd Annual Summit County Summer Volunteer Calendar, a collaborative effort featuring volunteer projects of 33 non-profit and government organizations, dedicated to natural resource management issues.  The calendar serves to inform community members of the many opportunities to support these organizations. We hope it is a useful resource as you determine ways to give back to Summit County by participating in the volunteer efforts of these wonderful organizations in our community.  Tape it to your fridge or copy it to a computer file for easy reference throughout the summer! 

Thanks to all the participating organizations of the calendar.  We look forward to growing this effort with you!

DRD HAPPENINGS

DRD Trail Signage Needs - Volunteers are needed to post user stickers on various signs to be installed at related trailheads.  If interested and for more information, contact Ken Waugh at 970-262-3446.

DRD Fuels Mitigation Projects Update - We’ve been very busy gearing up for a full summer of projects and activities.  Foremost on many folk’s minds these days is the impact the Mountain Pine Beetle is having on our Lodge pole Pine Forests across the District.  The visual impact is substantial and will be even more evident once the trees that were hit by last summer’s beetles begin to turn red this summer.  In response to this challenge we are working in a multi-pronged approach, first to address the increased risk to and from private property from wildfires, and secondly to address the general forest health on a landscape basis.  Our first tack has been to work with the county, the towns, and local citizens to develop a Community Wildfire Protection Plan, once that was to a draft stage we worked to establish a “wildfire council” which is now a standing committee to help establish the local priorities for the community for the Forest Service and the county government to use in allocating resources to address the most pressing needs first and work systematically around the County.  The Fire Council has identified emphasis areas, solicited for projects to be implemented this summer, reviewed those submittals and recommended to the Board of County Commissioners which projects should move forward on in this first round.  The Commissioners have allocated up to $50,000 to this effort and we have been able to bring about $80,000 of federal money to the effort so far, just for implementation. Now the District is working hard to implement these projects this summer.  The Forest Service will soon be advertising a fuels reduction/buffer, which will be commercially logged, the unit will protect lands from the Town of Frisco on the north around the County Commons continuing south to beyond the next string of houses south of the High School.  Additionally we will be doing more work in the Wildernest Subdivision, a project that began two years ago.

Secondly we have begun the environmental planning for additional fuels treatments for the greater Keystone area and much of the Lower Blue, the project will be out for public review in July.  Another planning effort is underway to address the forest health and fuel treatment needs for the greater Dillon Reservoir area, public scoping for this project is underway and more details are available at the District Office.

Stay tuned for more news of implementation projects and planning in the coming months.

DATES TO REMEMBER

(mark your calendars!!!)

• June 3 – FDRD Forest Clean Up Service Project
• June 11 – FDRD Volunteer Crew Leader Training
• June 24 – FDRD Forest Restoration Service Project
• July 7, 8, 9 – VOC/FDRD Crew Leader Training
• July 15 – FDRD Weed Pull Service Project
• August 6 – FDRD Crew Leader Trail Day – KSS International Camp
• Aug 12 – FDRD Fuels Reduction-Fire Mitigation Service Project
• Sept 2, 3, 4 – VOC/FDRD Mohawk Lakes Trail Days
• Sept 16 – FDRD Volunteer Celebration Day
• Oct 14 – Make A Difference Day Project Site(s)

Please contact Scott Fussell at scottafussell@yahoo.com or 970-846-1530 for more information on these events.

NEXT BOARD MEETING

(FDRD Board Members will meet on the first Monday of each month at DRD at 6PM)

Monday, June 5, 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, June 4. 

We hope to see you at some of our events this month – it’s a great opportunity to visit with friends and make new ones while having fun with stewardship. 

Thanks for all that you do for FDRD – we’re looking forward to a fun summer with you as we all give back to Summit’s Greatest Gift – Our Local National Forest lands!

With sincere thanks,

Guff Van Vooren

Executive Director

Friends of the Dillon Ranger District