Hello Friends of FDRD,

Our September efforts capped off a most tremendous season of FDRD volunteerism.  We had a great time meeting new friends and spending these days with you.  Thanks to your support, we were able to more than double our combined 2004-2005 efforts and our membership has grown to 78! 

Our last big effort before the snow falls (again!) is on October 14 - Make a Difference Day – a day of volunteerism for the entire Summit County community and always lots of fun!  Read on to learn how to get involved in this countywide effort. 

To learn more about FDRD, please visit our website at www.fdrd.org.  If you have any feedback, suggestions, and ways to improve this newsletter, please share them with us.  ENJOY!! 

FRIENDS OF THE DILLON RANGER DISTRICT

                                           October 2006 Newsletter --- #18

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Saturday, October 14 - 8th Annual Make A Difference Day (MDDAY) – MDDAY is a national day of giving back to your community, hosted locally by Summit Prevention Alliance, Youth and Family Services, and a team of dedicated volunteers each October. Over 400 volunteers mobilize to provide work at over 30 sites in Summit County. Volunteer service ranges from building and maintaining trails, to painting buildings, to cleaning computers and classrooms. MDDAY is a great opportunity to be active in our community and to meet new people.  Volunteers will meet at 8 AM at the Summit Stage bus barns near the County Commons. MDDAY provides a light breakfast at the beginning of the day and a BBQ at the end of the day.  FDRD will host two project sites on this day – Windy Point Fence Reconstruction and Iron Springs Barbed Wire Removal.  For more information and to pre-register online, click on http://www.co.summit.co.us/mdday06/registration.htm.  The deadline for pre-registration is noon, Oct. 12.  You can also register on the 14th.  We hope our wonderful FDRD supporters can join in on the fun for this countywide day of volunteerism.

As well, MDDAY is still looking for a few more project sites.  If your nonprofit, school or government agency/department would like to participate in this effort, click on http://www.summitpreventionalliance.org/maddsitereg.html and give them a call today.

MDDAY FDRD Site Crew Leader – We need a few more crew leaders to assist us at the Windy Point Buck and Rail Fence Reconstruction and Iron Springs Barbed Wire Fence Removal projects.  You will lead a crew of 6-ish on a section of the fence, under DRD staff direction.  We will meet the week before for a one-hour briefing, at each site.  Please contact Guff Van Vooren at 970-389-6058 or guffvanvooren@msn.com if you would like to join us in leading these efforts.

WHAT’S HAPPENED

After “rock shopping” for the perfect rock, VOC-FDRD volunteers use rock bars and lots of elbow grease to move this boulder into position as a rock step in a steep section of the Mohawk Lakes trail.

Saturday - Monday, August 2, 3, 4 – Mohawk Lakes Trail Project - Friends of the Dillon Ranger District (FDRD) would like to thank the stellar volunteers who joined in on the fun at the Volunteers For Outdoor Colorado (VOC) -FDRD Mohawk Lakes Project over Labor Day Weekend.

Recently voted Summit County’s “Favorite Hiking Trail”, these volunteers came out in great numbers to ensure the condition of the trail lived up to this honor.  Next time you’re on the trail, check out their magnificent handy work (this fall if the snow melts or next spring if it doesn’t)!

On Friday, while the Project Support Team set up base camp for the trail maintenance volunteers, VOC hosted a rock skills training for 15 crew leaders.  The participants learned how to build rock walls and water bars – skills they certainly put to use over the course of the weekend.  108 volunteers participated on Saturday, 103 on Sunday, and 48 on Monday. 

All told, over this weekend, 284 volunteer days and 2,200 hours of volunteer stewardship were generated on our local National Forest lands.  Starting at the upper trailhead and continuing to lower Mohawk Lake, these volunteers performed the critical and challenging work of restoring and rerouting 1-½ miles of this popular trail.  They built 121 steps, 23 chiseled rock steps, 10 cairns, 28 waterbars, 37 knicks, a 20 ft. log bridge, a 10 ft. 2-tier rock wall, a 5 ft. mono wall, a 10 ft. mono wall, a 30 ft. turnpike, 60 ft. stepping stones, and closed 2,525 feet of social trails.  In doing so, they helped create a single, safe, sustainable, habitat-friendly route to Mohawk Lakes.

A special thanks goes out to the 30 project sponsors, including the National Forest Foundation, The Summit Foundation, Beaver Run Resort, and Subway-Breckenridge.  Their support provided for food, beverages, entertainment, and the many other “creature comforts” of base camp – all the essentials of a successful volunteer experience!  Remember to support our sponsors on your next food and beverage run!

Last, but certainly not least, due praise and appreciation goes out to VOC for hosting this, and several other trail projects and training sessions this summer in Summit County.  Through their partnerships with FDRD and other local public lands agencies, much needed trail maintenance was accomplished on local trails that otherwise would not have been completed.  In addition, these efforts helped raise awareness of the many ways that locals can get involved in Summit County’s numerous volunteer efforts.   FDRD applauds VOC’s tireless efforts to motivate and enable citizens to be active stewards of Colorado’s public lands!

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Copper Mountain Staff takes a break from a “day at the office” on the Wheeler Lakes Trail!

Friday, September 15 – FDRD/Copper Mountain Wheeler Lakes Trail Day – FDRD would like to thank Copper Mountain staff for joining us on their second trail day on the Wheeler Lakes Trail.  These 12 volunteers, along with 1 FDRD crew leader and 1 Forest Service Representative, generated 78 hours of volunteer stewardship on our local National Forest lands.  They performed trail maintenance on 1/2 mile of trail, including trail restoration in braided areas, built water structures (including water bars, reinforced dips, and trenches) and de-bermed parts of the trail, for erosion control efforts.  In doing so, these volunteers helped provide for a more sustainable trail for the enjoyment of Summit County’s locals and guests.  This trail day continues an extensive restoration effort on this popular trail.

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Two FDRD Volunteer Extraordinaires, Karen Fox, left, and Marilyn Fenner, right, work their Pulaski and McLeod as they help maintain the trail in the Windy Point area!

Saturday, September 16 – Volunteer Celebration Day-Windy Point Trail Day - A standing ovation (come on, everybody, let’s raise the roof!) goes out to FDRD’s wonderful volunteers for joining us in our Volunteer Celebration Day.

In the morning, these 18 volunteers and 2 Forest Service personnel, generated 54 hours of volunteer stewardship on our local National Forest lands.  They performed trail maintenance on the Windy Point Trail, including delineation of a single-track trail, trail closure and restoration work in braided and road grade areas, and built water structures for erosion control efforts. 

In doing so, these volunteers helped provide for a more natural trail experience in the forest, resulting in an excellent opportunity for a gentle hike to a beautiful destination for the many users of Summit County’s local National Forest lands!  This effort is one in a series of trail maintenance days in this popular area.

Following the project, FDRD hosted a Volunteer Celebration Picnic, celebrating the 674 volunteer service days and 4,426 hours of stewardship on our local National Forest lands during FDRD’s 2006 summer season.  The following volunteers were recognized as FDRD Volunteers of the Year – Kurt Steuer (Super Crew Leader), Karen Fox (Super Ranger Patrol), and Virgil Robinson (Super Service Projects).

A special thanks goes out to our sponsors – City Market, Safeway, Noble Sysco Foods, Beaver Run, New Belgium Brewery, Vail Resorts, Copper Mountain Resort, Serenity Spa, Samplings/The Cellar Restaurants, Translux Theaters, Silverthorne Rec Center, Latitude 40 Maps, and Forest History Society – for providing us with the great food spread and the “out”door prize giveaways!  Remember to support our sponsors next time you’re in the mood to spend some cash! 

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Forest Stewards Update – The month of September was a busy one for our Stewards.  The Crew Leaders participated in all the projects mentioned above - Mohawk Lakes, Copper Mountain/Wheeler Lakes, and Volunteer Celebration/Windy Point Trail Projects while our Ranger Patrols and Outreach Educators continue to make great contacts with users on the wonderful trails in the DRD.  If you are interested in future participation in this program, please contact Guff at 970-389-6058.

A Day in the Life of a Forest Steward

By Kurt Steuer

(This is part two of a series that chronicles the experiences of the volunteers in FDRD’s Forest Stewards Program.  This column appeared in the Summit Daily News on 9/22/06.  The first column appeared on 7/26/06)

Kurt Steuer, FDRD Forest Stewards Crew Leader, tests the stability of the rock wall he helped build with a crew of six people at the Volunteers For Outdoor Colorado (VOC) Rock Skills Training held in conjunction with the VOC/FDRD Mohawk Lakes Trail Project over Labor Day Weekend.

I am a member of Friends of the Dillon Ranger District (FDRD), and I participate in the Forest Stewards Program as a Volunteer Crew Leader.  This is my fourth summer of living full time in Summit County.  I started my volunteer projects with a noxious weed pull sponsored by the Continental Divide Land Trust and then a trail project with Friends of the Eagles Nest Wilderness (FENW).  I am also a member of FENW.  I knew this was my calling in Summit County.  I truly enjoy working in the forest. 

This summer I have spent more than twenty days working on trails as a volunteer.  The Forest Stewards Program has provided me with trail crew training with local rangers.  My CPR and basic first aid skills have been updated.  FDRD, in partnership with Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado (VOC), hosted a three-day crew leader training session in July.  Ten of FDRD’s trainees and one Dillon Ranger District staff member attended this excellent training program.  With VOC’s vast trail crew experience, their instructors taught us how to build basic sustainable trail and the skills required to lead others in the building of trails in the outdoors.  We worked on a trail in the old mining town of Masontown, a popular trail in Frisco, with VOC’s Volunteer Crew Leaders who have been doing this work for many years.  I have since worked on two local projects with VOC.  Over 100 volunteers worked each day over the Labor Day Weekend on the Mohawk Lakes trail, recently voted Summit County’s Favorite Trail.  I joined their rock skills seminar on the Friday before the project - working with a crew of 6, we learned how to build a rock wall – with great instruction from one of their master rock gurus!  This has been a learning summer for me and I feel much more confident in my trail building skills.

As an FDRD Volunteer Crew Leader, I have led volunteers on two projects.  The Keystone Science School came out with twenty-five kids to work on the Windy Point trail.  With kids aged eight to eighteen, we built some really nice water bars, cleared the trail of loose rocks, narrowed the trail, closed braided sections, and overall made the trail a better experience for hikers.  I was a little worried about the younger kids, but they jumped right in and dug up stumps and rocks.  They had a great day and so did we.   The second project was with six volunteers from Copper Mountain on the Wheeler Lakes trail.  Copper Mountain plans to adopt this trail and will spend several days each summer doing trail maintenance.  FDRD will provide them with volunteer crew leaders who will bring the skills and tools necessary to do the project.  Most trail maintenance involves getting water off of the trail.  The erosion caused by water destroys many trails, making them difficult to hike, bike, ride, cycle, etc.  The Wheeler Lakes trail is a great example of an eroded trail.  After explaining and demonstrating the safe use of tools such as Pulaskis, McLeods, Pick Mattocks, Rock Bars, and Shovels, we worked for about six hours on a beautiful Summit County day.  We put in a couple of water bars, but most of the work is cutting the berm off the trail and adding drains so the water runs off the trail.  All involved claimed to have a rewarding day.  I hope to see them on the next project day.

Besides the enjoyable day I have on a project, I hope to inspire others to come out again and give back to the forest they enjoy hiking and biking.  The Forest Service has a great work crew in our forest all summer but with limited resources and the miles of trails in Summit County, I see Volunteer Stewards as the best resource available to maintain our trails.  Adopt a trail and come out and join us!

DRD HAPPENINGS

Resort Partnerships to Raise Funds for Local Forest Conservation Projects

The National Forest Foundation (the NFF) and the U.S. Forest Service (USDA-FS), in two separate partnerships with Copper Mountain Resort and Vail Resorts, are creating programs to provide funding for local conservation projects on National Forest lands.

Copper Mountain will raise money by soliciting voluntary $1 per night lodging donations from resort guests.  The program will launch November 3, Copper’s opening day, and could raise up to $75,000 per year for such conservation projects in the Dillon Ranger District.

Vail will raise money by soliciting voluntary $1 per sales of season passes, online lift tickets and hotel rooms starting this winter, and could raise up to $600,000 to fund forest conservation projects in the White River National Forest and Lake Tahoe forests. 

The NFF will give 50 cents for each dollar Copper and Vail raise in their respective programs. 

Details on how to participate in these programs will be forthcoming and as they are made available, FDRD will include them in our future enewsletters.

These programs bring in much-needed funds for organizations and projects dedicated to the stewardship of these lands.  FDRD applauds Copper Mountain, Vail Resorts, the NFF and the USDA-FS in their efforts to promote and support these stewardship efforts of our local National Forest lands.  

Travel Management Plan Update

Copies of the draft plan are available at the Dillon Ranger District (DRD) and interested parties will have until October 25 to comment on the plan.  This will become the comprehensive travel management plan for the WRNF for the next 10 – 15+ years, so it is very important that all users make their voices heard in the next 3 months!

The Forest Service requests that all users and user groups participate, to ensure that all interests are represented in this plan.  Both system and non-system trails are included in this draft plan and all users are asked to comment on them, to help the Forest Service determine the most appropriate transportation network for the forest.

This comment process provides an excellent opportunity for those interested parties and affected people to participate in the analysis and to contribute to the final decision for this proposed action.

To comment on the Travel Management Plan, the following methods are available:

1) Web-based comment form – visit http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/whiteriver/projects/travel_management/web_comment/tmp_comment.shtml to email brief comments.  When you submit your comment it will send an email directly to the Content Analysis Team, who will process your comment into the comment database for the TMP. The space limitation for the comment section is about 75 columns by 25 lines.

2) Electronic letter or document - send it directly to wrnftmp@contentanalysisgroup.com.

3) Mail or FAX - 

Mail:  WRNF Travel Management Plan and DEIS

c/o Content Analysis Group

P.O. Box 2000

Bountiful, UT 84011-2000

FAX:  1-801-397-2601 

All submissions must include your name and address.  Please only submit your comment once - they are all treated equally, and will only be dealt with once.

For more information on Travel Management in the WRNF, visit http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/whiteriver/projects/travel_management/index.shtml.  

DATES TO REMEMBER

(mark your calendars!!!)

• October 2 – FDRD Crew Leader Trail Day – Serenity Spa Staff
• Oct 14 – Make A Difference Day Project Site(s) – to register, see information above.

Other Local Events

Wed, Oct. 4 – 3PM – 5PM - Coexisting With Wildlife – County Commons in Frisco, Mount Royal Room - District Wildlife Managers Tom Kroening and Shannon Schwab will share their expertise on moose, bears and mountain lions, as well as answer other questions you may have about living with wildlife.  For more information or to register, please call 668-3595. This is a no-charge event!

Sat, Oct. 14 – 9AM – 4:30PM – Aquatic Wild Educators Workshop –located at Cucumber Gulch - a unique wetlands complex where boreal toads have been found and will provide participants the opportunity to see this wetlands up close and personal.  All educators (formal and informal), camp leaders, and others who work with youth will surely benefit from this workshop.  For more information and to register, contact Kirsten Springer at 719-836-1543, 970-389-4833 or gladhest@earthlink.net.

NEXT BOARD MEETING

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

Monday, October 2, 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 Guff at guffvanvooren@msn.com by Sunday, October 1. 

Thanks to everyone for making the 2006 volunteer season such a great one!  Your support of our organization is critical to our efforts to promote stewardship of the White River National Forest in Summit County through partnerships, volunteer service, education, and support. 

We look forward to working together with you in the future and hope you will consider joining us, and all of Summit County, on October 14 for Make a Difference Day.

As well, mark your calendar for the deadline for comments on the TMP – your input is a very important part of this process.

See you on the trails!

With sincere thanks,

Guff Van Vooren

Executive Director

Friends of the Dillon Ranger District