C O LO R AD O PARKS & WILD LIFE Tracks, Trails & Tales · 2015-04-01 · Chatfield’s very own...

Camphost Happenings . . . . . . . .17Friends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19More Tales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20Recipe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20DOVIA Idea Exchanges . . . . . . .23Partnership Conference . . . . . . .232015 National and State Events 24

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Table of ContentsValue of Volunteers . . . . . . . . . . . .2015 First Day Hikes Led by Dedicated Volunteers . . . . . . . . . .2015 International Sportsmen's Expo A Success! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Northeast Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Northwest Region . . . . . . . . . . . . Southeast Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . Southwest Region . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Tracks, Trails & Tales News from the CPW Volunteer Program

C O L O R A D O P A R K S & W I L D L I F E

CPW volunteers, staff, and community partners—this is your newsletter about volunteer engagement and volunteer-related educational events, people and happenings within Colorado Parks & Wildlife . We welcome all contributions and ideas for articles . If you would like to contribute, send articles and photos to Vicki Leigh, Statewide Volunteer Program Coordinator at vicki .leigh@state .co .us . Please keep articles to 250–300 words in length . We reserve the right to edit any contributions .

2015 Spring

& Serve

Photo by volunteer Dick Vogel

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The Value of Volunteers

Volunteers DIVE RIGHT IN!Measuring CPW’s Volunteer Impact

Volunteers Deliver Our Message; Influence our Stakeholders; Infuse our Agency with Passion; Validate What We Do; Support A Variety of Projects; Engage and Enthrall Our Visitors.

Looking back over 2014, over 6100 CPW volunteers contributed towards a banner year of support. In 2014, volunteer hours increased by 9 percent or by 27,289 to an amazing 325,439. That is equivalent to 157 FTE in time and a cost savings of over $7.3 million based on the Independent Sector rate.

As impressive as these numbers are, the true impact of our volunteers are those changes that can be traced to volunteer involvement whether it’s improvement to habitat through the planting of trees and flood clean-up; quality of outdoor experiences provided to kids, miles of trails maintained and built; number of injured animals safely transported, or in the high level of care provided to our variety of customers.

To measure volunteer impact, it’s important to go beyond the traditional method of simply counting hours of volunteer activity. Counting volunteer hours communicates only the quantity of volunteer involvement. Hours tell us nothing about quality of the work, efficiency of the effort, or impact on CPW’s mission.

There are many reasons to measure volunteer impact, including reporting to funders, commission members, and other partners and stakeholders, cultivating new volunteers, motivating existing volunteers, and, of course, leveraging resources and improving programs and organizational operations.

Congratulations to our many impactful volunteers and the staff who work alongside them. Here’s to a 2015 that soars above the rest!

REMEMBER VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION WEEK APRIL 12-18, 2015.

The CPW Volunteer Program team is diving right in to prepare for the merging of our two current volunteer databases. The new volunteer database is currently being built. The plan is to import the data over from both Parks and Wildlife the beginning of May, 2015 into the new merged volunteer database. Training will be provided through a variety of on-line and in-person options for both staff and volunteers in late April and early May. Stay-tuned for more details and a schedule of trainings.

DATABASE MERGER HAPPENING THIS SPRING

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before beginning to improve the world.

~ Anne Frank

Volunteer Haydee Ullrich with Area 17 DWM Luke Hoffman at the Monte Vista Crane Festival

Yampa River First Day Hike

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Greet each day with your eyes open to beauty, your mind open to change, and your heart open to love. ~Paula Finn

2015 First Day Hikes Led by Dedicated Volunteers By Crystal Dreiling, Trinidad Park Manager

Once again, First Day Hikes provided a great opportunity for visitors to get outside on New Year’s Day and for over 84 dedicated CPW volunteers to step up and help lead 48 different hikes.

Colorado hikers are hard-core! January 1, 2015 brought lots of snowfall and temperatures below zero throughout much of Colorado. One hike in particular started out at -19 degrees and ended at 7 degrees! Some of our state parks received 8-12 inches of snow on 12/31/2014 and still managed to lead hikes the next day! At least one of our hikes had participants gaining 1000 feet of elevation. Our hikers saw birds and raptors, deer and coyotes. They also saw signs of many more species in the snow and surrounding environment. “All were young at heart on the first day of 2015”

“Chatfield’s naturalists know Chatfield. Their hikes are so much better than walking aimlessly around the Park.” Hike Participant

“We had a great hike. We had nine people, two dogs, Carolyn and me (Charlie Schumucker). Carolyn related stories of how the gravel ponds and wetlands were born and some history of the area. We saw elk tracks, coyote scat and beaver stumps. The weather was cold – overcast; 19 degrees – but calm, and the snow was about 5 inchesdeep. I estimate we walked about 3 miles. The hot chocolate and the give-aways were very popular.” Chatfield Volunteers

• Total number of hikes offered statewide:48 (at 27 different state parks)

• Total number of participants: 660• Total number of miles hiked by participants:

1959.5 miles• Total number of volunteers: 84• Total volunteer hours contributed: 335

COLORADO’s First Day Hike 2015 results!

Chatfield

Stagecoach

Mueller

Trinidad

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First Day Hikes cont.

Roxborough Volunteer Naturalist Paul Bleau lead 26 adventuresome folks on a 6.4-mile (round trip) journey to the top of Carpenter Peak, at 7175’ the highest point in the park. Starting in the cold with overcast skies was quite a contrast to the sunny finish. Roxborough Volunteer Naturalist Peter Laux was joined by 21 visitors on the 3-mile trek around the South Rim Trail. Observing the interrelationships of topography, vegetation and geology was accented by the sound of boots crunching on the snow covered trail. Many said, “It is so quiet and peaceful!” Leslie Patton just glowed over the whole experience “Wow, what a beautiful way to begin the new year!”

Our hike leader was volunteer extraordinaire Bob Hickey, and I would like to extend a huge “Thank You” to him for launching our 2015 outdoor recreation program with such an inspiring holiday hike. All that was missing was the egg nog! Rose Bayless, AHRA Staff

Castlewood Canyon’s Volunteers did an amazing job promoting the hike and catering each hike to fit the desires of our visitors. Whether they were searching for animal tracks in the snow, seeking out the gargoyle, or exploring the caves, every Volunteer spent the day sharing their passion for the park with our First Day Hikers! Corrine Servis, Park Ranger

Golden Gate Canyon State Park rang in 2015 with its Annual First Day Hike! Volunteer John Moyer led 26 participants a total of 5.1 miles up the Horseshoe Trail to beautiful Frazier Meadow and back to the Visitor Center. Along the way, John shared stories on the history of the area. Volunteer Ken Hume also helped lead and kept our group together. Back at the Visitor Center, volunteer Linda Sullivan worked hard to get cookies, hot cocoa, cider and coffee together, which was a warm and well deserved treat after the hike!

Golden Gate Canyon State Park staff would like to give a big thank you to volunteers John Moyer, Ken Hume and Linda Sullivan. Our First Day Hike would not have been as successful as it was without your hard work and dedication! Thank you for all that you do! Megan Barton, Administrative Assistant

Life is a series of surprises. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Roxborough

Castlewood Canyon

Group Picture in Frazier Meadow, Golden Gate. Picture taken by Megan Barton.

AHRA

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Thank you to Rose Banzhaf, Nancy Remmler and Penny Edyvean for leading First Day Hikes at Mueller; for braving the cold and blustery weather, and doing it with a smile! Linda Groat, Program Coordinator

Our first hike was a snowy day at Cheyenne Mountain! I was redirected to plow the roads, which left the volunteers to handle the hike, which they did in their usual stellarway. It was ultimately bitter sweet, in that one of our long time volunteers, Bob Orr who lead one of the hikes passed away suddenly a couple of weeks later. This was his final event with us. Darcy Mount, Senior Ranger

The staff at Lory would like to thank Alicia and Mick for their volunteer support during the first day hike. The participants of the hike were thrilled with the effort put forth and appreciative of the time spent with them. Daniel Sprys, Park Ranger

Mueller

St. Vrain

State Forest

Steamboat

Cheyenne Mountain

Lory

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2015 International Sportsmen’s Expo A Success!

Greetings CPW Staff, Volunteers and Partners,Thank you, Thank you for helping us with another successful ISE Show!We had almost 250 staff, volunteers, and partners help us out over the course of the 4-day show. Over 40,000 folks visited the show and thousands of those stopped by to learn more about Fish Spawning or Aquatic Nuisance Species (ANS); ask a crazy question at the CPW Information or Operation Game Thief booths; Hug A Hunter or Angler(or a Bronco player); learn more about Careers; create a t-shirt at Boat Safety or to become a Junior Detective. Close to 2000 kids learned how to fish at our always crazy Kids Fishing Tank thanks to the patient effortof both staff and volunteers. Swag was bought by all at the Sales Booth.Thanks to our Partners as well including Boyscout Troop 459:• 4-H Shooting Sports

• Colorado Wildlife Council• Colorado Wildlife Federation• Outdoor Buddies• Raptor Education Foundation• Stay the Trail

We appreciate all your time and effort and to ensure another successfulISE. Cheers,Vicki Leigh,Statewide Volunteer Program Coordinator

Can you please pass along my HUGE THANKS to the many staff andvolunteers who helped make the 2015 ISE such a success. I appreciate the combined effort that everyone gave over the past several days...theshow definitely could not go on without their support and dedication!Faye KoeltzowStatewide Outdoor Education Coordinator

photos courtesy of Donna Forrest

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photos courtesy of Donna Forrest

Chance is always powerful. Let your hook be always cast; in the pool where you least expect it, there will be a fish. ~Ovid

More Photos from the 2015 ISE

7 Lori Morgan • 303-291-7369 • [email protected]

Northeast

Regional Highlights

2015 Northeast Region Wildlife Transport Team TrainingBy Lori Morgan, NE Volunteer Coordinator

On Saturday, February 21st, 30 volunteers braved the weather predictions to attend the annual Northeast Region Wildlife Transport Team Training. This is a mandatory training for anyone who wishes to be a member of the Wildlife Transport Team, which transports sick, injured and abandoned wildlife to rehabilitators.

After learning about the expectations of being on the team, the volunteers learned about the laws and regulations of transporting as well as how to capture and handle raptors and small mammals. To complete the day, they heard about the human health hazards of capturing and transporting wildlife.

None of this scared away the potential team members…all of them expressed interest in being on the Northeast Region Wildlife Transport Team! Welcome to the team!

Barr Lake Volunteer Meeting By Michelle Seubert, Park ManagerIn February, we had 25 volunteers come for updates and training. A big topic was the nature center renovation project. I always try to have a training component to each meeting. This month was snow shoeing. It was a blast!

Barr Lake Bald Eagle Festival By Michelle Seubert, Park Manager

What great weather we have had this past weekend. We had a record turn out of 420 people for the Bald Eagle Festival. Thank you to all that helped out to make this day a success. Barr Lake is truly blessed to have so many great volunteers and staff.

Volunteers listen intently to learn about human health hazards when it comes to transporting wildlife.

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Northeast

Lori Morgan • 303-291-7369 • [email protected]

Regional Highlights

Joey Kellner is the “Birdman” of Chatfield State Park By Jerry Donovan, Chatfield Volunteer

*Adapted from Chatfield Chatter

Have you ever wondered why Canadian geese seem to be the most prolific (and, some will say the most annoying) fowl along the Front Range?

Chatfield volunteer and naturalist Joey Kellner confirms that the numbers of geese have been increasing. “The reason is urban sprawl,” Kellner explains. “Urban development eats up prairies where birds like the meadowlark once thrived. Simultaneously, this leads to the creation of more of the ponds and golf courses that make ideal Canada goose habitat.”

Kellner knows. He is a birder, a birdwatcher, an ornithologist. He is Chatfield’s very own “Birdman.” He leads the monthly bird walks at Chatfield, and he is an organizer, count leader and complier of the annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC) for 24 areas (count circles) in west metro Denver. The National Audubon Society sponsors the December event. “The CBC is vital in monitoring the status of resident and migratory birds across the western hemisphere,” asserts Kellner. “Data collected, nationally, by volunteer observers since 1900, allows researchers and conservation biologists to study the long-term health and status of bird populations.”

Joey Kellner (center) prepares to sight his telescope at Chatfield’s Christmas Bird Count, December 20, 2014.

Kellner reports these CBC results for the December 20, 2014, local count circle that included Chatfield State Park:

Number of birds counted: Total for 24-area count circle: 36,271. Total for Chatfield

reservoir and dam areas: 2,284 individual birds.

Number of species counted: Total for 24-area count circle: 107. Total for Chatfield reservoir and dam areas: 55 species

(slightly higher than average).

CBC (Colorado Bird Count) results

9 Lori Morgan • 303-291-7369 • [email protected]

Golden Gate Christmas Tree Cut and Holiday Open HouseThe weekend of December 6 and 7, 2014, Golden Gate Canyon State Park held its Annual Christmas Tree Cut and Holiday Open House. This event is so popular that we sold 200 tree permits in less than 3 hours! Participants with a tree permit were allowed to cut one tree in a designated area of the park. Before heading out, visitors warmed up with hot drinks and cookies at the Visitor Center, and enjoyed 10% off all merchandise in our retail store. Visitors also generously donated canned goods and non-perishable items to the Gilpin County Food Bank. Overall, 109 items and $88.00 were donated to the food bank.

A big thank you to volunteers Donna Forrest, Amy Hoppes, Ken Hume, Janie Ikeler, Karen Lautenschlager, John Moyer, Cheryl Schimanskey, and Linda Sullivan. We wouldn’t have been able to pull this event off without your hard work and dedication to our park. We’re thankful to have such wonderful volunteers on our team!

Jackson Lake State Park Welcomes Boyscouts In the fall of 2014, Jackson Lake State Park hosted roughly 400 boy scouts ranging from webelos, boy scouts, ventures and varsity scouts from the Gateway District (Denver Council). They set up and participated in several badge-pinning events. This included archery, canoeing, geo-caching, search and rescue, fishing/casting, wood/pole carving, orienteering, and branding. The biggest contribution to the park came in the form of trail work. They assisted in the clean-up of several sections of trail throughout the park. The scouts cleared trees and brush covering 2,560 feet of trails, with 75 scouts working in the morning and 114 in the afternoon, totaling over 388 volunteer hours.

Northeast

Regional Highlights

Volunteer Donna Forrest assisting visitors with their tree permits.

Volunteers Karen Lautenschlager and John Moyer handing out tree permits.

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2015 Northeast OpportunitiesTo sign up for opportunities in this section, or for more information, please contact the person in the Contact column

Lori Morgan • 303-291-7369 • [email protected]

Northeast

Regional Highlights

PROJECT NAME LOCATION DESCRIPTION DATES CONTACT

Front Desk Assistance

Northeast Region Service Center6060 Broadway Denver

Fort Collins Office317 W Prospect AveFort Collins

1-2 volunteers are needed at each service center to help the Customer Service Representatives answer hunting and fishing questions and sell licenses. Knowledge of hunting and fishing is required. Assist with stocking brochures in front lobby and general office support.

Ongoing, Monday-Friday8:00am-5:00pm

Denver – Jenny Campbell [email protected]

Fort Collins – Jody [email protected]

Walleye Spawning

Chatfield State Park – Marina

Cherry Creek State Park – East Marina

2-3 volunteers needed per day to assist with setting and pulling gill nets. Hip boots or chest waders recommended. Dress warmly and bring warm drinks. Exact date and duration of this project is dependent on weather and numbers spawned.

3/18/15-4/6/157:30am-approx noon

Lori [email protected]

City of LouisvilleFishing Clinic

Warembourg fishing pond on Warembourg Open Space

2-3 volunteers needed to help with fish ID, knot tying, casting, fishing, etc.

4/17/15 Lori [email protected]

Hudson Fishing Clinic

Hudson Pond in Hudson

4 volunteers needed to help with fish ID, knot tying, casting, fishing, etc.

4/25/158:30am-12:30pm


City and County of Broomfield Fishing Clinic

Tom Frost Reservoir 2-3 volunteers needed to help with fish ID, knot tying, casting, fishing, etc.


Frederick Fishing Clinic

Milavec Lake in Frederick


5/2/15 7:30am-12:30pm


ErieFishing Clinic

Thomas Reservoir in Erie


5/9/157:00am-11:00am


Pine Valley Ranch Outdoor Skills Day

Pine Valley Ranch Open Space in Pine

Join us in helping kids connect to wildlife and wildlife related recreation including archery, fishing, and viewing. 5 volunteers needed to staff fishing portion.


Wildlife Host Tarryall Reservoir State Wildlife Area

The site is 15 miles southeast of Jefferson on the northern boundary of Colorado’s South Park.

The duties of the host consist of informing visitors regarding camping and fishing regulations, trash pickup, light maintenance and some painting. Medical facilities and groceries are available in Fairplay, 25 miles to the northwest.The camp host at this SWA must provide a self-contained shelter. Fresh water available at the house we have there but if trailer is in one of the campgrounds, there is no electricity.

Memorial Day – Labor Day

Ty [email protected]

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Northwest

Regional Highlights

Trina Romero • 970-255-6191 • [email protected]

Volunteers Help Relocate 80 Turkeys By Albert Romero, DeBeque District Wildlife Manager

These wild Merriam’s turkeys were trapped on the High Lonesome Ranch in DeBeque, and transported to the San Luis Valley for release to supplement local populations in that area.

Thank you to CPW volunteers in the Grand Junction area for helping with turkey traps on February 9-11. With their help, we were able to trap and relocate 80 turkeys.

Local DeBeque student Osten Greco holding a turkey.

Greg Stewart with the High Lonesome Ranch with volunteer Doug Lucas on the left and volunteer Dean Talbot in the background, along with other volunteers.

DWM Brian Bechaver with volunteers.

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Northwest

Regional Highlights

Trina Romero • 970-255-6191 • [email protected]

Sylvan Lake Winter Volunteer a True Asset By Mallory Carnuccio, Administrative Assistant

Our winter volunteer at Sylvan Lake, Linnea D’Amico, is hard working and a true asset to the park. She has quickly become part of our team and has been assisting in all park operations from visitor services, maintenance, and assisting our rangers in their duties. She wasn’t on the schedule recently, but came in to work in case our maintenance crew needed help cleaning cabins. Linnea is thoughtful of her coworkers and truly cares about the well being of the park and its operation. Her passion and drive that she brought with her to Sylvan is inspiring. We just want to say thank you to Linnea for donating her time to our park and CPW!

State Forest State Park Welcomes Local Birding Volunteers By Deb McLachlan, Administrative Assistant

State Forest State Park welcomed birders to the Moose Visitor Center to participate in the 115th National Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count, Dec. 19. The park had 6 participants for the Christmas Bird Count. Species and numbers of birds have been going down for the last couple of years. There are 314 species that are threatened due to climate change just in the birds seen in Colorado.

The North Park High School offered the students extra credit for coming out to help the park count birds. This year two students from a senior class of seven came out and braved the cold, snowy day to participate.

The tradition began over 100 years ago when a small group of wildlife watchers proposed an alternative to a ‘side hunt’ in which teams competed to see who could shoot the most birds and mammals. Led by scientist and writer Frank Chapman, his team of 27 people began to identify, count and record a variety of birds. Today, the Christmas Bird Count is recognized as one of the most important, citizen-based conservation efforts in the world with several thousand people participating across the Americas.

“We appreciate every participant’s efforts in helping catalogue the variety of birds in North Park and across the Western Hemisphere,” said State Forest State Park Manager Joe Brand.

The picture is of a Black Rosy Finch, one of the most sought after birds in Colorado.

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Southeast

Regional Highlights

Jena Sanchez • 719-227-5204 • [email protected]

Mueller Volunteers are One in a Million!By Linda Groat, Program CoordinatorMueller held its Volunteer Appreciation dinner in February to celebrate our wonderful volunteers and thank them for all that they do to enrich this state park. The dinner was held at the John Wesley Ranch which is located adjacent to Mueller and has a shared history with the park. The log structure was built in 1903 as an “entertainment center” for railroad workers at the time! Everyone seemed to enjoy their dinner in this cozy atmosphere and the chance to mingle with all the other volunteers.

A few special awards were given this year. The Volunteer of the Year was the entire Backcountry Trail Crew! Eleven volunteers spend at least one day each week performing all the hard work of maintaining the 50+ miles of trails through the park and removing old ranch fencing. Thank you Trail Crew – Billy Adams, Jack Berger, Paul Darlington, Ruth Gulliver, Ron Howland, Dana Kirke, Robert Lambert, Ron Moore, Gene Pask, Mark Silas, and Dan VonRuden!

Three other volunteers received an Outstanding Volunteer award for 2014. These three have the distinguished honor of having contributed over 1000 hours to Mueller State Park! This dedication enriches the park for everyone when they share their significant knowledge and experience over time to the many visitors and staff of Mueller. A big thank you to Bob Hickey, Jeremy Agnew and Sylvia Agnew!

We’re looking forward to another great summer and the chance to Explore, Learn and Grow!

Pictured left to right are Barry Pleshek – PRT with Raptor Monitor and Naturalist Volunteer Dee DeJong and Park Manager John Geerdes.

Trava Thomas, Administrative Assistant with Linda Groat, Program Coordinator and Kirston Lindholm, Gate and Visitor Center Volunteer.

Volunteer Naturalists Sylvia Agnew, Jeremy Agnew and Bob Hickey — all

1000 Hour Volunteers!

Park Ranger Luke Svare pictured with Jack Berger, Trail Crew Volunteer

Volunteers of the Year - Backcountry Trail Crew. Pictured from left to right: Paul Darlington, Robert Lambert, Jack Berger, Gene Pask, Mark Silas not pictured: Billy Adams, Ruth Gulliver, Ron Howland, Dana Kirke, Ron Moore, and Dan Von Ruden.

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Southeast

Regional Highlights


Pueblo Eagle Days a Huge Hit By Jena Sanchez, SE Volunteer CoordinatorPueblo Eagle Days took place the first full weekend in February with temperatures in the seventies, making the annual event a huge hit with high visitation. The eagle celebration kicked off on Friday night, downtown Pueblo where the photo contest winners were announced and Special Guest Stephanie Arne from Wild Kingdom’s Mutual of Omaha spoke to the crowd. Live birds of prey from the Pueblo Raptor Center greeted guests as well.

Nearly 30 volunteers, of all ages, worked diligently with CPW Staff to make the event successful. Volunteers staff spotting scopes, watched for eagles, helped with presenters and provided the support to help pull off this successful weekend including traffic control and organizing the mascots like Elbert the Ram and Talon the Hawk. Other partners like the US Air Force Academy and the Native American Dancers from Pueblo were big hits for the hundreds of people that came from all over to enjoy Pueblo Eagle Days.

Volunteer photos from Pam Pigg, from Eagle Day

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Southeast

Regional Highlights


Snow Goose Festival The 13th Annual High Plains Snow Goose Festival was held Feb 20-22nd. Numbering at least six million, lesser snow geese are considered to be the most abundant goose in the world! Four distinct populations are recognized. The lesser snow geese you will see at the High Plains Snow Goose Festival are part of the Western Central Flyway population that are on their way back to the Canadian Arctic where they nest. This flock winters in southeastern Colorado, New Mexico, the Texas panhandle and northern Mexico.A fun-filled weekend in Lamar, CO, Prowers, Baca, Bent and Kiowa counties offered tours, educational programs, presentations, arts and crafts, and a banquet! The weekend’s success is in large measure because of all the dedicated volunteers that assisted.

MarchWalleye Spawning Operation at Lake Pueblo, mid-March-early April with shifts from 7:00 am til 11 am dailyBuena Vista Bluebird Monitoring Training (3/21)

AprilBear Aware Colorado Springs 4/9 from 6-8 p.m.Cattails Crossing Kid’s Fishing Derby, Pueblo West 4/11Bluebird Monitoring Class, Colorado Springs 4/16 at 5:30 p.m. Salida Wildlife Transport Training, 4/24; Tree Planting TBA Annual Lake Pueblo and Wildlife Area Cleanup, 4/25Bear Aware Training, Colorado Springs TBA

May—JulyArkansas River Green Up/Cleanup & Chaffee County Shooting Range Cleanup, TBAFree Fishing Weekend Derby’s, Pueblo and Colorado SpringsRosemont Reservoir State Wildlife Area Trail Work Days, West of CO Springs, July 18-19 (backup July 25-26)Bighorn Sheep Counts on Pikes Peak, late July-early Aug. TBA

Southeast Region Volunteer Projects

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Southwest

Regional Highlights

Dog Days at Ridgway State ParkBy Andy Dean, Park Ranger

February 8th saw the third installment of the Ridgway State Park – Second Sunday Education Program Series. February’s program was all about the selection, training and education of avalanche, trailing and air scent Search and Rescue Dogs followed by some practical demonstrations. In the end, a staggering 51 participants turned out to enjoy the fantastic weather, informative indoor presentation and excellent demonstration put on by the Search and Rescue Dogs and their handlers.

Peggy Woodis and Marcia McMahon from Search & Rescue Dogs of Colorado and Ski Patroller Eric Larsen from Telluride Ski Patrol generously volunteered their time to entertain the large crowd. Marcia and her car full of dogs travelled all the way from Fairplay to participate in the event, something that we really appreciate. Drawing such a large crowd, particularly in the off season, is no mean feat and is a testament to the dedication and passion of the volunteers involved.

Monte Vista Crane Festival A Great Success! By Leigh Gillette, SW Region Education Coordinator

Monte Vista Crane Festival was another success this year, with typically wonderful wildlife viewing (20,000 Greater Sandhill Cranes!) and atypically magnificent weather. Ten Colorado Parks and Wildlife Volunteers plus Area 17 DWM Luke Hoffman and SW Regional Ed Coordinator Leigh Gillette teamed up to offer a hugely popular and interactive booth at the indoor Crane Fest Fair, and helped hundreds of birdwatchers enjoy viewing the cranes through our public viewing scopes.

Nucla Youth Pheasant HuntBy Kevin Duckett, District Wildlife Manager

The Nucla Youth Pheasant Hunt has a long history of success. This was our 10th year of this event in the west end! Thanks to Tony Bonacquista, Mark Caddy, Matt Ortega, Mark Richman and Dan Kowalski for helping make this happen. Way to go team! We had 12 kids show up for the event and one no show.

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Camphost Happenings

Barr Lake Winter Resident Hosts from Minnesota Barr Lake winter hosts Steve and Barbara Zahlen are from Minnesota. This is their first hosting job and they are doing a great job. Colorado’s snow storm is nothing compared to what they are use to back home.

Highline Hosts Support Winter at the Park By Patty Hedrick, Adminstrative Assistant

We have been fortunate to have a new couple volunteering this winter, Diana and Frank Traeger. Frank was our Volunteer of Many Trades, doing everything and anything. He removed numerous elm trees, Russian Olive and Tamarisk. Then he helped chip everything that was cut.

Diana helped man the Visitor Center, doing whatever needed to be done, including assisting with the filing and paperwork, inventory, answering phones and cheerfully giving out information to prospective visitors.

Our long-time Trail Hosts, Joe and Janet Lenahan, continued to hike the trails during the winter, reporting anything out of the ordinary, or something that needed to be taken care of, and the number of fellow trail hikers and bikers. The winter weather didn’t deter them from breathing in the clean, clear (and cold!) winter air at Highline Lake. Our dedicated Trail Hosts are awesome ambassadors for the Park, also, sharing information and answering questions along the way. Frank, and their park home in Colorado.

Recruiting Resident Hosts for Summer Season Many State Parks and Fish Hatcheries are still looking for resident hosts. A great opportunity for adventurous folks who have an RV and are willing to travel. Hosts contribute approximately 20 hours weekly in exchange for a full or partial hook-up for their RVs. Duties vary. Park campground hosts greet arriving campers, offer check-in assistance, perform maintenance, and promote educational programs. Wildlife hosts conduct hatchery walking tours, provide visitor center coverage, and assist with maintenance.

Contact the Volunteer Program at [email protected] or 303-291-7325 for more information.

Camphost Happenings

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Kevin Becker Receives Blue Spruce AwardCherry Creek State Park has more annual volunteer hours than any other park in the CPW system with over 26,000 volunteer hours year after year. While the park has a larger full-time staff, they also have 1.5 million visitors a year, which requires all hands on deck, and often pulls the staff in a myriad of different directions on any given day. What is surprising and amazing is how Kevin Becker, Cherry Creek PRT has transformed the park’s resident host program in the midst of a crowded, busy, chaotic urban park.

Soon after Kevin inherited the camphost program, Cherry Creek led the way by creating a resident host camping loop. They increased their campground host program to include additional resident hosts who used their talents and skills to assist in other critical areas of the park like the entrance gate, park office, campground host office and gift shop and with maintenance around the park. Because of Kevin’s great success with revamping the camphost program he was tasked with taking the lead with overseeing the resident host program as well. Annually, about 75 resident hosts give 20,000 hours or more. Kevin has demonstrated leadership and creative problem solving and has effectively utilized volunteer time and talent to meet Cherry Creek’s organizational goals.

Kevin has an important and unique quality of finding the right fit for each volunteer’s interests, skills and park needs. He doesn’t stop at just Cherry Creek either. He has been instrumental in helping find quality park host for Barr Lake too. He would often call me and let me know he found the perfect couple for Barr Lake. I can’t thank Kevin enough for his support and guidance. Michelle Seubert, Barr Lake Park Manager.

Kevin Becker is what makes CPW’s largest volunteer program operate as smoothly as it does. Since Kevin is the maintenance supervisor in the campground he is the key person in charge of the 17 volunteer campsites. His recruitment and retention of volunteers is unparalleled. He knows what kind of volunteers will thrive at Cherry Creek and ones that won’t. He keeps the volunteer campsites full with volunteers with a great attitude that want to be here and help out. Tim Metzger, Cherry Creek Park ManagerHats off to Kevin and Congratulations on your promotion to Chatfield. Cherry Creek staff and volunteers will miss you!

Yampa Hosts Assist All Winter By Sam McCloskey, Park RangerWe had great hosts this last summer and after their season as hosts we transitioned them into our winter maintenance, grooming and customer service program. They have continued to put in at least 20 hours a week for us as volunteers since the transition. The type of work that they are doing ranges from recurring duties, such as weekly clean of visitor center and maintenance shop removing snow and cleaning restrooms throughout the park, to one time projects such as painting offices, painting the camper service building, assisting with events, creating and maintaining our brand new Facebook page, assisting with interpretive programs, and assisting with customer service.

David Dolif (our PRT) has also led two periodic volunteers under the same program, these volunteers have been assisting more specifically with the maintenance side of the park. They have assisted with equipment repair and maintenance, installation of a gate, snow removal, clean up of rural park site, prep for events, interpretive event assistance and participating in events.

We have increased hours and interest in this program and are creating more opportunities for volunteers to be able to come in and accomplish goals that are beneficial to both them and to us as the park.

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quoteFriends

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Statewide Friends Launches Founding BoardFriends of Colorado State Parks is up and running with the formation of a Board of Directors in November 2014. The ten-member board, comprised of retirees from State Parks and the military, young professionals, and others, is all united by their love of state parks and the desire to see them thrive.

The board is currently in the process of getting in place all the structural elements needed to enable Friends of Colorado State Parks to realize its mission: Friends of Colorado State Parks is a statewide coordinating organization supporting and sustaining individual Colorado state parks Friends groups. They are currently working on organizational basics like by-laws, financial policies, a communications plan, a conflict of interest policy, and an agreement with Colorado Parks and Wildlife. The new Statewide Friends logo has been created and forth coming will be a new website. The Board is currently meeting monthly.

The new Statewide Friends board would like to invite local Friends members to attend the Partnerships Conference in Keystone, CO on May 7th and 8th. Scholarships are available. This will be a great opportunity to meet counterparts who are involved with state park friends groups statewide, as well as to do some brainstorming on how to help friends groups get better equipped to connect people with their parks. We hope to see you there!

Barr Lake Friends Hosts Birds and Brew Tuesday Barr Lake Friends hosted Birds and Brew Tuesday, Febrewary 24th 6pm-9pm at the Copperrail in Brighton. Over 35 people attended and the Friends raised $300 after expenses. This was a great fundraising event. There was bird trivia, awesome raffle prizes, good food and FUN!! What was best about this event is that over half were new people that had not been to a Friends event before.

Friends of Barr Lake Annual Board MeetingOn Monday March 9th, Friends of Bar Lake held annual elections to the board, reviewed 2014 successes, discussed upcoming events, and held a discussion on increasing membership as well as recruiting advisory panels. They are looking for volunteers who are interested in research and/or writing grants, organizing events, setting up and maintaining websites, or putting together newsletters. If you are interested in more information contact Michelle Seubert, Park Manager at [email protected].

Friends groups are generally defined as nonprofit, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations established primarily to support a specific Colorado State Park or a group of parks.

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quoteMORE TALES!RECIPE

Duck Breast with Wild Rice PilafRecipe adapted from: http://honest-food.net/2013/10/14/duck-breast-recipe-wild-rice-pilaf/

This is really a simple recipe. I have some semi-esoteric ingredients in here, like black walnuts and squash seed oil, but you can easily substitute regular walnuts and something like sunflower oil or even olive oil. I also splash a little bit of pontack on the duck, which is a complex elderberry sauce. Balsamic vinegar is a reasonable substitute.

PREPARATION 1. Take the duck breasts out of the fridge and salt them well. Set aside for now. Soak the dried mushrooms

in the hot water and set aside for 20 minutes. When the mushrooms are soft enough, chop them well.Strain the soaking water through a paper towel that has been set inside a sieve. Save the water forcooking the rice.

2. Heat the duck fat for the rice in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Sauté the onions until they are justbeginning to brown on the edges, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and rice and sauté anotherminute or two. Add the dried cranberries, then the stock and 1 cup of the soaking water. Add salt to taste.Bring to a simmer, cover and cook until the rice is cooked, about 20 minutes.

3. You might need to drain the rice; different rices soak up different amounts of liquid while cooking. Drainand move to a large bowl. Add the walnuts and parsley and salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle the oil over the pilaf and mix well.

4. Pat the duck breasts dry with paper towels. Put the remaining duck fat into a large frying pan. If yourducks are fat, turn the heat to medium-high and lay the duck breasts in the pan as soon as the fat melts. If your ducks are skinny, wait until the pan is hot before putting in the duck breasts. Cook the duck breasts skin side down at a steady sizzle (think about how bacon sounds when it’s cooking and you have the idea), until the skin has browned nicely, about 5 to 8 minutes.

5. Turn the breasts and cook on the meat side for 2 to 4 minutes, using the finger test for doneness todetermine; you are looking for medium-rare. Take the duck breasts out and grind black pepper over them. Let them rest for 5 to 8 minutes before slicing. Drizzle some pontack or balsamic vinegar over them before serving with the rice and a vegetable of your choice.

Duck• 1 to 2 pounds skin-on duck breasts• Salt• 1 tablespoon duck fat• Black pepper• A drizzle of pontack or balsamic vinegar

Wild Rice Pilaf• A handful of dried mushrooms, such as morels (about 1/2 ounce)• 2 cups hot water• 3 tablespoons duck fat, sunflower oil or butter• 1 cup minced onion• 1 1/2 cups wild rice• 1/2 cup toasted walnuts• 1/2 cup dried cranberries• 3 cups duck stock or chicken stock• Salt and black pepper• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley• A healthy drizzle of good oil, such as squash seed oil or sunflower oil

INGREDIENTS

Serves 4Prep Time: 30 minutesCook Time: 30 minutes

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MORE TALES!

Highline Lake Busy Winter Volunteers

The park had six volunteers who put in 267.5 hours compared to last year when we did not have any volunteers in December. The volunteers helped to remove numerous elm trees as well as Russian Olive and Tamarisk. The park was able to chip everything that has been cut as well. Steve Ryan oversaw a project in which an original vault toilet from the 1960’s was torn down and replaced by a new CXT, removing a huge eye sore from the park. Alan Martinez, Park Manager

Partnership with Bookcliff Middle School Great Success!

Recruitment and retention efforts with James M Robb State Park included four dates with Bookcliff Middle School. About 90 students provided approximately 540 hours of volunteer labor. The majority of these hours were attributed to reclamation at Connected Lakes which began in early December. Bookcliff assisted with spread of native seed, caging trees and planting including 360 cottonwood whips plus 5.5 gallon buckets of willow. The park also had a youth corps crew from Western Colorado Conservation Corps. which were paid via GOCO Youth Corps grant. The Bookcliff student hours helped provide matching funds necessary for the grant. Over 20 acres were originally cleared and we cleared an additional 3.5 acres last fall. Shannon Wadas, Senior Ranger

Snow Ghosts at Barr Lake

The other pictures are from my volunteer Diana Pantle and I making snow ghosts in front of the nature center. I can always count on my volunteers to help me with my crazy/fun ideas! Michelle Seubert

“HUG AN ANGLER “ Stickers Popular

Thank you Kiera for sending along the HUG AN ANGLER.com stickers. I have placed two on my Jeep, one on my fly rod case and will somehow attach the fourth sticker to my CPW ID tag. So far, I’ve been approached by two blondes, a brunette and a red head. WOW!

This Angler/Hunter campaign is so very creative. I bet a dozen friends who know I volunteer for the CPW have remarked they have a greater appreciation that their hunting and fishing license fees help protect and manage state waters and wildlife. I’ll publish a story about the campaign in the next edition of the Chatfield Chatter eNewsletter.

Kiera’s “thank you” remarks for participating in the ISE are well-written and appreciated. All CPW folks are great, great, great!

Best regards, Jerry DonovanChatfield State Park

“To accomplish great things you must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.”

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MORE TALES!Volunteers and Partners Ensure Novice Hunter Program A Success By Bryan Posthumus, Northeast Region Hunting and Angling

Outreach Coordinator

CPW hosts a lot of different Novice Hunter Program (NHP) mentored hunts. Jim Bulger, Hunter Outreach Coordinator and some of the other regional coordinators use their own staff and trained volunteer Huntmasters to run their hunts which range from big game to small game. Here in the NE, those NHP mentored hunts (pheasant and dove) were run by myself and Tony Dymek with some help from a couple DWM’s and several Pheasant Forever volunteers.

Novice Hunter Program Mentored Dove Hunt at Barr Lake

Novice Hunter Program Mentored Pheasant Hunt

Boulder Flycasters Youth Event, Fish Stamping

Novice Hunter Program Mentored Pheasant Hunt

Cherry Creek First Day Hike

We would like to congratulate the 2015 Class of Volunteer Naturalists and welcome them to the Castlewood Canyon State Park family. These new volunteers went through an extensive 5 week training and graduated on March 21, 2015! Along with our new Park Manager, Brent Lounsbury, we are happy to have these new additions to our park. Corrine Servis, Park Manager

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Large Groups, Corporate Volunteers and Offsite Volunteer Projects...Oh my!April 9 from 12:30 to 2 p.m.Join a discussion around the best practices of working with large groups, corporate volunteer and offsite volunteer projects. Learn some new ideas about how to best manage these unique groups and projects.

Likes, Pokes, Tweets...Umm, what?May 12 from 12 to 1:30 p.m.Engage your volunteers through social media. Promote opportunities, get them recruited and keep them engaged through a strategic social media plan. You’ll see examples of how nonprofits are using social media successfully to draw in volunteers.

Supervising Interns - How to get startedJune 19 from 12 to 1:30 p.m.Interns can be a huge benefit. Join the discussion about how to set up internships, best practices in supervising interns, and ways to train staff in internship supervision. All voices are welcome. Please bring your own lunch, and everyone will bring ideas to share.

Colorado Conference on VolunteerismJoin DOVIA on October 13th and 14th for the 10th Annual Colorado Conference on Volunteerism (CCOV) in Golden, CO at the American Mountaineering Center. More details to come!

Learn from the ExpertsAugust 20 from 8:30 to 10 a.m.Advice and stories from an expert panel of professionals in the volunteer management field. A variety of topics will be covered and there will be time for questions and discussion. Bring your most challenging issues and learn from those who have made it work and are successful in the field.

RRR - Recruitment, Retention and RecognitionSeptember 24 from 2 to 4 p.m.Breakout sessions on Recruitment, Retention and Recognition specifically for your organization size (and budget). Not the same old ideas! Come and get re-energized to recruit new volunteers, retain current volunteers and recognize all volunteers.

DOVIA Idea Exchanges and Education Sessions Check out www.denverdovia.org for more information.

SAVE THE DATE May 7th - 8th, 2015

Save the Date to join others that share your passion, energy and desire to collaborate on outdoor recreation partnerships in Colorado!May 7-8, 2015 - Keystone Conference Center, Keystone, CO

• Registration opens 1/5/15 and is limited • Contact [email protected] for more information and to get a link for registraion

2015Partners in the

Outdoors ConferenceBuilding Healthy Communities

Colorado Parks and Wildlife Volunteer Program TrainingCAEE Annual Advancing Environmental Education ConferenceMarch 27-28, 2015Auraria Campus, Denver, COhttps://www.caee.org/EEconference

GOCO Volunteer Program and Interpretation TrainingRidgway State Park: May 27-28, 2015 Mueller State Park: June 3-4, 2015If you wanted to attend all or part of either one, please let Vicki Leigh at [email protected] know.

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2015 State and National Events

Funded in part by

6060 Broadway, Denver, CO 80216

C O L O R A D O P A R K S & W I L D L I F E

Volunteer Program

Save the DateNational Volunteer Week April 12-18, 2015www.pointsoflight.org/signature-events/national-volunteer-week

Global Youth Service DayApril 17-19www.ysa.org/global_youth_service_day

Earth Day (same day each year) April 22, 2015http://www.earthday.net

National Arbor DayNational: April 24, 2015 (last Friday in April) Colorado: April 17, 2015www.arborday.org

Join Hands DayMay 2, 2015 (first Saturday in May)www.uct.org/uct-in-action/join-hands-day/

National River Cleanup WeekNow a year-long eventwww.americanrivers.org/take-action/cleanup/

National Trails DayJune 6, 2015www.nationaltrailsday.org/

National Get Outdoors dayJune 13, 2015www.nationalgetoutdoorsday.org/

Lake Appreciation MonthJuly 2015 www.nalms.org

National Public Lands Day September 26, 2015 www.publiclandsday. org

Make Your Mark Week (formerly Kids Care Week) October 16-22, 2015 www.generationon.org

Make a Difference Day October 24, 2015 (fourth Saturday in October) http://makeadifferenceday.com/

National Family Volunteer Day November 21, 2015http://www.pointsoflight.org/signature-events/family-volunteer-day

International Volunteer Day December 5, 2015http://www.unv.org/what-we-do/intl-volunteer-day.html

C O LO R AD O PARKS & WILD LIFE Tracks, Trails & Tales · 2015-04-01 · Chatfield’s very own...

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