GUNNISON HEADWATERS Project Book

Gunnison Headwaters 2015 Project Book

WCCC

2818 ½ North Ave.

Grand Junction, CO 81501

P: (970)241-1027

F: (970)263-0367

www.wcccpartners.org

www.facebook.com/goWCCC

http://www.facebook.com/goWCCC

http://www.wcccpartners.org/

Presented by the Western Colorado Conservation Corps

GUNNISON HEADWATERSSummer 2015

GUNNISON HEADWATERS

Summer 2015

The pilot year of the Headwaters program of the Western Colorado Conservation Corps was a resounding success. Public lands managers, nonprofits, user groups, and other stakeholders pooled wisdom and resources to provide a world-class educational and professional opportunity for local young people. WCCC Corpsmembers developed skills while enhancing the region’s recreational opportunities and preserving valuable natural resources.

Highlights

15 youth and young adults from the Gunnison area trained and completed projects while earning a $320-$440/weekly stipend

Nine young adults completed AmeriCorps Awards, aggregately earning $11,649 for higher education

Corpsmembers received training, certifications, education, and leadership experience that will aid their career development.

WCCC crews worked on nine unique public lands projects, completing:

o 7,324 hours of service in the Gunnison areao 2.6 miles of constructed new trailso 4.2 miles of improved trailso 2/3 mile of fence constructedo 1.75 miles of closed trailso 2 acres of dead planting, 1.25 acres of seed plantedo Six Zuni Bowls, 99 one-rock dams, 42 rock-rundowns, and

one Media Lunao 20 maintained sage grouse habitat structures

Partners

US Bureau of Land Management

Colorado Parks and Wildlife

Colorado Youth Corps Association

Colorado Fourteeners Initiative

Town of Crested Butte

Crested Butte Mountain Bike Association

Great Outdoors Colorado

Gunnison County

Gunnison Trails

The Nature Conservancy

US National Parks Service

US Forest Service

Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District

Western Colorado Conservation Corps

Western State Colorado University

SUMMER 2015 SCHEDULE

SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT

201526 27 28 29 30 01 02

Day 116 Day 117 Day 118 Day 119 Day 120 Week/18 Day 121 Day 122

03 04 05 06 07 08 09Week 19/Day 123 Day 124 Day 125 Day 126 Day 127 Day 128 Day 129


Crew Leader Orientation 5/18-5/21


Gunnison Headwaters Crew Orientation 5/25-5/28


NOTES

31 01Week 23/Day 151 Day 152

MAY


2015 Gunnison Headwaters S-212 Powersaws Equivalency Class 6/1-6/4

31 01 02 03 04 05 06Day 151 Week/23 Day 152 Day 153 Day 154 Day 155 Day 156 Day 157

Hartman Rocks 6/8-6/11


Hartman Rocks; North Rim of the Black Canyon 6/15-6/18


Black Canyon/Curecanti 6/22-6/25


Curecanti 6/29-7/2


NOTES

05 06Week 28/Day 186 Day 187

JUN


201528 29 30 01 02 03 04

Day 179 Day 180 Day 181 Week/27 Day 182 Day 183 Day 184 Day 185

Crested Butte/Baxter Gulch 7/6-7/9








NOTES

02 03Week 32/Day 214 Day 215

JUL


201526 27 28 29 30 31 01

Day 207 Day 208 Day 209 Day 210 Day 211 Day 212 Week/31 Day 213

Chance/Sage Grouse and Training 8/3-8/6


Chance/Sage Grouse 8/10-8/13


Gunnison Sage Grouse 8/17-8/20


Gunnison Sage Grouse 8/24-8/27


NOTES

Cabin Creek

30 31Week 36/Day 242 Day 243

AUG

TRAINING

All members received two weeks of training in:

AmeriCorps awards/benefits CPR/First Aid Camping/Field Sanitation Leave No Trace Principles Nutrition/Camp Cooking Barbed Wire Fencing

Wood Chipper Safety and Use Pesticide Application Tech Workplace Equal Opportunities Recreational Trails S-212 Power Saw Equivalency

Crew Leader Specific Training:

Management and Leadership Reporting

Accomplishment Measuring Driver Safety

HARTMAN ROCKS

This was the Headwaters crew’s first project in 2015. The team partnered with the Bureau of Land Management and Gunnison Trails to construct and maintain recreational trails in Hartman Rocks. Collaboratively, the group built nearly two miles of trail and maintained half a mile of trail during the two-

week project.

BAXTER GULCH

The Headwaters crew teamed up with the town of Crested Butte and the Crested Butte Mountain Bike Association to work on the Baxter Gulch trail. Utilizing a grant from Great Outdoors Colorado, the Headwaters crew worked closely with the town of Crested Butte, with guidance and support from CBMBA on this gnarly section of trail. The team utilized their chainsaw training and knocked out a mile of new trail during the four-week project. They also maintained about two miles of the existing trail. CBMBA and Crested Butte hosted a volunteer trail day the last week of the project.

BLACK CANYON/CURECANTI

The Headwaters crew spent three weeks with the National Parks Service in 2015, maintaining trails and building a wildlife fence. They made base at the Lake Fork Campground and tackled a wide variety of projects. NPS staff worked closely with the WCCC to ensure high quality structures and provided excellent mentorship.

GUNNISON SAGE GROUSE

The Summer of 2015 closed with a HUGE collaborative effort. The Headwaters crew met up with a second WCCC crew to assist Gunnison Sage Grouse habitat. The Bureau of Land Management, The US Forest Service, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, The Nature Conservancy, GOCO, Gunnison County, Gunnison Conservation District, NRCS, the Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District and many other individuals and groups teamed up to restore and create resilient wet meadows and riparian areas in sagebrush landscape.

The team started with a riparian and wet meadow restoration/resilience building methods training and work day, led by Zeedyk Ecological Consulting. They learned how to “let the water do the work” by building a variety of rock structures—requiring skill and tact—to enhance the region’s habitat.

SIGNAL MESA/PEAK

WCCC spent 2 weeks on Signal Mesa/Peak and three weeks at Cabin Creek both projects were travel management projects. Corpsmembers rehabbed these sites with the Bureau of Land Management, working closely with BLM staff.

CABIN CREEK

WETTERHORN

A WCCC Crew Leader poses on the Mt. Wetterhorn trails project. The WCCC worked closely with USFS and Colorado Fourteeners Initiative, building structures on the trail to prevent water erosion. Because of the remote nature of the fourteener, the WCCC combined two weeks of programming into an eight-day camping hitch.

Respectfully Submitted By:

Matt JenningsWCCC, Associate Director

(970)[email protected]

THANK YOU!

mailto:[email protected]

GUNNISON HEADWATERS Project Book

Documents

Transcript of GUNNISON HEADWATERS Project Book