Tracks, Trails & Tales

Table of ContentsWinter Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iThe Value of Volunteers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Statewide Raptor Monitors SOAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Regional Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3–15Camphost Happenings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16–18Friends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19–20Partnerships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21More Tales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22–23Local and National Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

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 .

2014 Fall - Winter

& Serve

Photo taken by volunteer Dick Vogel.

Winter Message From All of Us

I heard a bird sing in the dark of December

a magical thing and sweet to remember.

—Oliver Herford

A World of Abundance and Good Wishes! One of the real joys this holiday season is the opportunity to say thank you to both CPW volunteers and staff and to wish you the very best for the new year.

Happy Holidays! Leland Flores, Heath Kehm, Vicki Leigh, Lori Morgan, Trina Romero & Jena Sanchez, Your Volunteer Program Team.

i

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The Value of Volunteers

Thanks to CPW Volunteers and Staff for supporting Parks and Wildlife in 2014! Gratitude is what comes to mind as another year is wrapping up. We have an amazing team of people who have accomplished a lot this past year.

Volunteers support staff in every aspect of our mission, including angler outreach, bear aware education, biological projects, backcountry rescue, boat safety, campground operations, environmental education, historical research, hunter education, hatchery assistance, fee collection, stewardship, trails, visitor center support and wildlife transport. Some of you have helped on annual projects like sports expos, family events, lake appreciation days and wildlife festivals. All of you help

CPW expand its reach into the community and to provide excellent customer service to our visitors and stakeholders.

To all of you who continue to support us we say a big ‘Thank you’!

The dates for the 2015 International Sportsmen Expo show are Thursday, January 15 through Sunday, January 18 and we need your help!

The dates and shifts are as follows:Thu, Jan. 15 Morning: 10:30 am - 4:00 pm;

Evening: 3:30 pm - 8:30 pmFri, Jan. 16 Morning: 10:30 am - 4:00 pm;

Evening: 3:30 pm - 8:30 pmSat, Jan. 17 Morning: 9:30 am - 3:30 pm;

Evening: 3:00 pm - 8:30 pmSun, Jan. 18 Morning: 9:30 am - 2:00 pm;

Evening: 1:30 pm - 6:30 pm (includes booth take down)

For interest in all of the following booths contact: Vicki Leigh - [email protected]

• CPW Information Center Booth (includes camping, fishing and hunting)

• Boat Information and Safety• Hug a Hunter/Angler Booth • Jr Ranger/Jr Wildlife Officer Kids Booth• Kids Fishing Tank

CALL FOR 2015 ISE VOLUNTEERS

If you have not yet turned in your 2014 volunteer hours, please do so by contacting a close or nearby volunteer coordinator so that we can accurately track the amazing park and wildlife accomplishments that you help us with.

Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have

lighted the flame within us. ~Albert Schweitzer

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Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.

~ Melody Beattie

Statewide Raptor Monitors SOAR!By Dylan Lewan, Resource Stewardship Biological Technican & Jeff Thompson – Resource Stewardship Program Coordinator

Across Colorado, volunteers dedicate their effort, expertise, and thousands of hours of time to improving Colorado Parks and Wildlife managed lands. Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s Resource Stewardship Program has been utilizing some of these volunteers for nearly a decade through the Volunteer Raptor Monitoring Program.

The Resource Stewardship Program hosts an annual event to provide training to the raptor monitors and recognize their incredible efforts. This years event was held on Saturday, November 15 at Lake Pueblo State Park. Nearly 60 people made the journey to Lake Pueblo from all parts of the state despite an imposing weather forecast. One highlight of the day was a raptor ID training class conducted by Debbie Barnes-Shankster, a longtime volunteer at Cheyenne Mountain State Park. Debbie is a skilled birder and photographer who has been performing raptor ID trainings for Parks and Wildlife volunteers, as well as breeding bird surveys for many years. The day culminated with a live raptor presentation by Diana Miller, Raptor Center Director at the Pueblo Nature and Raptor Center. Diana has over 30 years of experience in raptor rehabilitation and education and has a natural ability to connect with the volunteers through humor and understanding of raptors.

The annual meeting gives us the opportunity to recognize some of the many exceptional efforts of our monitoring volunteers. This year’s Seven Years of Service Award recipients were Jeneen Nelson from John Martin Reservoir, Jeneen Igou from Cheyenne Mountain, and Pat Grove from Cheyenne Mountain. The new dynamic team of CSU student volunteers were recognized with the Rookie of the Year award for their efforts at Boyd Lake State Park; the entire volunteer group at Chatfield State Park was honored with our Volunteer of the Year award for their extraordinary communication and collaboration; and finally our Outstanding Data Entry Award was given John Martin State Park volunteer, Jeneen Nelson for her persistance and commitment. The photography skills of Brittney Huff of Lake Pueblo State Park was also recognized.

The 2014 volunteer event was a celebration of true citizen science and the important relationship between Colorado Parks and Wildlife and its volunteers. Over 100 citizen scientist volunteers contributed 3577 hours of time and monitored 130 nests. The information collected was invaluable in our efforts to conserve nesting raptor species thanks to the dedicated volunteers of Colorado Parks and Wildlife! Thank you Volunteer Raptor Monitors!

SE Region Adds to Raptor Monitoring Effort as Program GrowsCollaborative volunteer efforts on the CPW raptor monitoring program are taking place across multiple counties in the southeast region. With a start in 2013, twenty volunteers worked closely with conservation biologists out of Salida and Colorado Springs. Over 700 hours of raptor monitoring and data collection were contributed on state and private lands. This included areas from Chaffee County all the way east to the Kansas border. In 2014, trained southeast region volunteers added another 516 hours with more still coming in. Thanks go out to all the volunteers for the hard work, the long miles and the progress and successes of these important biological projects.

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

Northeast

Regional Highlights

Bighorn Sheep FestivalBy Lori Morgan, NE Volunteer Coordinator

Beautiful blue skies, free activities for the family, and a herd of Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep? One might ask, “Where would I go for such an amazing day?” The 9th annual Georgetown Bighorn Sheep Festival of course!

On Saturday, November 8th, an estimated 1,000–2,000 participants came to Georgetown to celebrate the state mammal. And the bighorn sheep showed up for their own party! A herd hung around the north side of I-70 near the Georgetown Trust and Gateway Visitor Center all day. This gave visitors a chance to use the Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) spotting scopes and binoculars as well as ask our wonderful volunteers questions. Visitors could also try a hand at archery, complete bighorn sheep crafts and watch various education presentations.

And what would a celebration be without a parade? Our parade was led by Elbert, the CPW Bighorn Sheep mascot, and included kazoos, whistles and cheering! It ended in Strausse Park where kids learned bighorn sheep biology via the Bighorn Sheep Hokey Pokey with Elbert as the lead! Even the adults had a good time!

None of this would have been possible without the partnership of the Town of Georgetown, the Georgetown Trust and Gateway Visitor Center and the dedication of staff and volunteers.

Many thanks to: Vicki Childs, Ron Claussen, Kathy Danhour, Pat Feldmeier, Donna Forrest, Bill and Jane Frobose, Dan Hinton, Deb Johnson, Ev and Mary Lu Jones, Chloe and Mia Denis-Judson, Michael Kramer, Chris Kruscavage, Suzanna Koeller, Mike and Sara Oldham, Jim Philips, Susan Richards, Milt Robinson, Shirley Shimon, Casey Snyder, and David Yanoski.

For more information about this event or to participate in future wildlife festivals in the Northeast Region, please contact Mary McCormac (303) 291-7328 or [email protected]

Castlewood Canyon Celebrates Volunteers!By Corrine Servis, Park Ranger

This year’s Holiday Party was a hit! Castlewood Canyon State Park celebrated a successful year with Volunteers and friends. There’s nothing like good food and good company to bring smiles to our faces and make memories to last a lifetime. Thank you to all our Volunteers who make Castlewood Canyon what it is today...we appreciate all that you do!

Visitors enjoyed seeing “Elbert”, the Colorado Parks and Wildlife mascot!

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Northeast

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

Regional Highlights

Castlewood Canyon 50th Anniversary CelebrationOn September 27th Castlewood Canyon State Park celebrated its 50th Birthday Party with a BBQ and fun for families. We had cake and face painting and lots of games put on by our Volunteers that brought in many visitors and we received a lot of positive reviews. We also celebrated the fundraising efforts of our Friends organization, who raised money to help us purchase property for the park.

Castlewood Canyon Haunted TrailOn October 17th and 18th, Castlewood Canyon State Park held our 4th Annual Haunted Trail event. This year the Haunted Trail set a new record and brought in a total of 668 participants over two days. Lisa Naughton, our

seasonal ranger, put a lot of work into the Haunted Trail and made this event a success. We thank all our Volunteers for their wonderful decorations and costumes that added to the fun of this event!

Barr Lake Thanks Volunteers at Holiday CelebrationBy Michelle Seubert, Park Manager

Barr Lake staff celebrated the holidays with 42 volunteers. Staff and volunteers alike enjoyed food, fun and a recap of the many successes throughout 2014. Thanks to the wonderful Barr Lake volunteers!

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

Barr Lake Celebrates National Public Lands DayBarr Lake celebrated NPLD with 35 people working on many projects from tree planting, removing invasive weeds and completing and Eagle Scout project of new benches. Members of the community and Barr Lake volunteers made it a successful day. Special thanks to the Brighton Latter Day Saints missionaries for helping on the tree project. A special guest on this day was “Miles” from the Broncos!

Chatfield Volunteers Have Busy FallBy Jennifer Steffen, Naturalist

DOLA Fall Clean-Up: We had our second Dog Off-Leash Area (DOLA) Clean up this year on October 18th, with wonderful weather and a great turnout. This is an event that both staff and volunteers take part in every spring and fall and gives us a great opportunity to interact with the visitors that frequent the dog park. Our goals are to educate the users on picking up their pet waste because it has a negative impact on both the soil and water quality of the area due to the fecal coli form bacteria and excessive nutrients, and must be

removed to prevent damage to an already heavily used area. Pet waste may also carry parasites and viruses that can be transmitted to otherwise healthy pets.

Interpretive Trail Project: This fall/winter we will continue working on an interpretive trail that will be put in near the Platte River. This trail will have signs that correspond with a brochure on different plants and animals that

can be spotted throughout the trail. It will be a great way visitors can learn about their surroundings while taking a self-guided hike through the park.

Volunteer Appreciation Party: At the end of each crazy summer season, we like to throw a party to thank our volunteers for all the hard work they did this year. Along

with a slide show of all the fun memories from the summer, we had cake and guest speaker Ken Brink, Assistant Director of Parks and Outdoor Recreation come in and give an inspiring talk.

Northeast

Regional Highlights

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Cherry Creek National Public Land’s DayBy Tia Miller, Interpreter

National Public Land’s Day 2014 at Cherry Creek State Park was a blast! Volunteers came out to help clean up our Dog off Leash Area, as well as other areas throughout the Park. We would like to thank all our volunteers for such a successful and fun day! Remember, that it’s important to make every day a day to care about our environment!

3rd Annual International Archaeology Day at RoxboroughBy Christine Liptak, Naturalist

We had a gorgeous fall day for Archaeology Day on October 13th at Roxborough State Park. Over 550 visitors came to the Park between 11:00am and 3:00pm to learn about the ancient inhabitants within Roxborough and the surrounding area.

Roxborough is designated as a National Archaeological District and there are over 60 archaeological sites that were identified in 7 different surveys. Our artifacts are from the Archaic period (7500 years ago - A.D. 150) and the Woodland/Ceramic period (A.D. 150 - 1450). The prehistoric residents were seasonally nomadic and spent winters in the relatively mild climate of the hogbacks. Their campsites were on south or west facing slopes close to rock shelters and water.

Warren Coker, a professional flint knapper showed visitors how to make points (arrowheads) out of stone and rope out of the yucca plant. Volunteers also explained how the ancient people of Roxborough utilized plants and animals to survive. We could even taste archaic snacks like acorn bread, nuts, seeds and jerky to get an idea of what they ate. And who could

resist checking out the pelts and bones of animals that live within the area?

Volunteers from Dinosaur Ridge also demonstrated dendrochronology- the art of determining the age of a tree with tree ring analysis. They even displayed part of the Ute Council Tree that is now designated as a landmark. This ponderosa pine is where Mr. Alex Rooney and Chief Colorow met to reportedly negotiate peace between the Ute and Arapahoe peoples.

There were several fun hands on activities for our little visitors too. They included digging for artifacts, making paintbrushes out of yucca, ancient painting skills, face painting, point identification and much more. Talk & Walk and Ride & Talk adventures were led by volunteers along the Fountain Valley Trail. These hikes and

rides allowed visitors to learn about the ancient people and view the Roxborough Archaic & Woodland sites along the Fountain Valley Trail where they lived during the winter season for thousands of years.

The 3rd annual International Archaeology Day was a resounding success! Thank you to the many Roxborough volunteers who helped out. Your energy and involvement made the event fun and educational for our visitors.


Northeast

Regional Highlights

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Regional Highlights

Thanks to Angler Outreach Volunteers!By Bryan Posthumus, NE Hunting and Angling Coordinator

Tony and I would like to thank all volunteers that helped pass on fishing skills and excitement! We would like to acknowledge several volunteers that spent 50 or more hours in 2014. They are Jim Dohr, Jerry Donovan, Larry McNeese, Milt Robinson, Dave Shickle (100 hours!), and James Dill (221.5 hours!!)

A change for 2015, Lake Lehow Fishing Clinics will be handled by Howard Horton, Statewide Angling Outreach Coordinator. The Northeast Region will be developing a new property near I-76 and York St. in north Denver called Sandoval Ponds. This property will provide additional angling outreach and other outdoor skills. We hope to open fishing clinics in late spring or summer 2015. Meanwhile, we will be busy dredging the pond, stocking fish, and improving the property. Stay tuned!

Novice Hunter Program By Tony Dymek, NE Hunting and Angling Program Assistant

The Northeast Region is in full swing this fall taking Colorado’s newest hunters out to the wide open plains in search of the Ring-Neck Pheasant. After having eight

Novice Hunter Program classes, a wing-shooting clinic and a very successful dove hunt at Barr Lake State Park, we are now on schedule to take our 160 new hunters out in the field to help build their confidence to take on the task of hunting on their own and hopefully passing on their experience to their family and friends.

This could not be possible without the help of our CPW volunteers and the partnership with Pheasants Forever!

A very special thank you to Steve Davey, Steve Park, Jim Lyles, Dave Shickle, Steve Gosnell, Loren Kohler, Stan Elmore, Greg Wagers, Ron Crofutt, Kim Foore, Dean Titterington and Myles Edwards.

Shrub Day at Woodhouse State Wildlife Area!By Liza Hunholz, Area 5 Wildlife Manager

With the help of a Douglas County 4H chapter, we planted about 200 shrubs (chokecherry, plum, sumac, serviceberry) at Woodhouse State Wildlife Area. The kids were super hard workers! Thanks for your help!

Northeast

Regional Highlights


Volunteers at Lake Lehow (left to right): Jim Petersen, Jim Dill, Larry McNeese, Jerry Rask, and Barry Beebe.

Members of Douglas County 4H at the Woodhouse Shrub Planting.

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Regional Highlights

17th Annual Elk Fest By Mary McCormac, NE Education and Watchable Wildlife Coordinator

A year after the flood that devastated the mountain tourist town of Estes Park, roughly 10,000 visitors found a community mostly recovered from the wreckage and once again united in celebrating their town mascot: elk.

The 17th Annual Estes Park Elk Fest took place on Oct. 4-5 and Colorado Parks and Wildlife provided an even greater presence this year with a Hunter Education and Outreach “Elk Camp” tent, a general information booth manned by staff from Barr Lake State Park, a kids activity station, and Bear Aware and Elk information tables all staffed by dedicated volunteers and staff. Biologist Ben Kraft and volunteers also provided guided elk biology and behavior information on bus tours scheduled throughout the day.

This festival would not be possible without the commitment and hard work of numerous volunteers and staff - thank you to all the volunteers who made this festival possible!

Upcoming Opportunities in the Northeast Region:

Northeast

Regional Highlights


Winter Waterfowl CountDate: January 6, 2015Times: pre-dawn – approximately 9amLocations: Various lakes along the front rangeDescription: Volunteers needed to drive to assigned lake(s) along the front range Ft. Collins to Littleton before sunrise, set up and use spotting scopes to count number of geese and ducks on lake(s). Must provide own vehicle and binoculars or spotting scope. Ability to distinguish species types is preferred.Contact: [email protected]

Angler Outreach TrainingDates: February 7, 2015 & March 7, 2015Times: 8:00am-1:00pm (lunch provided)Locations: Colorado Parks and Wildlife - Bighorn Room, 6060 Broadway, Denver 80216Description: Do you have an interest in teaching people how to fish? Then this training is for you! Learn about the history of the Angler Education Program, expectations of volunteer instructors, what to cover when teaching a fishing clinic and equipment available to you for teaching. At the end of the training you will be able to assist with CPW fishing clinics or teach a clinic on your own (CPW staff will observe/help with the first two clinics).Contact: [email protected]

Top: Volunteer Bill Mock teaches a young boy about elk at Elk Fest.

Bottom: Some of our wonderful volunteers at Elk Fest (left to right): Kathy Danhour, Clydia Smith, Wendy Larsen, Sara Oldham, and Susan Richards.

Front Desk Assistance – Denver & Fort CollinsDate(s): On-going, Monday-FridayTimes: 8:00am-5:00pmLocation: NE Region Service Center, 6060 Broadway,

Denver 80216 Fort Collins Service Center, 317 W Prospect Rd, Fort Collins 80526

Description: One to two 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.Contact: Denver, Jenny Campbell

[email protected] 303-291-7353

Fort Collins Jody Hergott

[email protected] 970-472-4327

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Southeast

Regional Highlights

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

Volunteers Make Mueller Shine!By Linda Groat, Program CoordinatorThe saying “we couldn’t do it without you” definitely applies at Mueller State Park. Mueller volunteers are involved in all aspects of giving the visitors a quality experience from making the restrooms shine to presenting fabulous programs and guided hikes.

The backcountry crew keeps our trails in great shape! This summer they have maintained many miles of trail, picked up tons of fire mitigation debris, removed fence and dismantled corrals.

They do it all with laughter and a smile!

Campground hosts have kept the campground and bathrooms looking pristine all summer.

Working the visitor center keeps you on your toes with a steady stream of visitors with questions.

The volunteer naturalists have educated, challenged and entertained the visitors with their wide variety of programs. Guided hikes, geology classes, facts and stories about the park’s historical sites, camp songs and games, geocaching, and learning about wildlife are a few of the many topics offered by the volunteer naturalists.

In May, we held our 2nd annual Outdoor Skills Day where 300+ visitors learned about camping, hiking, fishing, archery, shooting sports, geocaching, mountain biking and more. Looking forward to our 3rd annual!

Mueller volunteers and staff got to enjoy each other’s company at an end of season cookout. Great people, great fun!

Thank you to all the volunteers for their hard work, dedication and smiles that helped make this a great summer at Mueller!

Passing of Amazing Volunteer Don DeHalas from MuellerBy John Geerdes, Park Manager It is with great sadness that Mueller State Park says goodbye to long time volunteer Don DeHalas. Don passed away at home in late spring from an aggressive form of cancer that had invaded his liver, lungs and brain. In his previous life, Don was a nuclear chemist and spent a long time working around hazardous materials.

Don started volunteering at Mueller State Park in 1997 when I recruited him as the park’s first trail crew member. Over the last 14 years, Don had donated over 2,600 hours of his time to work on trails and remove old barbed wire fencing throughout the park. He was twice recognized as Mueller’s volunteer of the year. At 84 years old he could pretty much out hike and out work anyone around. He was an avid hiker and had climbed Pikes Peak nearly 200 times, not to mention he has hiked every trail in the park multiple times and completed the Colorado trail.

His work ethic, enthusiasm and dedication will be sorely missed.

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Southeast

Regional Highlights


Cheyenne Mountain Celebrates VolunteersBy Darcy Mount, Senior Ranger

Cheyenne Mountain hosted the annual volunteer celebration event in early December. This year’s attendance included 92 volunteers plus the park staff. The park had 308 individuals record time in 2014 for a total of 10,643 hours with December still to go. A record year! Volunteer Ralph Cadwallader contributed the most hours with 599 hours. See the group photo,

along with the photo of Ralph and his wife, and the photo of the Friends of Cheyenne Mountain Friends Board.

No Child Left InsideBy Jena Sanchez, SE Volunteer Coordinator

In September, staff and volunteers at Cheyenne Mountain State Park came together for another successful event called No Child Left Inside. This year attendance increased slightly with around 130 people stopping by, and 100 kid’s passports given away. The interactive stations were a big hit and we would like to say THANK YOU to the volunteers who stepped in and handled everything that came their way and for all their hard work.

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Southeast

Regional Highlights


Ode to Ramona Rupp

By Jena Sanchez, SE Volunteer CoordinatorCPW is sad to report the passing of a long time supporter and volunteer, Ramona Rupp from Canon City. Ramona has been a long time lover of wildlife and she jumped at the chance to be involved in any wildlife volunteer projects with her family. Ramona was presented with a Letter of Appreciation in October, before she passed away in November. Here is a part of that letter, written in her honor:Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) would like to recognize Ramona’s many years of service and her long-term volunteer efforts for the State of Colorado. An active volunteer since the spring of 2007, she was involved in many important local projects, making a significant impact on Colorado wildlife. This includes hundreds of hours of work on the Bluebird Monitoring Project at Florence Mountain Park, and Lake and State Wildlife Area Cleanups and Workdays at Brush Hollow and Pueblo. Ramona’s sense of commitment for wildlife is admirable. Ramona, we would like to thank you for all your hard work including blood, sweat and tears, helping CPW staff on wildlife projects that weren’t always easy. We also recognize your unsuccessful attempt to walk on water to retrieve trash but it’s a technique that we still talk about to this day! Your sense of sacrifice for the wildlife resource and sense of commitment is unrivaled. Ramona, you are a joy to work with. You are a model of community involvement and a mentor for staff and volunteers alike. CPW thanks you for your collective efforts, dedication and your long-term support and passion for Colorado’s wildlife.

Upcoming SE Project and Training Dates:In January the SE Region will host several new volunteer orientations and CPW Festival Trainings in Colorado Springs (1/8 and 1/14 respectively) and Pueblo (1/21) to prepare for the 2015 Festival season. February kicks off SE Festivals with the arrival of Pueblo Eagle Days February 6-8 with most presentations and activities occurring at Lake Pueblo State Park and the Pueblo Wildlife Areas. Saturday programs include live birds of prey, Native American dancers, the black- footed ferret reintroduction, the US Air Force Academy Cadets and their falcons (birds of prey), and the afternoon release of a rehabilitated raptor from the Pueblo Raptor Center. An eagle driving tour will take place on Sunday. For more information go to www.eagleday.org. Other February dates of interest:• The Colorado Springs Bighorn Fest takes place mid-month at the Garden of the Gods Park. Enjoy viewing local

wildlife populations including bighorn sheep from this educational and easy-to-access vantage point. • The RV and Outdoor Show in Colorado Springs February 6-8, and the Sport & Boat Show in Colorado Springs

February 20-22. Both shows will take place at the Colorado Springs Events Center at Palmer Park & Academy and will include vendors and a CPW booth.

• Saturdays in mid-late February will be the time for wildlife transport trainings in Colorado Springs and Pueblo for volunteers wanting to be on call to assist with sick, injured and orphaned wildlife transports around town (and beyond). The Colorado Springs class will be 2/14/15 and the Pueblo training will be 2/28/15, both from 9:00 a.m. until noon. Call for exact locations.

SE Region Volunteer Coordinator Jena Sanchez and Long-time Volunteer Ramona Rupp of Canon City.

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Northwest

Regional Highlights

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

Area 7 Volunteer Rusty LeechBy Trina Romero, NW Watchable Wildlife/Volunteer Coordinator

We are fortunate in the Northwest region to have many dedicated, long-time volunteers that assist our staff on a regular basis. Rusty Leech is one such volunteer. Rusty started volunteering with us in 2011 and is an avid outdoorsman that really enjoys talking with hunters about their experiences in the field. He assists our staff throughout the fall and winter with many tasks including answering the Waterfowl Blind reservation hotline and assisting staff

with mandatory checks on hunter harvested bear, bighorn sheep, moose, or mountain goat, and later in the year with mountain lions and bobcats. He also assists with Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) sampling.

Rusty and his wife Kathy have two daughters and three grand children that keep them busy throughout the year. Other hobbies include watching TV drama series, working out, and participating in shooting sports. Although Rusty is paraplegic, he does not let that slow him down one bit! We appreciate all he does to assist us during our very busy fall seasons, and he is willing to help out anytime!

Thank you to Ryan Blair, Area 7 Temporary Employee, for assisting with this article. Ryan and Rusty work together frequently, providing great customer service at our Northwest Region office.

Rifle Chili Cook-OffBy Matt Schuler, Senior Ranger

On October 2nd the volunteers of Rifle Gap State Park came out to represent Parks and Wildlife at the 35th annual Rifle Chili Cook-Off. Frank Falke drew in the crowds with his famous black bear chili, while Alex and Sharon Jennings kept them coming back with their delicious green chili.

A memorable moment of the night was watching Josh DeVries suffering through, and almost winning, the chili eating contest. The highlight came when, for the first time, Rifle Gap brought home a prize as it placed second in People’s Choice Award for Best Salsa. It was a very fun night, and a great way for our volunteers to be involved in a popular community event.

Area 7 Temporary Employee Ryan Blair and CPW Volunteer Rusty Leech review a map used to assist hunters in the CWD cabin (Northwest Region Office).

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Northwest

Regional Highlights

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

Windy Gap Benefits From Dedicated VolunteersVolunteers Tom Jones and his grandson, Gabe Martensen (pictured right) assisted with the maintenance of Windy Gap Wildlife Viewing Area in Area 9. Their dedication to maintaining the property is very beneficial to the many visitors to this wonderful viewing area, and they are a huge support to our staff. Thank you, Tom and Gabe for all you do! These photos were submitted by Jeromy Huntington, DWM in Granby.

Steamboat Lake’s Busy FallSteamboat Lake staff had the Yampa Valley High School kids volunteer to help do some campground clean up this fall. In addition, the park staff participated in the Yampa Valley Health and Safety Fair and talked with kids about water safety and wearing life jackets (see photo left). The staff also participated in the Yampa Valley Crane Festival (see below).

Northwest Volunteer OpportunitiesNW volunteer opportunities this winter include turkey traps, Wildlife Transport Team trainings, and in late winter/early spring Bear Aware trainings. We will announce the dates and locations for these volunteer opportunities after the new year.

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Southwest

Regional Highlights

Volunteers Busy During Kokanee Season By Leland Flores, CSR Durango

When October comes to southwest Colorado, kokanee salmon start their annual run and the aquatic staff in Area 15 relies heavily on volunteers to complete the spawn take. Spawn is now collected at three locations in Area 15: on Grimes Creek at Vallecito Reservoir, at the Dolores River State Wildlife Area upstream from McPhee Reservoir, and—new this year—at Nighthorse Reservoir just south of Durango. “With three locations and the spawning going on in the middle of big-game hunting season, we don’t have many CPW staff available to help out,” said Jim White, aquatic biologist in Area 15. “So we are fortunate that volunteers want to work on this project.”

While Jim and his crew squeeze the fish, the volunteers are responsible for rinsing the fertilized kokanee eggs, placing them in the iodine solution, and keeping track of the time the eggs are in the solution. They also help with overall set-up and tear-down of the gear each day. Coordinating work at these three sites is a major operation and critical for maintaining kokanee populations throughout the state. This year, Area 15 collected more than 2 million eggs of which 75% was obtained from Lake Nighthorse. “It would be difficult for us to complete the spawn take without volunteers,” White said.

Volunteer Eilene Lyon of Durango pours thousands of kokanee eggs into cooler.

Photo by Volunteer Howard Rowe

Area 15 CPW staff and volunteers drive kokanee downstream into corrals on Grimes Creek above Vallecito Reservoir. Photo by CPW

Kokanee in Merwin net – Photo by CPWKokanee underwater in Merwin net waiting to be spawned. Photo by Volunteer Howard Rowe

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Southwest

Regional Highlights

Moose CountBy Chris Parmeter, Gunnison/Crested Butte DWM

Last August, Chris Parmeter, district wildlife manager in Gunnison (Area 16), organized a land-based moose count dubbed the “Taylor Park Citizen Scientist Moose Survey”. Under the direction of Parmeter and wildlife biologist Brandon Diamond, 43 hopeful volunteers and numerous agency staff hiked, biked ATVed, and drove nearly every road, trail and creek drainage in the Taylor Park area of Gunnison County, a favorite hangout for the local moose population. The team logged more than 800 total hours and many, many miles during the single day count, unfortunately, only three bull moose were located. Volunteers were treated to a post- count BBQ after the long day. Parmeter is planning a 2nd “Taylor Park Citizen Scientist Moose Count”, and considering a spring date for the event in hopes of seeing more moose.

Ridgway Eagle Celebration Day By Andy Dean, Park Ranger

An Eagle Celebration was hosted at Ridgway State Park on the weekend of September 27th and 28th to coincide with other National Public Lands Day events around the country. As part of the celebration a selection of amazing Bald Eagle photos by local photographer Wil Harmsen were on show over the weekend at the park Visitor Center. Wil was also generous enough to present a nature/wildlife photography class on Sunday the 28th which was enjoyed by a number of dedicated and enthusiastic participants who braved the torrential rain to improve their photography skills. The weekend was topped off by local raptor guru Jeff Ewert who amazed the crowd with his enthusiasm and knowledge during an exciting and educational evening presentation on Raptors of Colorado.

Ridgway State Park would like to thank Wil and Jeff for helping to make this event a success and for sharing their passion, skills and enthusiasm with our visitors. The photograph on the right entitled ‘Hurry Back Dad’ is one taken by Wayne Johnson who won the inaugural National Public Lands Day Photo Competition held as part of the Eagle Celebration

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Camphost Happenings

Ridgway Hosts 2014 Camphost JamboreeBy Vicki Leigh, Statewide Volunteer Program Coordinator

The 2014 Camphost Jamboree hosted at Ridgway in September provided an excellent True Grit venue for training, wild tales, and cowboy poetry. Over 50 folks attended representing 10 parks and hatcheries. Hosts shared tips and learned more about the wild,wild west and enjoyed beautiful mountain scenery. They were entertained by boat tours of Ridgway Lake, nature hikes, archery, poetry by Ross Crawford and music by Ken Miller.

Many thanks to Kirstin Copeland, Park Manager; Andy Dean, Park Ranger; Chelsea Murray, Park Ranger; Arlene Crawford, Naturalist and all the other park staff who helped out!

Rifle Gap Hosts Stay for the Long Haul By Gordon Weir, Park Resource Technician

As our 2014 summer and fall season draws to a close, we at Rifle Gap reflect back on all activities. It is, at times difficult to believe we continually attract such amazing volunteers to the State Park

system. We finally realized we are recruiting from a generation that is used to hard work on a daily basis and takes such pride in doing a fantastic job. This was certainly the case at Rifle Gap and Rifle Falls this season.

Most volunteers arrived this year eager to go to work on or about May 1 and went through a limited training period. It was obvious, early on, it would be more difficult keeping these people satisfied with a sufficient amount of daily activities beside cleaning restrooms and grooming sites. They all chipped in to do whatever was in the best interest of the parks. They poured concrete, sprayed weeds, mowed and trimmed, worked on any and all equipment needing repairs and operated a weld shop.

Headed up by veteran Frank Falke, Burton and Vikki Ives took their place in Cottonwood Campground. Bob and Deborah Wells filled in lower Lakeview as well as Sandy and Wayne Pechak in upper Lakeview. Fred Noble also a veteran host filled in during others days off. First timers to the every busy Rifle Falls, Cliff Reich and Lynn Lee provided a good enough service to limit the maintenance department from even having to mow the campgrounds.

This fall is a bit different for us in that many of our volunteers are staying much longer than those in the past. Most of our hosts stayed until November 1…unheard of at Rifle Gap and Rifle Falls. As all of our seasonal staff have left, the remaining camp hosts are even more appreciated than ever before filling in and doing whatever is needed. The park visitors and full-time staff at Rifle Gap State Park Complex join in thanking all of our hosts for their service and a great season.

Camphost Happenings

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James M. Robb Colorado River Volunteer Hosts Bob and Judy AllynBy Hillary Huff, Park Ranger

Bob and Judy Allyn are volunteers for the James M. Robb Colorado River State Park at the Fruita Section. They have lived on park for about 3 months a year for the past 3 years acting as camp hosts. They are in charge of cleaning the campsites as visitors leave the park. At the Fruita section this includes picking up trash, cleaning the fire pits, checking the electric boxes and water hydrants, and raking the gravel tent pads. Bob and Judy have been an important part in the operation of the park for several years and contribute hundreds of hours each season. Hats off to our awesome hosts!

Jackson Lake’s Hosts Support Pedal of the PlainsBy Darby Shanks, Administrative Assistant

Jackson Lake supported this year’s Pedal of the Plains (Sept 19-21). There were over 1200+ bicyclists that rode. Pictures provided are from our Education Booth on Jackson Lake State Park that was setup in Goodrich. Camp hosts @ Jackson Lake, Mike and Mary Crews and Darby Shanks manned this booth on September 19th (first lag of their ride). There were other Jackson Lake Staff that helped out at the start of the ride in Wiggins on September 19th which were Tyler Sewald, Lora Mathers, Luke Owens, Cody Burch, Lexi Ashbrook, and Justin Paxton. Then on September 21st the last lag of the ride finished back in Wiggins where Julia Baltazar, Lora Mathers, Luke Owens, Adam Gerstenberger, and Tyler Sewald managed our Education booth and gave out medals. Thanks to our hosts for helping with this event and their support all season long!

Camphost Happenings

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Highline Lake’s Latest Bunch of Great Host VolunteersBy Patty Hedrick, Administrative Assistant

Tom and Kathleen Anderson spent their first Highline Lake Campground Host season with us from August to mid-November. They were quick to adjust to our weekend campgrounds, which are full to the brim, not only with adults, kids and mountain bikes, but also dogs! Our campers come in groups from colder habitats, such as Aspen, Crested Butte and Park City, Utah to warm up and ride mountain bikes. For the Andersons, it must have been like jumping into an icy shower! They took it all in stride though, and soon enjoyed the hustle and bustle of the campground, seven days each week. Thank you, Tom. The Andersons came to Highline Lake with amazing personalities and smiles for everyone, and left the same way! We will miss them, and would be eager to see them return for another season of volunteering at Highline Lake!

Highline Lake has been fortunate to have Ron and Sandy Stuck return to camp host for a long 2014 season, from mid-April to mid-November! They hosted at Highline Lake in 2012, and decided that this is a special place to spend spring, summer and fall. Sandy is never without a smile and a can-do attitude, whether she’s in the campground or filling in at the Visitor Center - and she is a great banana pudding maker! Ron tries to hide his real personality behind a reserved attitude, but he is one of the world’s most generous people, and is great with the campers. Ron and Sandy have become avid geocachers, and excitedly offered to help Highline Lake become a geocaching mecca! Thanks to the Stuck’s tireless efforts, we now boast 11 caches, all within the park, and we get great reviews from geocachers who come to search out the well-placed caches. Ron and Sandy are amazing people, and are welcome to return to Highline Lake for another season, anytime!!

Paul Bennett is a real Southern Gentleman, drawl and all. He and his wife Kari, who was a temp in our Visitor Center this summer while Paul was volunteering with Maintenance, have been coming to Highline Lake since 2010! They missed a couple of years during that time, but we are always excited to hear they are returning. Paul has been a Campground Host and has worked with Maintenance during those years, and he is great at both, but he enjoys maintenance the most. He stops by the Visitor Center each morning he’s on duty singing “It’s a beautiful morning . . .” in his southern drawl, with an infectious, ear-to-ear

grin, and you just can’t help smiling back. Paul makes you realize that we work in a beautiful place, with awesome people – he is definitely a morale booster! He enjoys the solitude of mornings in the park, and loves finding treasures all over the park, like snakes in the bottom of trash cans and bicycle frames, complete except for the rubber tires! Paul and Kari are amazing people, and the staff at Highline Lake is elated each time they return for another season; we hope they continue to return for many more years!

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quoteFriends

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The big thing for me was that Friends “changed the

nature of Friends”. We received our first check in March

for Kinsella and turned over the check for $30k in

September…I actually had to write the real check, our

Treasurer Linda Maes broke her arm and couldn’t.

A Volunteer Susan Lucerne-Lawton came up with

an idea Align Yourself With/In Nature…Yoga In

Castlewood as a fund raiser.

A Friends member and Volunteer Sylvia Arellano

came up with Friends Run for Castlewood Canyon

10k Run and 2-mile Hike. Barr Lake Friends provided

water, cups and manpower for the water station.

Volunteer Susan Permut organized a chili cook-off

with Franktown Fire.

Friends and Volunteers served up TV Dinners at Turkey

Vulture Day, A Dam Good Lunch at Dam Day and a

Fall Fest at the 50th Birthday Party…donations gratefully

accepted.

We received donations from Montana, Nebraska (Omaha

Community Foundation) and Rotary of Parker as well

as Colorado. Castlewood Volunteers kicked in as well

with individual donations. It is one of those events that

demonstrated what a partnership between Park Staff,

Volunteers and Friends can do.

CAN YOU BELIEVE $30K IN 7 MONTHS…I CAN’T.

- Ron Claussen, Castlewood Canyon Friends President

Castlewood Canyon Friends Raise over $30,000By Jackie Corday, Real Estate Specialist

On Oct. 2, the Real Estate Section closed on the purchase of a 15 acre parcel located adjacent to Castlewood Canyon State Park. The property will greatly improve staff access to the NW portion of the park and the historic barn, house, and 4 other outbuildings will provide excellent storage of park equipment and vehicles and housing for volunteers to rent. And as you can see from the photo of the barn below, it is a beautiful addition to the park!

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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quoteFriends

20

Friends of Lory receives 501 c 3By Sarah Myers, Lory Friends President

I have extremely good news: The Friends of Lory received our 501c3 non-profit status letter in the mail! This was just in time for our upcoming fundraiser at Odell’s on 10/28 and for the Environmental Education scholarship launch!

I know you all will be really happy to hear this news! We should feel very proud of the work we’ve done as a Board for FoLSP and that we have achieved our non-profit status! Kudos to all! The interesting part of this is that I expected to have a phone interview or some kind of follow up from the IRS. They never contacted us while our application was underway. And they moved much quicker than we expected too -- all good news!

Thank you all for all the work you have put into making Friends of Lory and Lory State Park a success!

Barr Lake Harvest Festival A Grand Success!By Michelle Seubert, Park Manager

The Friends of Barr Lake hosted a very successful Harvest Festival this fall. 450 people attended the great family event. There were hay rack rides, kids crafts, face painter, carnival games and pumpkins sales. The Friends of Barr Lake raised $459.00!!! The park received many great compliments like the one below via email.... A BIG thank you to Barr Lake Staff and volunteers for their effort to make this a success!!! To Our Friends at Barr Lake,

Our family would just like to thank you for a WONDERFUL fall festival. We attended last year’s and found it so lovely that we were very excited to attend this year’s as well. We were impressed by how you grew it this year! All the games were so fun and my kids LOVED picking out prizes at the end. The face painter was (same as last year) super talented.And the staff/volunteers of Barr Lake were all so pleasant and fun and really contributed to the joy of the event! The kindness and encouragement they showed to the kids as they played the games was just wonderful. Please extend our gratitude and appreciation to all the staff and volunteers for going above and beyond!Overall, we had a BLAST (again!), and hope that this becomes an annual event. I know that part of the charm is the lack of crowds, but you did such a great job, word will get out and I expect this event to grow in popularity each year.We plan to be back next year -- making this one of our annual fall events! -- so please know that this for us is totally worth the 40+ minute drive from south Denver. Many thanks again, and absolutely fabulous efforts done by you all!- Sincerely, the Taylor Family

Partnerships

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St. Vrain Partners with VOCOn October 11, 56 volunteers completed critical flood restoration at St. Vrain Park, just north of downtown Denver. This project was one of nine 30th Anniversary Commemorative Projects VOC hosted this year to highlight their long-standing history in caring for Colorado’s outdoors! During the morning, a small group of volunteers cleaned up flood debris as a result of the devastating September 2013 flooding. The main focus of the day was constructing trail around Red Tail pond – the last of the three main ponds to receive a trail. The trail will provide access for fishermen and allow park visitors a nice, scenic walk around the pond. Thank you VOC for your long-term partnership and volunteers, for your hard work on this important project!

Steamboat Lake Trail Project A SuccessBy Julie Arington, Park Manager

On September 13-14, 42 volunteers worked to address drainage issues and other trail maintenance and restoration needs at Steamboat Lake State Park’s Tombstone Nature Trail. The group accomplished a long list of tasks: building new drainage dips, out-sloping and de-berming a large portion of the trail, closing social trails, restoring and re-vegetating a portion of an old road that the trail followed, and building new rock steps and walls to help control erosion.

Special thanks to VOC staff and volunteers for working to make repairs and improvements to the Tombstone Nature Trail at Steamboat Lake State Park on September 13th and 14th.

Golden Gate and Colorado Mountain Club VolunteersBy Brent Lounsbury, Senior Ranger

On September 19th, Golden Gate Canyon State Park had a large contingent of volunteers organized with the Colorado Mountain Club put in some good hard work. 137 strong, they represented a cross section of employees from Colorado’s outdoor industries, including Osprey Packs, Nite Ize, and Sea to Summit. They donated 548 hours in total, clearing 1.7 miles of creek bed from debris deposited during the flooding of 2013, and removing about 400’ of old chain link fence. These projects will save our trails from washing out, increase area wildlife’s freedom of movement, and improve the park’s visual appeal.

“This was an outstanding effort by some enthusiastic, dedicated people,” Dan Weber, Golden Gate Canyon’s Park Manager, remarked, “It truly helped us recover from last year’s flooding, and made the park a better place.”

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quote

NWR Ladies Pheasant Hunt at Horsethief SWA

See photos from this past weekend’s ladies Pheasant hunt at Horsethief SWA. “Thank you to our dedicated Hunter Outreach volunteers and their canine retrievers that make these hunts a success year after year!” Volunteers pictured are Willie Williams and Harley Metz. Thank you also to our Education and Hunter Outreach Coordinator, Kathleen Tadvick and her temporary employee, Dick Severin.

RECIPEBarbecued Venison

Adapted from Southernfood.about.com By Diana Rattray

Marinate the venison roast then slow cook for a tender

and tasty roast.

INGREDIENTS• 1 venison roast, about 3 to 4 pounds, leg or rump

• 1 can (12 ounces) beer• 3 cloves garlic, minced• salt and pepper• 2 onions, sliced• 3 bay leaves• 2 cups Barbecue Sauce, your favorite

PREPARATIONTrim excess fat from venison. In large bowl combine beer, garlic, salt, pepper, onions and bay leaves; add venison (the marinade should cover meat). Marinate in refrigerator for 12 hours, turning occasionally. Remove venison and onions from marinade and place in slow cooker/Crock Pot. Pour 1 cup Barbecue Sauce over top. Cover and cook on LOW for 10 - 12 hours. Serve with remaining Barbecue Sauce. Serves 6.

MORE TALES!

Barr Lakes JATT (Just About Twilight Time)

A popular new program at Barr Lake called JATT was a great way to see the park by bike and get exercise. Volunteer, Dale Jones was the lead and he out-rode everyone. We advertised the program with the local bike shop TREADS.

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quoteMORE TALES!

Ranger Robin and Ranger Mark at Cherry Creek!

This past weekend Ranger Robin and Ranger Mark did a Campfire Program about Bats! They dressed the part and played it perfectly! After the game, they all went back to the amphitheater to make Batman masks!

The Traveling Volunteer Coordinator

South Park Tarryall Road photographed by Jena Sanchez during work travels

Turkey Strolling Through the Aspens near Skaguay Reservoir SER

A photo of a turkey by temp. employee/volunteer Steve Hill.

Elk Festivities

Elk Fest volunteers Dave and Hardee Ullrich working the CPW booth with DWMs in Estes Park.

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2014 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 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!

2015 Partners in the Outdoors Conference • Building Healthy Communities 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 Conference

Building Healthy Communities

Happy Holidays!

Tracks, Trails & Tales

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