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

Table of ContentsHoliday Greetings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Value of Volunteers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2St . Vrain Floodbusters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3–4Regional Highlights Northeast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5–6 Southeast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Northwest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8–9 Southwest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10–112nd Annual Archaeology Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Camphost Happenings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13–15Vega Volunteer is Honored . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Raptor Monitoring Annual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Training Event Cheyenne Mountain Recognition Event . . . . . . 18 Partnerships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19–20NPLD Highlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21–22Friends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Chatfield DOLA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24More Tales! (replaces Dig That!) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Regional Contacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

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 .

2013 Fall–Winter Issue

Area 8 staff and volunteers electroshocking fish on the Frying Pan River on a beautiful winter day.

& Serve

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One kind word can warm three winter months. ~Japanese Proverb

Dear Volunteers and CPW Staff,

Thank you for all you do for Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Wishing you all a wonderful Holiday Season!

Leland Flores, Vicki Leigh, Lori Morgan, Trina Romero and Jena Sanchez

Winter came down to our home one nightQuietly pirouetting in on

silvery-toed slippers of snow,And we, we were children once again.

~ Bill Morgan

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The Value of Volunteers

CPW Volunteers Make it A Stellar YearThanks to CPW Volunteers and Staff for supporting Parks and Wildlife in 2013! It is hard to believe that another year is wrapping up but it gives us a semi-quiet moment to reach out and say “thanks” to all of you who make things happen on the ground and for the resource. CPW has the greatest workforce and we have YOU to thank for the blood, sweat, tears and hard work! Parks and Wildlife projects are rarely easy but thanks to our super-dedicated volunteer crew we continue to get ‘er done.

Some of you volunteer on annual projects like family events, lake appreciation days and wildlife festivals. Others come out on a regular basis and help support our campgrounds and fish hatcheries as resident hosts. Still others show up on short notice when you have the free time to pitch in and give a helping hand on kid’s fishing events, for wildlife transport, or emergency trail building caused by flooding or fires. These are just a few of the things that CPW volunteers do to keep the gates open, the parks running, the wildlife areas cleaned, and the public happy enjoying the wonderful parks, wildlife areas, hatcheries and areas that we manage and working with the communities that we partner with.

If you have not yet turned in your 2013 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.

Great Feedback Everyone! The Volunteer Coordinators would like to extend a great big THANK YOU for the high number of responses we received from the staff and volunteer surveys that were sent out this year . Nearly half of all CPW staff returned surveys on the Volunteer Program and as of this printing time, over 1,200 volunteer surveys had been completed & tallied . We are reviewing all comments and making changes to best meet the needs of the program as we move into the new year .

Thanks for taking the time to give us valuable feedback on how we’re doing business .

Naming of Volunteer NewsletterThanks to all of you who suggested new names for our Volunteer Newsletter. As you can see we chose Tracks, Trails & Tales for the new name. In addition, we have adopted PAW Prints to update our Cornerstones column name.

What’s Ahead in 2014 “Grow, Explore, Learn & Serve” is the updated motto for the CPW Volunteer Program. The Volunteer Program Vision is to inspire and foster active stewardship for Colorado’s natural resources through meaningful engagement and integration of diverse Volunteers, Partners and CPW Staff. The CPW Volunteer Program will also help the agency meet its mission in a financially sustainable manner.

This means that as we move forward into the new year, we will be:

• Streamlining administrative procedures for continued cost savings and efficiencies,

• Maintaining best management practices and professionalism to bring you and CPW staff the best program around,

• Always thinking Safety First for Volunteers and Staff

Wishing All of You A Happy and Healthy 2014!

& Serve

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The color of springtime is in the flowers; the color of winter is in the imagination. ~ Terri Guillemets

St Vrain Floodbusters St Vrain State Park hosted an after the flood clean up event on Saturday, November 16 and 170 hearty souls spent the day braving the flood’s aftermath along with wind, cold and lots of dust and dirt. Over 119 volunteers ranging in age from 5 to at least 83 and in addition, 21 AmeriCorp NCCC crew leads and 26 CPW staff from around the NE region participated as well. The amount of work accomplished exceeded the park’s expectations! Take a look:

• 41 campsites were dug up and re-surfaced

• 5 camp loops were cleaned of debris

• 2 Day use areas were cleaned of debris

• 46 Picnic Tables were power-washed

• Portions of the northeast corner of Pelican Pond were reinforced

• 10 (at least) large flatbeds full of debris cleaned up at Pelican Ponds

The before and after is quite dramatic and the park couldn’t have done it without the hard work, determination and enthusiasm of staff and volunteers. While we accomplished a lot in one day, there is still much to be done to prepare St. Vrain for re-opening in 2014. We will inform all of you when there are other opportunities to help out.

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The staff at St . Vrain would like to thank all of you for your help on the Volunteer Day at St . Vrain last weekend . With out your help, there is no way the event would have been successful . We did get all of the 41 campground picnic table pads resurfaced and most of the debris picked up in the area that we planned for the event . Without your help supplying and operating the hand tools and equipment that were required for this work, the event would have not been able to happen, so thanks for your willingness to help out there as well . We had a total of 119 volunteers, not including CPW staff and Americorps crew leaders, that worked the event .

With the sincerest gratitude, we applaud all of you for your willingness to assist us in rebuilding St Vrain and for the initiative that you all showed to do your part in helping with the event . We have a long way to go to get St Vrain better than it was before the flood, but we are on the path toward that goal .

Thanks, Roy McBride, Senior Ranger, St Vrain State Park

In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer. – Albert Camus

The Americorps volunteers were great and the event was so well organized. I dug and raked up lots of dirt at the campsites. Great to get out and help. Please consider us for any future volunteer opportunities. My husband and I love the state parks. Warmly, Paula and Douglas

My wife and I would really like to thank you for the press release that stated “people from 6 to 75 helped with the clean up” since I’m 83 and Juanita is 78. Thanks for making us feel and be younger. We look forward to camping at St Vrain next summer. Phil

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15th Annual Elk Festival In mid-September, many towns in the Front Range were ravaged by torrential downpours and resulting flooding, impacting homes, businesses, and of course, ensuing in the tragic loss of life. One area particularly hit hard was the tourist town of Estes Park, gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park and host of the annual wildlife festival, “Elk Fest.” As the town worked diligently to recover both physically and emotionally from the devastation, Estes decided to move forward with the 15th Annual Elk Fest (September 28–29), maybe as much for the potential economic benefits as for attempting to just feel “normal” again.

With much last minute communications, “are we or aren’t we” participation last minute decisions, and an understanding of possibly having little to no visitors, an amazing and dedicated group of volunteers braved the unknown (and for some, a 4 hour commute via the only road in and out of town) to help and support Estes Park in their time of need, and of course, educate people about elk! With a rough estimate of 2,000 – 3,000 people, we consider Elk Fest another resounding success for Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

CPW’s participation in this festival would not have been possible without the commitment, hard work, and most of all — love of educating others about our wildlife resources — from a handful of staff and multitude of volunteers. A BIG THANK YOU to: Jamie and Dale Coleman, Kathy Danhour, Donna Forrest, Stan Foster, Jane and Bill Frobose, Ron Harris, Deb Johnson, Chloe and Mia Judson, Linda Masterson and Cory Phillips, Alicia Miers, Mike and Sara Oldham, Jim Remley, Joyce Seaman, Barbara Sellers, Haydee and Dave Ullrich, David Yanoski , Jennifer Churchill, Tony Dymek, and Kathi Green.

For more information or to learn how you can be involved in Elk Fest or other wildlife festivals, please contact Mary McCormac at mary.mccormac@state.co.us or 303-291-7328. (Elk Fest photos – Kathy Danhour)

Regional HighlightsNortheast

Lori Morgan • lori.morgan@state.co.us

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Bighorn Sheep Festival Finally, outstanding weather cooperated with CPW’s plans for the 8th Annual Georgetown Bighorn Sheep Festival so numerous wildlife enthusiasts were found enjoying bighorn sheep activities amid sunshine and comfortable temperatures! An estimated 1,000–2,000 participants enjoyed sheep viewing around town, education presentations, bighorn sheep crafts, and more. The highlight of the festival is the Bighorn Sheep Hokey Pokey with Elbert the Bighorn at Strausse Park where kids learn bighorn sheep behavior (via the hokey pokey) while showing off their hand-made sheep horns.

This fun event would not have been possible without the partnership of the Town of Georgetown, The Georgetown Trust and Gateway Visitor Center, and the hard work and dedication of a handful of staff and numerous volunteers. MUCH THANKS to: Vicki Childs, Jennifer Churchill, Ron Claussen, Pat Feldmeier, Donna Forrest, Bill and Jane Frobose, Deb Johnson, Ev and Mary Lu Jones, Chloe and Mia Judson, Scott Knight, Suzanna Koeller, Jeannette Littlejohn, Mike and Sara Oldham, Jim Peterson, Jim Philips, Ginney Regan, Jim Remley, Susan Richards, Shirley Shimon, Ben Kraft, Amy Nelser and Shannon Schwab.

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 mary.mccormac@state.co.us.

2014 International Sportsmen’s Expo (ISE) Thurs., Jan. 16 – Sun., Jan. 19Colorado Convention CenterIf you would like to volunteer or have questions, please contact Vicki Leigh, Statewide Volunteer Program Coordinator at vicki.leigh@state.co.us or 303-866-3203 x4355. Let me know the date, shift and activity that you would like to assist with. We will provide more information once you sign up.

The dates and shifts are as follows: Thurs., Jan. 16 & Fri., Jan. 17 Morning: 10:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. Evening: 3:30 – 8:30 p.m.

Sat., Jan. 18 • Morning: 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. Evening: 3 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

Sun., Jan. 19 • Morning: 9:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. Evening: 2:30 – 7 p.m. (includes booth take down)

The following booths/activities need assistance (number of people needed per shift) • CPW Sales Booth (2–3) • Kids Fishing Tank (10–15) • Jr Wildlife Officer Booth (5–7) • Outdoor Recreation Area (16+)

Includes the following: • Camping and Jr Ranger Area (2) • Boat Information and Safety, Touch-A-Boat, and Kids T-shirt activity (4–6) • Nuisance Species (ANS, firewood, weeds) (2–3) • Parks Information and Pass Sales (2–3) • Fishing Information (1–2) • Volunteer Information (1–2)

Opportunities for ISE Youth Fair assistance: • Pre Show Set-up & Post Show Take-down• “Will Call” table check in and issue entrance passes to staff/volunteers Contact Faye Koeltzow, faye.koeltzow@state.co.us

Targeted recruitment efforts are being handled separately for the Career Booth, Fish Spawning, Laser Shot, Hunt Colorado, and Operation Game Thief. Please Vicki Leigh know if you’re interested in one of those areas but have not yet been contacted by the lead staff person.

Regional HighlightsNortheast

Lori Morgan • lori.morgan@state.co.us

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Mammal Disease & Raptor Data Collection Fall and early winter have been busy seasons with Chronic Wasting Disease Head Collection and Raptor Monitoring in full swing. A small handful of dedicated SE volunteers have been great help in the CWD lab helping temporary staff process heads, gather up lymph nodes for shipping & testing and other miscellaneous duties as assigned. Thanks for the long-timers and the new faces that jumped right in.

Raptor Monitoring is growing throughout the Region on state park and state wildlife area properties. This collaboration between CPW biologists and volunteers is gathering important nest data on Colorado raptors which hasn’t been done before. It’s an exciting project that embodies the merge of the two agencies in the management of the state’s natural resources and especially important for species such as owls, hawks, eagles, and falcons. CPW extends a big thank you for the volunteer help on these important fall projects!

Upcoming SE Opportunities For anyone interested in getting involved in winter-spring projects, keep an eye out for email and CPW website updates. Volunteer coordinators use e-mail for ease of communication with thousands of active volunteers so if your contact information changes please let us know.

In Southeastern Colorado there will be many classes offered in January through March including New Volunteer Orientations where we cover upcoming trainings, classes & general volunteer procedures; CPW Festival Training for volunteers who want to help give a friendly face to the agency

at festivals, booths and other public events; and Wildlife Transport Classes that cover transport & capture techniques of wild animals for teams covering the counties of: El Paso, Teller, Pueblo, Fremont, Chaffee, Otero, Bent and Prowers Counties. For more information contact Jena Sanchez at (719) 227-5204 or jena.sanchez@state.co.us.

Jeremy Agnew and Debbie Ackley at annual Crane Fest.

Southeast

Regional Highlights

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Jena Sanchez • jena.sanchez@state.co.us

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Moose Information Distributed on Grand Mesa — Thank you, volunteers! I would like to extend a big thank you to the many volunteers that distributed moose flyers to hunters and hunting camps prior to big game seasons this fall! This effort is important to inform hunters that moose will be seen in areas where they are hunting elk, thus reducing accidental kills of moose. Thank you for enduring miles of driving, snowy and muddy roads, and supporting a great informational effort!

Area 8 Glenwood Springs Volunteer Highlight — Reagan Yamashita Reagan is fortunate enough to not only be a volunteer, but a spouse of District Wildlife Manager Matt Yamashita. She is a very dedicated and enthusiastic volunteer that always seems to have a smile on her face! Many thanks to Reagan for her volunteer efforts assisting Area 8 staff on projects from electroshocking fish to tranquilizing moose, and trapping bears and mountain lions. She jumps in and helps at a moment’s notice! Thanks Reagan, the Area 8 team appreciates your willingness to assist with wildlife calls!

Reagan Yamashita with Area Wildlife Manager Perry Will – making sure the tranquilized moose does not get away! DWM Darren Chacon in the background.

Reagan and Matt Yamashita with a mountain lion ready for release.

Northwest

Regional Highlights

Trina Romero • trina.romero@state.co.us

Ermine Comes To VisitBy Doug Spainhower, NW volunteer

We think this little guy is living under our wood pile. He’s sporting his winter coat, even though we haven’t had much snow yet. The best part is the decline in the rodent population around the house!

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The West Rifle Creek SWA shooting range was recently upgraded with $150,000 of funding paid for primarily with sportsmen’s dollars with supplemental funding through the Pittman-Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act. The range has existed at the same site for many years (1970’s), but it was very primitive and dangerous. Minor improvements were done over the last 12 years, but this years money allowed CPW staff to really make it an exceptional place to shoot. All of the work done at the range was completed by CPW staff Troy Geringer, Buddy McNeel, Keith Goddard, Brian Gray, Steve Ryan, Derek Lovoi, and Ivan Archer. The project included a new parking lot, handicap accessibility, six shooting lanes from 50 to 200 yards and areas for handgun, archery and shotgun shooting. The range is being used heavily since the opening last month and has been given great reviews by all who have utilized it.

Volunteer duties are general cleaning of the range such as picking up trash and brass, emptying trash bags from the trash cans, making sure targets are removed from the wire screens and replacing the chicken wire screens when needed. The duties could be performed on a twice a month basis or an as needed basis. Please assist us with maintaining this quality shooting range on the West Slope! Please contact Brian Gray, 970-366-1908 or Buddy McNeel, 970-984-9872.

NW Volunteer Opportunity: Shooting Range Maintenance and Clean-Up

Training opportunities in the northwest region include:

• Wildlife Transport Training Grand Valley, Summit County

• Bear and Lion Aware Glenwood Springs/Aspen, Summit County

• Shooting Range Maintenance and Clean-up various region locations

• State Wildlife Area Clean-Up Days various region locations

Northwest

Regional Highlights

Trina Romero • trina.romero@state.co.us

Upcoming Spring NW Training Opportunities

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This little known gem is owned and managed by the Colorado Parks and Wildlife and operated by volunteers. Located just north of historic downtown Durango, it is tucked away just off Main Avenue and down by the Rio de Las Animas. (The River of Souls, simply known by locals as The Animas.)

Annually, the museum is free and open to the public seven days a week May 15 through September 15. It provides visitors a chance to get close and personal with professional mounted birds, fish and mammals that call Colorado home. In addition, there are interactive interpretive displays, a nature trail and the Durango Hatchery which is the state’s oldest owned fish hatchery.

The Durango Wildlife Volunteers host the museum, schedule and provide schools tours. They also build bluebird and bat boxes that are sold along with donations keep the museum operational costs at a minimum.

This year the Durango Wildlife Volunteers, volunteered 1438 hours hosting over 13,500 visitors from all 50 states and 26 foreign countries about Colorado’s wildlife and their habitats. Thank you for your dedication to Colorado’s wildlife.

Durango’s Wildlife Museum

River Watch is still going 24 years later Welcome 17 additional River Watch groups to the existing 132 groups monitoring over 550 stations on 330 rivers in Colorado. River Watch groups include youth and adults, rural and urban, students and citizens dedicated to protecting and restoring rivers for aquatic wildlife. The October training certified schools from Denver, Telluride, Durango, Breckenridge, Salida, Hotchkiss, Fort Collins, Evergreen and Palisade as well as adult groups from Trinidad, Cortez, Boulder, Minturn and Ridgeway. River Watch volunteers contribute on average over 100 hours a year sampling and educating others on the value and function of river and lake ecosystems and even sneak in fishing and watchable wildlife activities while sampling.

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Southwest

Regional Highlights

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Their contribution to Colorado’s Rivers include but are not limited to identifying locations with invasive species, rare and new macroinvertebrate taxa, obtained outstanding waters designations, demonstrated successful restoration efforts and expose an additional ,3000 individuals on an annual basis to the amazing fisheries, beauty and recreational resource of Colorado’s Rivers.

“I came back to retrain because I have seen the value in students

lives, two of the past three students are working in the water quality field today”

Kari Jo, Olathe

“River Watch is so much more than just science; it is

a community of caring” Bobbie, Denver

“I had so much fun and can’t wait to teach my brother.”

Noah, Salida

“I learned so much and never knew science could

be so much fun.” Jerkvier, Denver

“I can’t wait to go fishing, I mean sampling.” Mark H, Trinidad

Southwest

Regional Highlights

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It is the life of the crystal, the architect of the flake, the fire of the frost, the soul of the sunbeam. This crisp winter air is full of it.

~ John Burroughs

2nd Annual Archaeology Day at Roxborough State Park By Angel Tobin & Christine Liptak

Roxborough State Park celebrated International Archaeology Day with a fair that was educational and fun for visitors of all ages. This year the Friends of Roxborough along with ExxonMobile, Park Volunteers, History Colorado and DU’s Anthropology Department generously contributed to the new Archaeology Exhibit in the Visitor Center. This new display includes incredible artifacts found within the Park and surrounding areas that show how Ancient People created tools out of local materials to survive and thrive. The beautiful graphics and timeline describe what has happened within Roxborough over thousands of years.

This day marked the culmination of two years of focus on three major efforts: finalization of an exhibit educating our visitors about this National Archaeological District; completion of a digital inventory of all of the park’s prehistoric artifacts; and development of written materials for naturalist and visitor training in archaeology. The International Archaeology Day Fair was a huge success largely due to all the planning and coordination of the volunteers. Betsy Healey should be highly commended for her lead role in this encompassing project. The preparation and training took countless dedication and hours to complete..

The park displayed several different archaeology demonstrations with lead volunteers in each subject area and a total of 37 volunteers helping throughout the event. A professional flint knapper showed visitors how to make points (arrowheads) out of stone and rope out of the yucca plant. Archeological artifacts were prominently displayed so visitors could see other items that were found within the Park. Volunteers also explained how the Ancient People of Roxborough utilized plants and animals to survive. Visitors even tasted archaic snacks like acorn bread, nuts, seeds and jerky to get an idea of what Ancient People ate. Three volunteers from Dinosaur Ridge taught visitors how to determine the age of a tree with tree ring analysis.

Thank you to all who helped make International Archaeology Day such a success. Kudos to all!

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Camphost Happenings

Thank you Hosts!We would like to thank all of our hard working Campground Hosts who now support many of our properties year around. We are currently recruiting resident hosts for the 2014 spring, summer and fall seasons.

Rifle Complex 2013 Season Hosts In Action By Gordon M Weir, Park Resource Technician

This past season we brought in quite a few newer hosts than in the past and all proved to be second to none. Some are returning, one will be serving at Golden Gate for the 2014 season with his new Denver resident bride (I guess our hosts do other things beside entertain our visitors) and three will be returning for another season. As in the past, those hosts who will not be returning are added to our long list of friends. There are no strangers in this world, just friends we haven’t met yet.

Frank FalkeDon Rawlings

Terry & June Rainwater Cliff Reich and Lynn Lee

Jim & Carolyn Wilson

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Steamboat and Pearl By Kirk Mahaffie, Administrative Assistant

Bill and Barb were our Dutch Hill hosts and they were experienced hosters having done it for a few years, friendliest people you could ever meet. Bill was very experienced in construction and put his skills to work while here.

Don and Carol were our Arnica Hosts they were both retired teachers and loved hosting the campground they were first time hosters and really enjoyed meeting the campers and helping them have a great time while in the park.

Larry was our Pearl host and he is a hoot he’s from Texas and has a saying for everything, the campers loved him he was friendly helpful and a lot of fun to have in the Park.

Yampa River By Joann Hudish, Administrative Assistant

Dan Zink is the Host at the Yampa River State Park Headquarters Campground. He can be found doing necessary repairs, adjustments or cleaning pre-season so that everything at the park is in order for our upcoming visitors. Dan is a very kind and friendly host, he always has a smile on his face and is willing to help anyone at anytime with whatever they need. He makes a point of contacting all of our campers while delivering firewood in the evenings. He takes pride in the park and treats it as his own. We are very fortunate to have Dan and his wife, Rita.

Camphost Happenings

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Camphost Happenings

Ridgway Hosts Welcomed By Wintery Weather By Andy Dean, Park Ranger

Winter came early to Ridgway this year. You can still see the colors peaking through beneath the snow on the trees, in the background of this photo. Most of our seasonal hosts had already headed south for warmer climes but host Dave Chaffee was still doing the rounds when this blast of pre winter snow hit the park on the 27th of September. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our fantastic volunteers who assisted in closing out the summer and fall seasons and

helped prepare the park for winter. The park is open for business all winter and there are still numerous volunteer opportunities available, both out in the cold and inside out of the weather.

Winter hosts the Vega’s are also on site to welcome our brave winter campers, so take a weekend, spend some time in the mountains, stop in to say hi and let the Vega’s sell you some fire wood to keep you warm.

Winter host at Ridgway, Dave Chaffee

Cherry Creek Winter HostsBy Kevin Becker, Park Resource Technician

The Cherry Creek winter Resident Volunteer group went out for a Thanksgiving feast. This group of volunteers mans all of our gates, keeps the Campground Registration building open 7 days a week, are the people that greet you when you enter the park office and keeps all of our buildings in tip top shape. A huge thank you goes out to this bunch for all their hard work and loyalty!

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In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy. ~ William Blake

Vega Volunteer is Honored By Kyle Compton, Administrative Assistant

Helen Marie “Topsy” Spence was born February 14, 1948, and died September 8, 2013. She was our Valentine.

Helen was born in Gallop New Mexico and she came to Colorado as a small child. She grew up near Grand Junction, graduated from Central High School and after attending college in Pueblo Colorado came back to the Plateau Valley and taught third grade here for close to 35 years. During her summers she worked on the Grand Mesa for the US Forest Service in the Visitors Center. She also volunteered with the PVFD as a firefighter and EMT. Helen volunteered on the Plateau Valley Hospital Board from 1994 until 2004 at which time she was elected Board President and she remained in that capacity until her death. From that brief resume you can see that Helen was someone who cared about others. In fact, she dedicated her life to caring about others.

After retirement, Helen went to work for Colorado State Parks every summer for 10 years. She volunteered over 5,000 hours of her time every winter in order to make sure the Visitors Center at the Park remained open for everyone to enjoy. Her love of the Park was immense and it was sometimes very difficult to get her to stay home; for example when the snow was so deep that it really wasn’t safe to make the trip. Helen would make it anyway (sometimes even against direct orders to stay home), you see she was worried that the one lone ice fisherman would need something and if someone wasn’t there to let him in to the Visitor Center, well that just wouldn’t do. That was Helen, she was loyal. Loyal to the point of not putting herself or her needs first. She was always thinking of others, always caring, always concerned.

I met Helen 7 years ago when I came to Colorado and started my career with State Parks. I remember I was looking for a place to live and Helen said to me; I think you need to be my neighbor! That’s how I met Anis, my second mother and how I came to know and love Helen. I worked with her every day and I made dinner for her every night. She was not only my co-worker; she was my neighbor and a dear friend. I came to know Helen as someone very special. If Helen loved you, she meant it. She would walk through fire for her friends and if she was in your corner; you never had to worry because Helen was there to defend you and help you and make you feel like you belonged.

Helen had a way of taking in the strays. Not just us humans, but the furry kind too. She had many beloved pets and she was a staunch defender of anything four-legged and innocent. She had the most tender heart for animals and was never able to turn one away. If a critter showed up at her door, it could always find a warm embrace and something to eat. It amazed me in the 7 years I knew her, I never figured out how those animals knew to come to her house. I think it was because they could feel the love emanating from her home.

Helen was a very special person and she touched the lives of all of us in this room in different ways. I know many of you have special memories of her. Memories that you will always have and no one can take away. Whether you were one of her students or one of her friends, or one of her neighbors, we will all remember her as someone who touched us deeply and she will never be forgotten.

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Welcome, winter. Your late dawns and chilled breath make me lazy, but I love you nonetheless

~ Terri Guillemets

Raptor Monitoring Annual Training Event 2013 By Amberly Moon, Biological Field Technician

Jeff Thompson, Resource Stewardship Coordinator for Parks and Wildlife, manages over 100 volunteers for the Raptor Monitoring Program across 18 State Parks and 3 State Wildlife Areas. Every year, we honor those volunteers by holding an event to come together and celebrate raptors! This year we had the largest turn-out to date for our annual event held at the Hunter Education Building in Denver on November 17, 2013. There were 62 volunteers and 22 Parks and Wildlife staff members in attendance.

This year’s meeting included program information for CPW Resource Stewardship. We also conducted live database training and the changes that have occurred to the database and our field forms in the past year. We honored Dale Brinker, volunteer at Staunton and Castlewood Canyon state parks, for reaching his “Seven Years of Service” as a dedicated volunteer to the raptor monitoring program. We also honored Margie Joy, volunteer at Lake Pueblo, the “Volunteer of the Year” for her exceptional contributions to the program; Paul Walker, volunteer at Chatfield, was awarded “Rookie of the Year”

for the leadership role he has taken on at the park in his first year as a volunteer; and we awarded the raptor monitoring volunteer team of Roxborough State Park for their “Outstanding Data Entry”.

Also recognized was a small but dedicated team of volunteers who monitor raptors from Teller & El Paso Counties all the way east to the Kansas border. April Estep, CPW Conservation Biologist from Colorado Springs recognized volunteers Debbie Ackley, Bill Bane, Ron & Pam Sanchez and Abbe Koenig for their new efforts in 2013. Volunteers Fred Anhalt, Tammy Stahly and Rose DiCenso were included but not in attendance. All of our volunteers were given a tote bag including our new raptor monitoring volunteer T-shirt, a 2013 volunteer pin, raptor monitoring keychain flashlight, photography ethics cards, and brochures.

For the grand finale of the day, we had an intensive identification seminar lasting the duration of the afternoon presented by Karen Metz (a volunteer from Castlewood Canyon State Park) and Anne Price of the Raptor Education Foundation. This seminar was accompanied by 12 live raptors from the smallest species of falcons to the largest Golden Eagle to demonstrate the variations in raptor species up-close. Following the presentation we said our goodbyes and wished everyone well for the winter monitoring season and a successful 2014 nesting season.

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Cheyenne Mountain Annual Recognition Event By Stacey Lewis, Senior Ranger

The theme of this year’s banquet was “Our park is brighter because of you.” Each guest received a “party favor”- a small flashlight with the banquet theme engraved on it. Just over 100 people attended, including volunteers and a guest an park full time staff. Region staff- including southeast region manager Dan Prenzlow, deputy managers Brad Henley and Dave Lovell, and program assistants Tracy Predmore and Cindy Riggins also attended and contributed to the banquet.

Other peer nominated awards included: Rookie of the year, Best park ambassador, Dynamic Duo, and a Special project award.

I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the landscape — the loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter.

Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn’t show. ~ Andrew Wyeth

The full-time staff gives an award to volunteer and Friends group treasurer Barb Scott.

Volunteers in and full time staff in attendance at the event.

Ralph Cadwallader, who was nominated as 2013’s volunteer of the year by his peers. Ralph helps lead the trail crew, oversees the new fire mitigation crew, and helped with construction on the archery range. Ralph also has the highest number of hours for 2013 with over 460 and counting!

Partnerships

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Partnership on the Rocks By Mike Morin, Staunton Volunteer

Some of the most defining features of Staunton State Park are the grand rock formations that rise up from lush meadows and forests throughout the park. Passing by on U.S. Highway-285, these cliffs have ignited the imagination of climbers for decades. With the possibilities remaining a mystery, and just out of reach, guarded by the closed status of the park. Park Manager Jennifer Anderson knew that technical rock climbers would be interested in the numerous cliffs at Staunton. With this in mind, she reached out to local climbers to help establish a recreational climbing site that would be available upon the park opening.

In June of 2012, seven local climbers were recruited to establish technical rock climbing routes in an area of the park known as Staunton Rocks. Over the course of the summer, 67 climbing routes were established, mostly consisting of routes protected by removable gear along the steep corridors and undulating granite faces that make up Staunton Rocks. The result was the creation of a unique recreational climbing resource, not only for its interesting rock, but also for how the area came to be established.

The idea of the climbing volunteer was a novel thing to us when we were first invited to explore Staunton Rocks. On the group’s first trip to the park there was an odd sense about the endeavor. To be quite honest, I think we all felt a little like the proverbial fox in the hen house. Were we really being given access to a closed state park to climb rocks and establish first ascents?! Opportunities for first ascents are rare in the well-traveled climbing areas of the Front Range, and here we were being invited to explore and experience numerous such adventures before the park opened to the public!

These feelings of excitement were accompanied by the knowledge that the park had bestowed a very unique and special task upon us. We were there as volunteers, charged with the responsibility of establishing a quality recreation site that would be of interest to visiting rock climbers, while stewarding the natural resources in and around Staunton Rocks. To do this we learned about the rare plants that called the cliffs home, keeping an ever-watchful eye out for Weber’s Monkey Flower, and treading lightly around pockets of James’ Telesonix. We reported peregrine falcon activity that had previously not been observed, were very thoughtful about the use of fixed protection on the cliffs, and recruited other members of the climbing community to come out and help build sustainable trails to the various formations at Staunton Rocks.

There were many things that made this experience incredible and special. The thing that rises to the top, though, is the partnership that was forged between Staunton State Park and the climbing community. By partnering with the climbing community, Staunton State Park joined a select and forward-thinking group of land managers that have taken this approach to climbing management. The result was a well thought out recreation resource that brings revenue to the park and protects the natural resources that make the park special.

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Partnerships

Denver Field Ornithologists, the Audubon Society of Greater Denver and Chatfield Hosted the “Big Sit!”By Laura Wilder, Park Ranger

The day was beautiful with plenty of sunshine and an abundance of water birds! Chatfield Volunteer Naturalist Joey Kellner led the event and saw at least 70 participants! More than half of the participants were avid birders and the rest were families, walkers and bicyclists. The lucky passersby, who knew little of the event but happened upon it, were fortunate to look at pelicans, grebes, and more through scopes which lend to much better viewing of the birds. Children were able to meet “Talon”, the Parks Red-Tailed Hawk mascot, and a bird walk was enjoyed by a few participants!

Sixty species were seen at this year’s “Big Sit!” held on October 13. The highest count ever on the “Sit!” was 71 birds which occurred two different years, 2006 and 2009. We added one new species to the overall Chatfield “Big Sit!” list, a Lesser Black-backed Gull (a nice adult) bringing the total “Sit!” list up to 121 species! In addition, many other nice birds were seen including a close fly-by by a young Sabine’s Gull. Three different Bald Eagles were counted and two flew right past the group!

Thanks to all the participants, including first time “sitters” and returning veterans for your help in spotting birds, sharing your scopes with everyone and more importantly, your camaraderie. Everyone had a good time and saw some nice birds!

For the full bird list go to: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S15410320

For a video of the event go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYbeOAACCAg&feature=youtu.be

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Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face. ~ Victor Hugo

NPLD: Chatfield ProjectsBy Alice Plant, VOC Staff

Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado (VOC) arrived at Chatfield State Park on September 28 with more than 100 volunteers from corporate groups, including Aggregate Industries, EKS&H, Lockheed Martin, Norgren, Otten Johnson, and REI to celebrate National Public Lands Day as part of a corporate day of giving.

Nestled alongside the foothills southwest of Denver, Chatfield State Park’s popularity draws 1.7 million visitors annually. Volunteers repaired over 1,000 feet of trail, transforming the park’s popular South Platte River trail for sustainability and safe, enjoyable use by an array of trail users, including youth groups, fishermen, hikers, bikers, birdwatchers, and equestrian riders.The Chatfield State Park project also marks one of VOC’s 30th anniversary projects celebrating 30 years of stewardship across Colorado and in our state parks! Learn more about volunteer opportunities with VOC at www.voc.org.

Special thanks goes to Michael C. Refer Regional Manager, Environmental Land Services Aggregate Industries US for donating over $4,000 of crusher fine trail material and to John Persichetti (truck owner) who donated the materials transportation costs.

Highlights from National Public Lands Day 2013September 28, 2013 the nation celebrated the 20th Anniversary of National Public Lands Day (NPLD) by participating in hikes, free entrance days, trail maintenance parties, camp-outs, shoreline cleanups and other fun activities on public lands. More than 175,000 volunteers helped restore and beautify public lands at 2,237 sites in every state, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Thank you to everyone who volunteered, led events and spread the word about NPLD. www.publiclandsday.org

The following short stories and pictures highlight some of the NPLD events hosted by Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

NPLD: Barr Lake Volunteers Plant Trees Barr Lake had a small yet energetic group of volunteers assist with planting trees, wrestling the thistle bushes and helping with general weed removal. Ranger, Mike Zieker organized the event and gave a much deserved tour of the park after a few hours of hard work.

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What good is the warmth of summer without the cold of winter to give it sweetness. ~ Author Unknown

NPLD: Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area Fall Clean UpBy Rose Bayless, Administrative Assistant

Saturday, September 28 was a perfect day to do some fall cleaning at AHRA’s Salida East Recreation Site. Salida East is only a bit over 1 mile east of Salida (thus the name), which makes it very advantageous with visitors wanting to be close to town. It has some very nice river frontage, a boat ramp, camp areas and fishing access, but is not yet a fee site but a free site under the Bureau of Land Management. Therefore, it is very popular with the public most of the year, especially during the summer, and is not kept as tidy by its users as it should be.

We find some very interesting camps and camp units which are sometimes discarded, and a Salida East cleanup seemed like a fitting project for National Public Lands Day (NPLD). AHRA gathered a small group of volunteers together from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and went to work cleaning up camp sites and general trash. By lunch time, there was nary a scrap to be found on the ground or in the bushes, so after lunch the group moved up to Highway 50 and picked up the Salida East highway right-of-way. Now, Salida East has its dignity restored and is a shining example of the beauty of the Arkansas River within the AHRA.

NPLD: Cherry Creek Hosts Dog-Off Leash Area (DOLA) Clean-Up By Shane Frank, Park Ranger

Cherry Creek hosted approximately 35+ helpers picking up their pets’ bi-products (poo). In total, 76.32 LBS (!) of fecal matter/trash were collected and disposed of. This, by itself, is equal in weight to a good-sized dog! Not everyone registered and/or weighed his/her contribution to the clean-up, so these numbers are low in relation to actual figures.

The GRAND PRIZE winner collected 14.76 lbs (also contacted separately)! The runner-up collected 14.56 lbs! The Grand Prize was a “Veterinarian for a Day” ($100 value) at Parker Center Animal Clinic, who was kind enough

to donate. A very big thank you for your participation in Cherry Creek State Park’s Dog Off-Leash Area clean-up on National Public Lands day, September 28, 2013!

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quoteFriends

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First Harvest Festival at Barr LakeThe Friends of Barr Lake hosted the Harvest Festival at Barr Lake State Park. Over 304 visitors attended. It was a great day for our first type of event like this. We started out with our Great Pumpkin Shoot (19 people attended), Pumpkin painting program (39 attended) and finished with the Halloween Trail (85 people attended).

Harvest Festival activities included:

* Hay rack rides

* Bean bag toss

* Kids crafts

* Face painter

* Farm animals: 3 goats, 1 sheep, 2 chicken and 1 rabbit

* Pumpkins for sale from our very own pumpkin patch: 73 sold

The Friends of Barr Lake raised $338!!! The day would not have been possible without all the great Barr Lake volunteers and staff. There were 23 volunteers that worked this day to make it a success!!!

“All of these programs could not have been possible without all the volunteers that helped make this day a success. We had 26 volunteers and 5 staff that helped prepare and work the event. I can’t say enough about how AWESOME the Barr Lake volunteers and staff are!” Michelle Seubert, Park Manager

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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Autumn arrives in early morning, but spring at the close of a winter day.

~ Elizabeth Bowen

Chatfield’s Fall DOLA Clean-upBy Laura Wilder, Park Ranger

On October 19, Chatfield State Park Staff and Volunteers teamed up to spend the gorgeous afternoon working in the Dog Off Leash Area (DOLA) to help keep the resource healthy. With shovels and buckets eager volunteers went out to remove pet waste and trash. Invasive weed species were also removed by trained volunteers and holes dug by excited canines were filled in.

First time DOLA users as well as regular patrons were eager to pitch in and help with the cause! Several visitors voiced their regret to be unavailable to help this time around, but inquired about being part of the spring event. Public volunteers were entered to win a gift certificate to Colorado Parks & Wildlife and the drawing was held two days after the event. The winner was a couple who frequents Chatfield’s DOLA and loves the recreational opportunity it provides!

Thanks to all who helped make the event a success! And pet owners, please remember the toxic nature of pet waste and help keep our parks and wild places clean and beautiful by picking up after your pet!

Top: Volunteer Chris Kuenning and Volunteer Coordinator Laura Wilder assist public volunteers with signing up to help. Parks and Wildlife Volunteer “Thank You” stadium cups were given to the first 10 participants.

Middle: Full time staff transfers soil to fill holes throughout the DOLA.

Bottom: First year volunteer Gene Fourney, and veteran volunteer Sherwood Brown, take a break from working to have a photo snapped.

Left: Volunteers and Staff are geared up for the event.

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quote

FEATURED RECIPEOutdoors Skills Day Barr Lake Outdoor Skills/Mentor Day hosted at Barr Lake had a total of 176 people attend(134 youth and 42 adults). It was a great day. Big thanks to Jake Lemon (ColoradoTrout Unlimited), Howard Horton(CPW), Jeanette and Ray Scherbarth(CPW), Barr lake staff/volunteers and all our partners; Pass It On Mentors, Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory, Pheasants Forever, Parker Wildlife Experience, American Canoe Association and ELKS.It was great to see so many kids enjoying and learning new skills. We hope to make this an annual event.The second to last picture is an ariel view of the archery area. One of my volunteers has a remote control helicopter with a camera. Super cool!! And of course our hay bale ready for fall!!

- Michelle Seubert, Park Manager

Roasted Elk Tenderloin with Gorgonzola Butter*

Yield: 8 generous servings

Ingredients:• 1/4 lb Gorgonzola cheese, softened

• 1/2 stick (1/4 c) unsalted butter, softened

• 3 tbsp olive oil• 31/4-lb elk tenderloin (deer, moose, bison, or beef),

cut crosswise into 8–10 11/4" thick steaks

• 1/4 c Dijon mustard

• 3/4 cup packed fresh rosemary leaves, chopped

• freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preparation:• Discard Gorgonzola rind and in a small bowl

stir together cheese and butter until smooth.

On a sheet of plastic wrap form Gorgonzola

butter into a log about 4" long. Chill log,

wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 1

hour. Butter may be made 1 week ahead.

• Preheat oven to 450°F.

• In a 12" heavy skillet (pref. cast-iron) heat

11/2 tbsp oil over moderately high heat until

hot but not smoking and sear half of steaks

until browned, about 2 mins. on each side,

transferring to a shallow baking pan. Sear

remaining steaks in remaining 11/2 tbsp oil in

same manner. • When steaks are just cool enough to handle,

spread tops and sides with mustard and

sprinkle with rosemary, pepper, and salt to

taste. Roast steaks in middle of oven 8 minutes

for medium-rare (coating should just begin to

brown). Transfer steaks to a cutting board and

let stand about 3 minutes. Cut butter into about

20 thin slices. • Cut each steak in half horizontally. Tuck a

butter slice between steak halves and top

steaks with another butter slice.

*Adapted from epicourious.com (Original print Gourmet, Dec. 1995)

MORE TALES!

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Regional Contacts

Vicki Leigh Statewide Volunteer Program Coordinator 303-866-3203 X4355 vicki.leigh@state.co.us

Northeast Region Lori Morgan Volunteer Coordinator 303-291-7369 lori.morgan@state.co.us

Northwest Region Trina Romero Watchable Wildlife/Volunteer Coordinator 970-255-6191 trina.romero@state.co.us

Southeast Region Jena Sanchez Volunteer Coordinator Office: 719-227-5204 jena.sanchez@state.co.us

Southwest Region Please contact any of the other coordinators.

NE Region

SE Region

NW Region

SW Region

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

Important Volunteer Program Contacts