Posts tagged Lefthand Creek

Rangers responded to:

• Two reports of criminal trespasses, one at Flatirons Vista Trailhead and the other at Doudy Draw.

• A report of a deer caught in an iron wrought fence. The deer had to be dispatched.

• A report of an assault near the North Wittemeyer property. Witnesses stated that a man was pulled out of a vehicle and beaten. Rangers assisted Sheriff’s Officers on this call but were unable to locate a suspect.

• A report of two dog bites. One hiker was charged and attacked by a Golden Retriever on the Gregory Canyon trail, while a boy scout was attacked by a Border Collie at the Green Mountain Summit.

Safety Reminder from Ranger Scott Wilkey:

To all;

I want to take this time to remind everyone that we live in a sometimes strange world.

A few days ago, a fisherman located what appeared to be a suspicious device in Left Hand Creek.  I met with Boulder County Sheriff’s deputies there and upon investigation we determined that they were sufficiently suspicious to call the bomb squad.

The short story is that the devices were small homemade bombs with fuses.

They were about 6” long and made out of ½ or ¾ inch PVC pipe.   They had end caps and fuses.  Both devices were very powerful and dangerous despite having been in the creek for who knows how long.

I urge all OSMP folks in the field to take caution.  We all see a lot of different things out there but if it seems suspicious to you…

CALL A RANGER.

I know I speak for all of us when I say that we have no problem responding to check out a suspicious device, person or situation.

Please be safe out there, everyone.

Volunteer Day at Cure Organic Farm

We had 25 volunteers show up to help harvest tomatoes and new potatoes at Cure Organic Farm on Thursday, August 15th.  Before heading out into the fields, Lauren Kolb, ag resource specialist, spoke about this history of agriculture in Boulder County and how Open Space is helping to keep this rich agricultural tradition going by providing leasable land for farmers and ranchers.

Anne Cure, a three year tenant of the Eccher parcel on Valmont Road, talked about the evolution of her operation.  Anne started Cure Organic Farm with 4 acres and an 80-family CSA.  Today, Anne has expanded her operation to 12 certified-organic acres which supports a 185-family CSA.  Anne typifies a diversified operation, not only in the number of vegetables she grows, but also with a variety of other revenue streams: a day camp for kids,  cut flowers, two farmers markets, 12 restaurant customers, and a menagerie of animals including ducks, chickens, sheep, and pigs.  Expanding onto OSMP property has allowed Anne to de-intensify her production: instead of growing three vegetable crops on the same piece of land in a single growing season, she can give the land a rest by planting cover crops to allow the soil organic matter to rebuild.

With the help of our volunteer crew, Anne harvested 332 pounds of heirloom tomatoes and 2,622 pounds of potatoes for her CSA and farmers’ market, much to the delight of her interns.   After finishing in the field, Anne treated the volunteers to some extra produce—potatoes, squash, radishes, chard, and zucchini! We’ll be sure to be back in September and October to help with peak harvest.

Trailheads

Jay Jones and crew built a new ADA compliant picnic / meeting site, on the pathway for Crown Rock.

Last week:

• Hauled building stone to work site at Crown rock
• Removed old table and excavated footprint for improved picnic area
• Dug bench for rock wall
• Installed two tier rock wall and graded surface

Jennelle Freeston

Coordinator of Volunteer Services

City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks
66 South Cherryvale Rd.
Boulder, CO 80303
FreestonJ@bouldercolorado.gov
Phone: 303-413-7656
Cell: 303-818-6972
www.osmp.org