Posts tagged trails
Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks news
Jun 7th
Specifically:
• A report of a sinkhole forming in the middle of the Teller Trail. Collapsing edge was fenced off until repair could begin.
• A series of wildfires that occurred near Celestial Seasonings caused by a train creating sparks. A Ranger tied in with local crews to put out the string of small conflagrations.
• A mountain lion in a yard on a cache in the 700 block of Juniper. The lion was seen to have experienced some type of trauma. Rangers worked with CPW to tranquilize the cat in an attempt to relocate. The lion did not survive and upon examination had massive injuries consistent with a fight with another lion. Awaiting necropsy results.
• Rangers located a wanted subject camping along the S. Boulder Creek on the Van Vleet Property. His warrant was from Aurora for trespassing when he attempted to hitch a ride on a train.
• Another coyote attack on a dog. This one was on the Gunbarrel trail. RP was walking with 2 dogs one of which was attacked. The other dog attempted to help his buddy. No serious injuries.
• Injured hike in Bear Canyon. Twisted ankle. Rangers worked with AMR and Boulder Fire to evacuate the hiker from Mesa Trail at Bear Canyon.
•Two ill hikers at once. A Ranger assisted AMR and Boulder Fire evacuate an adult male who had overheated. The same ranger then assisted an 11 month old who had been hiking with his mother. No serious injuries.
•A Ranger happened upon an injured raccoon that needed to be put down.
•Rangers were called to an assault in progress on the Baseline Trail. A 67 year old male was photographing the Chautauqua meadow when an unknown subject approached him from the area of the Ski Jump Trail. The unknown subject had a 3 foot stick which he used to strike the victim on the left side of his head. The suspect struck the victim a second time but he was able to fend off that blow with his arm. The suspect then fled back up into the woods. A massive search was conducted by Rangers and the BCSO including a K-9. The suspect has not yet been located or identified. The victim did get 2 blurry photos of the suspect prior to being hit. Investigation on-going.
Towhee/Homestead
Seasonal employees have been in the area to remind people of these changes.
Outreach staff to hit the trails
As of the afternoon of 5/28/2013, the new regulations went into effect. We will be conducting outreach on the Towhee & Homestead trails. On Old Mesa we will not be conducting outreach, at least not now. We are going to break with tradition and have outreach staff hike the trails as we conduct outreach, rather than set up at the South Mesa Trailhead. The focus will be Towhee, as that’s the big change. Everything should be up to date as far as signs. Please keep me aware of contact numbers, public feedback & compliance. Here are the long awaited changes:
Towhee Trail: Will change to “NO DOGS”. There is a short section at the start of the Towhee trail that will remain voice and sight, until visitors come to the junction with the Homestead trail. That is where Towhee becomes “No Dogs”.
Homestead Trail: This trail will remain “Dogs must be under voice and sight control with a green voice and sight tag”, until you get to the bridge where it crosses the Towhee drainage. That small section (approx. 20 feet from either side of the bridge) will become “dogs must be leashed”.
If you have not been on this trail since the reroute, you should hike up there and take a look.
Old Mesa Trail: This trail (and surrounding drainage area) will now be “dogs must be leashed”, from the social trail just off the shadow canyon trail, down to our property line near Eldorado Springs. FYI there is no public access from the Eldorado Springs side as the trail leads you down to private property.
Visitors should consider this a down and back, not a destination trail.
We are now implementing regulations that were decided on during the West Trails Study Area planning process (WTSA) which included the Community Collaborative Group (CCG) which was an extended community input process. The input process began in 2009 was completed in 2011. Only recently have the regulations and signs been changed. If you would like to learn more about how that process worked, you can go to our website OSMP.org
The Towhee Trail’s new regulations help protect the riparian area it goes through. It is a heavily traveled wildlife corridor. The changes also provide a “no dog” experience for hikers. Most of the surrounding trails allow dogs.
The Homestead trail’s regulation change was made to protect the riparian area and sensitive vegetation through the Towhee drainage.
Trails news:
On Saturday, June 1st, we had 22 volunteers help construct the new trail re-route at Upper Big Bluestem as our National Trails Day project. (National Trails Day is a national trail volunteer event sponsored by the American Hiking Society.)
This year, OSMP volunteers constructed 240 feet of the new trail re-route, and installed a new pedestrian gate in the fence line. The weather was great; volunteers worked hard, and completed a lot of great work. It takes a small army to pull off these projects. Manythanks go to:
–Trails staff John Leither and Frances Boulding for project planning and logistics.
–Kristin Weinberger for promoting the project, recruiting volunteers, implementing day-of logistics (food, registration, etc), and arranging for great food from Black Cat!
–Trails crewmembers Sean Murphy, Beau Clark, Alex McClellan, and John Goepel for doing a great job of leading volunteers on crews!
–Jennelle Freeston and Lisa Dierauf for supporting project logistics and planning.
Boulder Mountain Bike Patrol is kicking off their trail work season by helping OSMP maintain the Springbrook Loop. The Bike Patrol worked on Prairie Vista Trail with us in 2011 and 2012, and is taking on a number of trail maintenance projects on Springbrook for 2013. Their goal is to do projects at least once a month, typically the last Thursday of the month during the evening hours. OSMP trails staff plan trail maintenance work, and meet up with the group to lead the project. On Thurs, May 30th, we had eight volunteers work with us for the first project of this year. They completed eight rolling drainage dips on Springbrook North to help shed water off of a roughly 500-foot section of trail that is experiencing moderate erosion issues.”
OSMP press release
Irish delegation studies Boulder’s Open Space access for people with disabilities
Apr 15th
The City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) department hosted
a delegation from Ireland on Thursday, April 11. The group came to Boulder and Denver to examine issues of access for people with disabilities in education, housing and the workplace.
Ten leaders in several fields including education, human services, policy and architecture, arranged the tour to learn more about what OSMP has done to provide accessible trails that enable people in wheelchairs and those with other disabilities to enjoy and experience nature. OSMP has developed several trails, facilities and fishing areas designed to be used for people with disabilities.
The delegation was sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and the Irish Institute at Boston College, whose mission is to support the peace and reconciliation process between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
For questions about trail access for people with disabilities on OSMP properties, please call 303-441-3440 or visit www.OSMP.org.
City of Boulder media affairs
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–CITY–
Work begins on a county master plan for mountain trails network
Apr 4th
Public hearings to begin April 18
Boulder County, Colo. – Local, state, and federal land-management agencies, to include the U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, Colorado Parks & Wildlife, Boulder County, City of Boulder, and City of Longmont are partnering to develop a long‐term, multi‐agency master plan for a network of access points and travel corridors for non‐motorized users in the foothills and mountains of Boulder County.
What: Regional Mountain Trails Master Planning
When: Meetings will be held from mid-April to mid-May, the first meeting will be held on April 18, 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
Where: Eleven locations throughout the county, the first meeting will be held at the Boulder County Courthouse, 1325 Pearl Street, 3rd floor
The goal of the Regional Mountain Trails Master Plan is to connect communities and recreation areas in the mountains and foothills to regional trails in the plains. The plan will emphasize linking existing trails and trail systems.
“We are excited to collaborate with the community and our fellow land managers on this plan for trails that will direct our work as individual organizations toward a common goal for trails over the coming years,” said Justin Atherton-Wood, Resource Planner for Boulder County Parks and Open Space. “This plan will be drafted in a manner that is sensitive to the resources and values unique to this part of the region, and one that contributes to a more sustainable future for Boulder County.”
To help define the many unique opportunities and challenges of this effort, the partners are initiating a period of public outreach this spring to gather comments on the community’s needs, expectations, and concerns with the project. It is anticipated that this initial phase will result in a set of principles and community values that will guide the remainder of this year-long planning process.
For more information about the project and upcoming meeting dates and locations visit the project website:www.RegionalMountainTrails.com. Or contact Garry Sanfaçon, Public Outreach Coordinator, at 720-564-2642 or gsanfacon@bouldercounty.org.
by –BoulderCounty.org–
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