fomp.org

This is a brief reminder that Friends of Monument Preserve (FOMP) will be holding our monthly board meeting this Tuesday April 14, 2009 at 5:30 PM in the main trail head parking lot. This is a change from our winter schedule and it also marks the kick off of our summer volunteer season for 2009!

Our first event is our monthly trail maintenance outlined below. We also have several other opportunities coming up including a potluck dinner for the Hotshot and Helitac crews stationed in the Preserve, tree planting, Boy Scout trail work and others. We also have the upcoming annual Memorial Grove Ceremony. Details may be found on the recently revised calendar page, just click on any event for event details and contact information. The calendar is actively being updated as we come into the busy season for FOMP, so if you don’t see an event listed please check back or get in touch with us at info@fomp.org.

Our summer trail work schedule for 2009 will kick off begining April 14 and ending in October. We meet at 6:00 PM on the second Tuesday of each month at the main trail head parking lot off of Mt. Herman Rd.

FOMP and USFS provide all necessary tools. Volunteers should wear appropriate clothing for performing outdoor landscaping type of work, leather gloves, bring their own personal water supply, sunscreen, and bug repellent. We meet rain or shine unless there is lightning active in the area. In the event that you are joining us late we always leave a note at the trail head parking lot or you can call Chris or Jon (numbers below) to find out where in the preserve we are working that evening.

We make every effort to accommodate volunteer preferences and abilities at each event. Generally we perform activities such as water bar building or renovation, trail renovation, maintenance, and trimming, etc. So, pretty much everything from trimming back scrub oak or digging lots of dirt to moving boulders. We assign duties based on interest and capabilities. Kids are welcome to join their parents; however, we do ask that you evaluate whether this is an appropriate activity for your child or not.

We look forward to seeing you out there!

Chris Tirpak – mobile: 719.439.8865
Jon Nordby – mobile: 719.640.1347

This is just a brief reminder that Friends Of Monument Preserve will hold our monthly board meeting and annual elections tomorrow night Tuesday March 10, 2009 at 7:00PM in the Fire Center Classroom. For those of you unfamiliar with the classroom building make your first left into the Fire Center after Mt. Herman Rd. turns to dirt, the classroom building is the first building on your right.

Our agenda will include the following:

* Elections
* At large board member appointments
* Derek Emeis Seedling Plant/Release project update.
* Patrick Hoehne Trail project update
* Sign discussion and progress
* Upcoming spring 2009 events calendar
* Open Agenda for members

Tuesday September 9, 2008 will be the final FOMP Trail work night for the season. So, if you have not managed to make any of our other trail work sessions this is the last chance for 2008. We will be doing a double start time affair as outlined below. The monthly board meeting is canceled in favor of one last chance to dig in the dirt! If there is anything you would like to bring to the attention of the board, please email info@fomp.org and we will make sure it is discussed at the October meeting.

Trail work sessions for Tuesday September 9, 2008 are as follows:
1. 5:00 PM – Meet at the main trailhead at the corner of Mt. Herman Rd. and Nursery Rd. Chris will be leading this group. If you are a few minutes late please call him on his cell phone for directions on how to link up — 719.439.8865

2. 6:00 PM – Meet at the main trailhead at the corner of Mt. Herman Rd. and Nursery Rd. This group will link up with Chris’ group so you either call Jon Nordby on his cell – 719.640.1347 to find us or Chris on his cell phone — 719.439.8865 to link up if you are late.

FOMP and USFS will supply all necessary tools. Please bring water, gloves, eye protection, bug repellent and dress appropriately for the weather and for digging in dirt and moving rocks and debris.

Trail work will be held unless there is lightning activity in the area.

Hello everyone!

There are several things we’d like you to know about including some changes to how FOMP manages our email list and a website re-design:

1. Tomorrow (or perhaps today by the time I finish this and it gets out the door) 5/20/2008 Friends of Monument Preserve is scheduled to re-attempt to hold our first Trail Day for 2008. We will meet at 6:00pm in the main trail head parking lot located on the corner of Mt. Herman Rd. and Nursery Rd. weather permitting – which is pretty much rain or shine from now on unless there is lightning activity in the area. We will have 2 activities lined up:
— Trail Work
— Tree Trimming – we need several volunteers to help Dianne Strohm trim back some scrub oak from some evergreens that are struggling to grow. If we have a small crowd this will be our first priority tomorrow.

Meet at the parking lot at 6:00pm and depart from there. FOMP / USFS will supply all tools and supplies that you need. Please dress appropriately, bring gloves, water, and eye protection (sunglasses or similar). If you are going to trim scrub oak we recommend long sleeves regardless of the weather. If you are running late you can cal Jon Nordby on his cell phone 719.640.1347 and he will tell you where the groups(s) are located.

2. Our web site received a minor face lift this week. The location is the same and most of the materials are still there. If there is something you feel we should add please let us know by sending an email to info@fomp.org

3. Email list management. We’ve installed some software to help us manage our email list more efficiently. It’s nothing super fancy but it will allow you to update your preferences or unsubscribe from our email list which is something Chris has cobbled together manually over the years. You should be able to set which information you’d like to receive from us. We seem to have a few major things we update you on: Trails, Board Meetings, Limbaugh Canyon, Special Events/Announcements, Vandalism. And then there is the siple category “ALL” – which is pretty much what it sounds like. Needless to say we really don’t send out that many emails every month but you can refine what you receive. While you are there please take a second and make sure we have your name too! www.fomp.org/newsletter Thanks.

4. Vandalism? Yes! The Preserve has been the recent target of more than one spray paint “tagging”. The old caretakers structure on the South side was spray painted as were several other structures. Also, on Saturday night several signs including the map of the district were all destroyed. If you know anything about ither of these events please pass that on the board at info@fomp.org or call CHris at 719.488.9850. You can also call officer Tom Healy of the USFS at 719.477.4204 to report any vandalism. The FOMP board also met with officer Healy recently and one of the things we’re going to do is make sure that he has an avenue to reach out to the community in a timely manner. Hence the FOMP email list re: vandalism. We’ll use that to pass on requests from officer Healy regarding any vandalism to our local USFS resources. Hopefully we won’t need to use it very often.

As I write this it is 38F and light scattered rain … so we will be postponing our trail work and tree work session until Tuesday May 20 at 6pm.

We will hold out board meeting this evening at 7pm in the Fire Center Classroom. That is the first building on the right when you drive into the fire center. Board meetings are open to the public, please feel free to join us.

Thanks
Chris

Note: our server time appear to be an hour early …. maybe its fixed …