Author Archives: chris

Last Chance for 2012 – FOMP needs you!

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Tuesday September 11 at 6:00 PM – Trail work.

FOMP is pleased to be holding a our final volunteer trail work and tree trimming work session of the 2012 season!

 

FOMP and USFS provide all necessary tools. Volunteers should wear appropriate clothing for performing outdoor landscaping type of work. Volunteers should bring leather gloves, a personal water supply, eye protection, 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 Jon Nordby (719.640.1347) or Chris Tirpak (719.439.8865) 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.

 

Meet at the main trailhead parking lot at 6:00PM! (map: http://bit.ly/FOMPMeetingSpot)

Thanks and we hope to see you out there soon!

FOMP

Tuesday August 14 at 6:00 PM – Trail work.

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FOMP is pleased to be holding a volunteer trail work and tree trimming work session!

FOMP and USFS provide all necessary tools. Volunteers should wear appropriate clothing for performing outdoor landscaping type of work. Volunteers should bring leather gloves, a personal water supply, eye protection, 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 Jon Nordby (719.640.1347) or Chris Tirpak (719.439.8865) 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.
Meet at the main trailhead parking lot at 6:00PM! (map: http://bit.ly/FOMPMeetingSpot)
Thanks and we hope to see you out there soon!
FOMP

Cancelled: Trail Work

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Cancelled: Trail Work

At the last volunteer work session FOMP Volunteers discussed holding an extra trail work session this evening (Tuesday July 24, 2012) to get some additional work completed.

We are cancelling that work session due to work conflicts.

Thanks and stay tuned, we will have more to come!

FOMP

Mt. Herman Rd is Now Open!

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Good news! Mt. Herman Rd is Now Open!

Mt. Herman Road and some of the surrounding areas are now re-opened! Please see the zoomed in map below fo rthe Northern area of the closure and then visit www.fomp.org for the full map. We will also post an updated list of know open/closed as soon as we have a chance.Please note that fines for crossing into the closed area begin at $125 and go up from there.Enjoy!
full map – waldo canyon fire order 12-15 (full size requires Adobe PDF reader)
Mt Herman Rd Re-open Map Click to Zoom

Mt Herman Rd Re-open Map Click to Zoom

 

Continued Closures

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A quick announcement – the 12-10 order (see previous posts or email) closing much of the area forest is still in effect. Please respect the clsure and stop by and say hello to the out of town rangers assigned to keep Mt. herman Rd. closed.

We know that the closure will continue through at least Monday – beyond that we have no information but as soon as we know so will you!

Thanks!

Monthly Trail Work, Fires, Openings, Closings

Monthly Trail Work, Fires, Openings, Closings

It has been a chaotic couple of weeks in the area and we have up to date information on what is open, what is closed, maps, orders, and volunteer opportunities!1. Open or Closed?

At the top of everyone’s mind … what is open and what is closed?

The good news, the Preserve is OPEN! Despite some signage to the contrary it is open. We’ve worked witht the USFS to correct the signage and post maps. You do need to steer clear of Mt. Herman Rd – the machinery working on the road can throw rocks and debris 200+ feet – so stay away from the road. USFS 715 “Stoopid Trail” is closed where it turns SW in the SQ corner of the preserve. We have placed a sign there – that leads you into the closure – stay out or risk a ticket.

The bad news, Mt. Herman Rd and everthing West of Red Rocks Rd to Palmer Lake and then West on 322 to Rampart Range Rd is CLOSED. There was a new order in place as of Friday closing this section.

Why: So that the Forest Service can finish cleaning up the fire line on Mt. Herman Road – they are using masticulating machines and feller bunchers and they are also removing all the logs from the Mt. Herman Rd fire line. This will continue for several more days at the very least, maybe a couple of weeks. We hope that it will re-open after that but we have no firm date or commitment from the USFS yet. If we get one we will let you know.

Please have a look at this zoomed in map of our area from the latest USFS closure order.

 

Full map and closure order (Adobe PDF Reder required), these are somewhat large, be patient:

Waldo Canyon Fire Area Closure Order 12-08

Waldo North Closure REVISED map

A list of other regional openings and closings is at the end of this email/post.

2. Fire

We still have high fire danger so be aware. The recent rains have not changed the fire danger.

3. Shooting Range Update

After FOMP volunteers cleaned up over 60 (yes 60!) bags of trash and debris from illegal shooting on Mt. Herman Rd the FS then cleaned up just as much 2 days later and closed parking and roped off these areas. There was approximately 2 acres total sutdown to shooting in areas that are not safe to shoot in the first place. Social ranges that were on the top of ridgelines with not backstop were closed down. Much, muc more remains to be done to make Mt. Herman Rd a safe place for other recreational users as some of the remaining social ranges have been utterly destroyed and shooters are shooting uphill with stray and ricochet bullets landing in Limbaugh Canyon still as well as on the Mt. Herman hiking trail. We continue to work with the USFS to try and make the Mt. Herman corrider a safe place again. The illegal shooting is just that – illegal and unsafe. It is in areas where shooting is allowed unfortunately many (and it appears a majority) of the recreational shooters on Mt. Herman Rd choose not to follow the rules of the USFS and are destroying trees and other resources as well as creating very dangerous situations for themselves and others. FOMP’s BOD continues to work with the USFS for good solutions for all parties including recreational shooters.

4. Monthly Trail Work Session Information

Tuesday July 10 at 6:00 PM

FOMP is pleased to be holding a volunteer trail work and tree trimming work session!

FOMP and USFS provide all necessary tools. Volunteers should wear appropriate clothing for performing outdoor landscaping type of work. Volunteers should bring leather gloves, a personal water supply, eye protection, 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 try to leave a note at the trail head parking lot or you can call Jon Nordby (719.640.1347) or Chris Tirpak (719.439.8865) 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.
Meet at the main trailhead parking lot at 6:00PM! (map: http://bit.ly/FOMPMeetingSpot)
Thanks and we hope to see you out there!

FOMP==== List of Known Open / Closed Regional Trails ====

Thanks to David Wagner for putting this list together – we will try and update it as he provides updates and eventually make it a seperate post on www.fomp.org

Open:

Colorado Spring Parks and Open Spaces
Douglas County Parks and Open Spaces
Barr Trail
Pikes Peak Highways Trails
State Parks
El Paso County Parks
Castle Rock Parks
updated: Old Stage Road and Gold Camp Road are now open

Falcon Trail (Air Force Academy) with military ID update: The Falcon Trail (Air Force Academy) is only under FPCON ALPHA, so only drivers license is required — update #2: Falcon Trail may be only partially open unless you have a military ID – please verify before you go!

Trail Closures due to the Waldo Canyon Fire:

Order 12-10 and Municipality Rulings
High Arson and Fire Risk & Limited Resources Available
48,000 acres (75 square miles) of forest service land in the closure area
14,270 acres of forest service land burned (30% of closure area)
NOTE: USFS system trails listed below have there number after them
Some private and social trails are listed
USAFA : Eagle Peak, Stanley Canyon 707, West Monument Creek 713
Blodgett Peak Open Space & Blodgett Peak
Oak Valley trails off Coldwater Dr, Colo Spgs (?)
Palmer Lakes via Balanced Rock Rd 322 from Old Carriage Rd (per PL Water Dept.)
Monument Preserve, partial closure, Monument 715, I-A Fitness 718
Mt. Herman 716
Farish (4 trails)
Various Forest Service Roads (including portion of Rampart Range Rd 300)
Williams Canyon (Williams Canyon Project)
Waldo Canyon 640
Pyramid Mountain Estates (Cascade)
Green Mountain Falls trail system (per Lorrie Worthey, mayor)
Kings Crown Road area trails (Woodland Park)
Rainbow Gulch Rd, Nichols 709, Reservoir 700
Ormes Peak

Shooting Range Cleanup and Reclamation work session!

Update: Cafevelo Bikes is so excited to hear about the progress FOMP has made getting the shooting areas on Mt. Herman cleaned up that they would like to buy a coffee for any volunteer who shows up and helps tomorrow!  FOMP will be collecting names and giving it to the owner on Wed. If you can not make it please be sure to show your support and drop by Cafevelo Bikes and show them some love in return for encouraging everyone to get out and participate and ride!

http://www.cafevelobikes.com/

FOMP urgently needs you for this special work session!

Tuesday June 12 at 5:00PM or 6:00 PM – Trail work to clean up and reclaim shooting ranges in conjunction with USFS.

FOMP is pleased to be holding a volunteer work session with USFS!

informal shooting ranges that have resulted in massive resource destruction, trash, and very dangerous conditions on Mt. Herman Road will be cleaned up and closed down.
Two groups will go up Mt. Herman Road to the shooting sites to perform clean up in advance of USFS work later this week. Meet at the main trailhead and form carpool groups to go up to the cleanup sites. If you miss a group at 5PM or 6PM then please proceed up the road to catch up with the group.Meet at the main trailhead parking lot at 5:00PM or 6:00PM! (map: http://bit.ly/FOMPMeetingSpot)

Please bring heavy duty black trash baghs if you have them, work gloves, bug spray and a personal water supply.

Primary work location will be up Mt. Herman Rd. about 4.5 miles, at the upper Limbaugh entrance. About 1 mile past where 715 crosses Mt Herman Road. Look for the vehicles, hard to miss.
Thanks and we hope to see you out there soon!

FOMP

Tree Planting: Volunteer Opportunity

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We have a weekend volunteer opportunity for you.

The weather has finally cooperated and provided some much needed moisture so FOMP will be holding a tree planting session! We will be planting 100’s of seedlings and helping them get a head start in the Preserve! These seedlings are hand selected and raised at the same altitude as the Preserve so they should have an excellent chance at surviving and enhanving the Preserve experience.

Saturday April 12, 2012 10:00 AM

– 10am at the Main Parking Lot, Nursery and Mount Herman Road.
– The planting will most likely be complete by 1pm
– This seedling planting will be in Honor of Mel Rezac a long time area resident and member of FOMP. We’ll be planting just West of his house.
– Wear long sleeves, jeans, gloves, sunscreen, and eye protection, bring a personal suply of drinking water.
– Learn from FOMP’s AFA Forester how to select a site for planting and ensure a seedlings success!

Thanks,

FOMP

Minutes from the Board Meeting have been posted.

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See FOMP Board of Directors Meeting Minutes March 12, 2012 for the PDF.

Friends of Monument Preserve

P.O. Box 634

Monument, CO  80132-1216

Board Meeting

March 13, 2012

I.  Call to Order and Attendance:  The Board meeting of the FOMP began at 7:00 p.m. in the Fire Center Classroom.  Members present were Jon Nordby, president; Diane Strohm, treasurer, Marianne LaRivee, secretary; as well as Diane Bandle, Brian Mullen, Joe Ennis, and Hermann Spielkamp, members at large.  Nancy Spielkamp, Doug Bandle, Jeff Steinhoff, Dan Cuvala, Candace and Dana Duthie, and Terri and Robert Erickson were also in attendance.  Jane Fredman and Susan Davies represented the Trails and Open Space Coalition.

 

II.  Issues:

 

A.  Elections:  All officers volunteered to serve another term.  Thus, Jon Nordby is president, Chris Tirpak is vice president, Diane Strohm is treasurer, and Marianne LaRivee is secretary.  Members at large include Brian Mullin, Bill Bensen, Diane Bandle, Joe Ennis, Hermann Spielkamp, and Heidi McClure.

 

B.  Hot Shots Potluck:  The potluck dinner is scheduled for Monday, 23 April 2012 at 5:30.  Diane Bandle passed around a sign-up sheet for casseroles, side dishes, and desserts.  All who missed the meeting are welcome to call Diane to volunteer their culinary skills.

 

C.  Mel Rezac Memorial Tree Planting:  is Saturday, 7 April 2012, at 10:00.  Snow date is 14 April 2012.

 

D.  New Camping Regulations:  Joe Ennis reported a change in camping regulations for the Pike/San Isabel National Forest.  The Forest Service has closed all open camping in Buffalo Creek, off  Rt 550.  Camping is now allowed only in posted areas.  This is potentially good news for our area, if the USFS is willing to restrict camping/parking along Mt Herman, thus removing the opportunity for shooters.

 

E.  Occupy Mt Herman:  Jon Nordby pointed out that to keep shooters from endangering hikers and bikers on Trail 751, we would necessarily have to close four separate pull-outs along Mt Herman.  Diane Strohm noted that a new district ranger will be selected within months, so we may have an ally to help close those pull-outs, discouraging both campers and shooters.

 

F.  Willow Springs Ranch:  Two members of the Trails and Open Space Coalition (TOSC), Susan Davies and Jane Fredman, announced an informational meeting Thursday, 15 March in the Monument Town Hall at 6:30 to measure local interest in turning the 250 acre Willow Springs Ranch property into a green space.  Upon default of the original developer, the bank that owns the property is willing to sell it (all or in part) to a community group that would preserve the area for trails, open space, and possibly ball fields for the school district.

 

G.  Crew Leader Class:  Susan Davies also announced a 2½ day Crew Leader Training Class 20-22 April 2012 sponsored by TOSC and similar groups to teach volunteers the art of trail maintenance and rehabilitation.  Information is available on their web site, TOSC.org.

 

III.  Adjournment.  The meeting was adjourned at 8:10 p.m.