Author Archives: chris

Recreational Shooting Closure Implemented on Pikes Peak District

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FOMP is glad to see the USFS taking action to make the area safe for all forest users!

FOMP will be sponsoring a cleanup day soon, please stay tuned!

Release Date: Jul 7, 2014

Contact(s): Barb Timock, Public Affairs Officer, 719-553-1415

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO., July 8, 2014…Effective July, 7, 2014, the Pike National Forest – Pikes Peak Ranger District has issued an Order closing a 9,567 acre area in El Paso County to recreational shooting. The Order is necessary to provide for public safety and to protect natural resources and facilities. It prohibits discharging a firearm, air rifle or gas gun in the designated area.

Erin Connelly, Forest and Grassland Supervisor of the Pike & San Isabel National Forests, Cimarron & Comanche National Grasslands (PSICC) said, “My focus is on ensuring public and resource protection while more than 94 percent of the PSICC remains open to this sport. This closure will improve the overall safety for visitors to the PSICC.”

The Order affects the area surrounding Mount Herman Road (Forest Service Road 320) from Monument, Colorado west to the Teller County line. This area does not provide for safe or reasonable recreational shooting due to the steep terrain and concentrated public use. The area surrounding Mount Herman Road is particularly rugged and contains a variety of recreational opportunities. Due to the proximity of this area to Denver and Colorado Springs, the volume of recreational shooting has increased substantially in recent years.

Hunters are unaffected by this Order.  The Order does not impact individuals with valid State of Colorado hunting licenses who are actively involved in hunting during an open season.

More details may be found @: http://prdp2fs.ess.usda.gov/alerts/psicc/alerts-notices(Scroll to Closures).

Note: above link should probably be: http://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/psicc/alerts-notices

FOMP Opposition to Rampart Wildlands Project and June 21st BioBlitz

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7am Saturday, June 21 2014, at the Palmer Lake Trailhead the Colorado Mountain Club (CMC) is organizing a BioBlitz of Ice Cave Creek in through Butler Canyon NW of Palmer Lake in Pike National Forest.  This activity is specifically meant to find unique and rare plant and animal species to help drive a Wilderness designation for much of Pike National Forest North of Balanced Rock Road. This is worded on their website (https://www.cmc.org/Conservation/RampartRangeWildlandsProject.aspx)
as such:
“Your participation is critical to ensuring our campaign has a good understanding and reliable documentation of the biological resources of this unique and special area. A report will be compiled and used for future protection of this area. We hope/expect to find several rare plants and animal species.”
If you are able to, please attend this BioBlitz and politely voice your opposition to Josh Kuhn with the CMC and other members. Please do so with respect for the CMC members and in a professional manner, but our opposition to this must organize and grow to the point where their effort stops.
FOMP has met with members of CMC, and have had members work on the Ice Cave Creek trail reroute.  Both were very negative experiences in that CMC does not advocate responsible multi-use of our national forests, and seeks to exclude all motorized and mechanized use in the proposed Rampart Wildlands area.   Although FOMP’s main volunteer work is in non-motorized areas of Pike, we respect and encourage all responsible multi-use of the forest resources and will work against any organization that tries to exclude user groups.   Your FOMP elected board members and members at large consists of hikers, runners, mountain bikers, horseback riders, birders, motorcycle riders, and OHV enthusiasts.  To represent our membership best, we feel it best to oppose the CMC initiative.
More info on the CMC can be found here:  (https://www.cmc.org)
FOMP is organizing a separate  website for all information we have dealing with this subject, we’ll send the information out soon, but we have interfaced with several groups, the town of Palmer Lake, USFS personnel, and many concerned individuals.

Extra Volunteer Opportunity

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FOMP needs you for this work session!

Tuesday June 17 at 6:00 PM
 

FOMP is pleased to be holding an extra volunteer trail work and tree trimming/seedling release work session!

We will be working on finishing a minor re-route project we started yesterday evening and did not have time to complete. We need as many volunteers as possible to come polish in this new section, shape drains, cut scrub oak, and remove stumps.

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) 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!

June Trail Work Session

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FOMP needs you for this work session!

Tuesday June 10 at 6:00 PM
 

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

We will be working on trails that desperately need some TLC after along and busy winter! We will also be performing seedling release – his involves cutting back scrub oak growth and removing any remaining root balls that are sticking up that could injure people, horses, or bikes.

We will also hold our monthly BOD meeting in the parking lot prior to the start of activities.

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!

Upper Monument Creek Fire Mitigation

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Upper Monument Creek Mitigation Informational Meetings

FOMP would like to make you aware of an urgent USFS proposal that will affect the entire Tri-Lakes area and meeting being held tonight at the Monument library!

USFS project website: http://uppermonumentcreek.blogspot.com/

The Pike National Forest, Pikes Peak Ranger District will host several open house meetings for public wanting to learn more about the Upper Monument Creek project.  These scoping meetings will be held at public libraries in Colorado Springs, Monument, and Woodland Park.  The public is encouraged to attend May 28, 29, and June 3, 2014 to learn more and offer comments.

The Upper Monument Creek project proposes a variety of treatments within the 67,000 acre analysis area that includes El Paso, Douglas, and Teller counties.  The project will focus on creating more resilient ecological conditions, reducing the potential impacts of uncharacteristic wildfire to communities, infrastructure, and natural resources, and contributing towards the long-term sustainability of a full range of natural resource values including wildlife habitat, aquatic resources and public drinking water.

An Upper Monument Creek assessment was developed in collaboration with many different stakeholders including multiple government agencies, researchers, and local non-profits.  The public will have opportunity to make comments at each public open house or can submit them via email, the website or post.  The official comment period will be announced soon.  For more project information please attend one of the public meetings listed below.

All meetings will be from 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

May 28, 2014 at Penrose Library, Carnegie Reading Room – 20 N. Cascade Ave. Colo. Springs

May 29, 2014 at Monument Public Library – 1706 Lake Woodmoor Dr. Monument

June 3, 2014 at Woodland Park Library – 218 East Midland Ave. Woodland Park

Trail Work!

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FOMP needs you for this work session!

Tuesday May 20 at 6:00 PM
 

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

We will be working on trails that desperately need some TLC after along and busy winter! We will also be performing seedling release – his involves cutting back scrub oak growth and removing any remaining root balls that are sticking up that could injure people, horses, or bikes.

We will also hold our monthly BOD meeting in the parking lot prior to the start of activities. 

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!

Cancelled: Trail Work

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Why? because it is May in Colorado and so of course we have too much snow!

We will hold the trail work originally scheduled for Tuesday 5/13 on Tuesday 5/20. We will send out another reminder next week.

Thanks and stay tuned!

FOMP