Account #1 – Around 540 PM, I pulled into my normal parking spot at the first trailhead (nursery rd) in the dirt spots directly off the road and observed the two cars immediately next to me had their windows smashed out. I left and went to park somewhere else due to the circumstances.
Account #2 – Hey, all. Just want to give you all a warning. My car was broken into the Monument Rock, nursery road trailhead. Apparently, the girl’s car next to me was also. She was so sweet and left a note. But these dirtbags went straight to Walmart and spent over $500.
FOMP Response => Please note that this area is not under the jurisdiction of the Town of Monument Police (outside the city limits) and is instead taken care of by the El Paso County Sheriff. If you have been a Smash and Grab victim, please call the Sheriff’s office.
If you are a victim of any break-in, report it!
Please be careful, and take all valuables with you when you bike, hike, or run. In addition, keep anything like packs, purses, etc., hidden and out of sight. Watch your surroundings and note anything odd in the parking lot, including suspicious vehicles or people.
El Paso County Sheriff: Non-Emergency Dispatch Phone Line (719) 390-5555
The rest of the info you need: FOMP and USFS provide all the necessary tools. Volunteers should wear appropriate clothing for performing outdoor landscaping type of work. Volunteers should wear long pants and sturdy shoes and bring leather gloves, a hat, a personal water supply, eye protection, sunscreen, and bug repellent. We meet rain or shine unless there is lightning active in the area.
We make every effort to accommodate volunteer preferences and abilities at each event. Generally, we perform water bar building or renovation, trail renovation, maintenance, trimming, etc. So, everything from trimming back scrub oak or digging lots of dirt to moving boulders. We assign duties based on interests 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.
Be aware that all participants will need to sign a waiver before beginning any trail work.
The rest of the info you need: FOMP and USFS provide all the necessary tools. Volunteers should wear appropriate clothing for performing outdoor landscaping type of work. Volunteers should wear long pants and sturdy shoes and bring leather gloves, a hat, a personal water supply, eye protection, sunscreen, and bug repellent. We meet rain or shine unless there is lightning active in the area.
We make every effort to accommodate volunteer preferences and abilities at each event. Generally, we perform water bar building or renovation, trail renovation, maintenance, trimming, etc. So, everything from trimming back scrub oak or digging lots of dirt to moving boulders. We assign duties based on interests 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.
Be aware that all participants will need to sign a waiver before beginning any trail work.
USFS Upper Monument Creek – Monument Fuels Treatment
Most of you know that the USFS continues its three-year fire mitigation project in the 1,000 acres of open space surrounding the Monument Fire Center. According to the Fuels Management Office of the Pikes Peak Ranger District, this area was designated as extremely high risk for high-intensity, potentially catastrophic wildfires. Thus, USFS concentrated its money and efforts here to protect the wildland-urban interface and surrounding communities.
Monument Mastication talking points:
Reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires
Maintain healthy and resilient forests for future generations
Actively manage the landscape to increase the resiliency of the forest
Improve the health of the forest, watersheds, and wildlife habitat
Create fuel breaks in strategic locations for firefighter safety, to prevent fire spread, and create holding areas for prescribed fire
Ponderosa pine islands, individual trees, & large old oak trees would be protected
Remove Gambel oak and other woody brush that may serve as ladder fuels and encourage pine regeneration
Leave variation in oak growth forms, sizes, age classes, densities, and spatial distribution
Future treatments to follow during the winter seasons
Hand Thinning – Trees would be hand thinned using chainsaws.
Mastication – Oak shrubs & small trees will be mulched into small chunks by a rubber tire or tracked equipment.
While we appreciate the need for mitigation, FOMP has concerns about the execution of the project compared to the originally planned thinning operations. That is, while we were prepared for a mosaic cutting pattern, leaving islands of pines, firs, and Gambel oak, some areas have been completely leveled.
And while the Forest Service advertised promoting a more complex vegetation structure, the contractor left only the largest pines in many areas, with no medium-sized trees or scrub. Finally, these areas are completely cleared of growth on numerous slopes where FOMP members worked with USFS approval to plant pine seedlings in burn sites and ensure seedling release. FOMP is in contact with the Forest Service to voice these concerns and hopefully impact the next phase.
Many of our trails have been damaged due to equipment use and accumulation of slash. The USFS relies on FOMP to maintain trails and allow for the wide variety of recreational uses we all enjoy. During this project, the USFS informed FOMP that although they were not proactively protecting non-system trails, they did not intend to ruin or close any trails. Thus, once the contract work is completed and areas are opened, FOMP will organize volunteer work days to clear authorized trails and repair damage. In some cases, we will optimize trail alignment to avoid low spots where water pools to increase sustainability.
We will use our monthly trail work nights, the second Tuesday of each month, April – October, at 6:00 p.m., as well as additional work days to address the large amount of work to be done. Please watch for email and social media announcements, and help us recruit volunteers. We all look forward to getting the trails back into shape and enjoying our corner of Pike National Forest.
Please be aware that USFS contractors will conduct thinning operations at the Monument Preserve as a form of fire mitigation or fuel mastication. These operations are a part of the larger Upper Monument Creek Landscape Restoration Project to restore forests in the Rampart Range area. The fuel treatment project will reduce wildfire risk and create a more complex vegetation structure.
The USFS has officially lifted the Area 1 closure (Ref: Termination of Order). Beginning the first week in January, there will be some cleanup work in and around Area 1 to resolve anything missed during the initial work and hand-felling treatment work. They will also be limbing trees along Mt. Herman Road.
Area 2 thinning operations will begin the week of January 2nd and last until March 3rd (Ref: Phase 2 South Order). The Area includes the central portions of the Fire Center area (the hatched section in the map).
For public safety during operations, the USFS has informed us that the areas of Area 2 will be closed to use during the work period, though they’ll be open on the weekends. Various large equipment and hand tools will be used to thin the vegetation, and hazardous conditions may exist in the treatment area. The closure is needed to ensure the safety of the public and the operators.
The USFS has informed FOMP that while there may be damage to some trails due to equipment used in the mitigation process and accumulation of slash, there is no intent to destroy or close trails associated with this project.
Area 1 work in progress – Photo courtesy of Brad Baker
USFS Fire Mitigation in the Monument Preserve
Please be aware that the USFS will be conducting thinning operations at the Monument Preserve as a form of fire mitigation. These operations are a part of the larger Upper Monument Creek Landscape Restoration Project to restore forests in the Rampart Range area. The fuel treatment project will reduce the risk of wildfire and create a more complex vegetation structure in the area.
Area 1 thinning operations began this week and last until the end of the year and include the northern portion of the Fire Center area (the hatched portion in the map).
Area 2 begins in January 2023, lasts through March 2023, and includes the most central portions of the Fire Center.
For public safety during operations, the USFS has informed us that the areas of Areas 1 & 2 will be closed to use during the work period, though they’ll be open on the weekends. A variety of large equipment and hand tools will be used to thin the vegetation, and hazardous conditions may exist in the treatment area. The closure is needed to ensure the safety of the public and the operators.
Area 1 work in progress – Photo courtesy of Brad Baker
The USFS has informed FOMP that while there may be damage to some trails due to equipment used in the mitigation process and accumulation of slash, there is no intent to destroy or close trails associated with this project.
Here are the original maps for Area 1 & 2 closures.
Join us for the cleanup of MULTIPLE hotspots at the base of Mt Herman Rd that need our attention before the weather prevents it. We really need about 15 people to get these areas done well, so feel free to bring a friend.
MEETING LOCATION: Carpool/Caravan to the cleanup sites; ARRIVE 15 min EARLY
The road does NOT require 4WD but is dirt, so a higher clearance front-wheel drive vehicle is preferred.
9:00 am – Departs from Monument: Dirty Woman Park (17575 Mitchell Ave) in the main parking lot by the playing field.
LUNCH: PROVIDED after the cleanup at about noon
BRING: Refillable water bottle, gloves, wear sunscreen, a coat, long pants & STURDY shoes/boots
PROVIDED: water, gloves (if needed), grabbers, trash bag
PRE-REGISTRATION is VERY helpful so that we can be sure to bring enough supplies & food for everyone
FOMP is pleased to announce our November 2022 Board Meeting
Meeting Time: Tuesday, November 8th at 7:00 PM, It will be an online call. If you are interested in attending, please email us at info@fomp.org for details.
Board Changes
We want to welcome Donna Wood as our new FOMP Treasurer. Unfortunately, Sarah Brondum has resigned as our Secretary/Outreach lead, so if anyone is interested in that volunteer position, please email us at info@fomp.org. Thanks for Sarah’s hard work during her time with the Board, and good luck are her future endeavors.
