The Pikes Peak Ranger District has reopened the Mt Herman Road (USFS #320) after a 7-week closure.
This closure was due to spring storm impacts which caused significant rockslides and washouts.
The rockfall was moved, and the monstrous washout was just filled by Black Hills Energy.
FOMP
The Pikes Peak Ranger District on the Pike-San Isabel National Forests will be conducting a fuels reduction project in Upper Monument Creek in support of the United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service’s 10-year Wildfire Crisis Strategy. The purpose of this project is to create a defensible space along Mt. Herman Road as well as along the Forest Service boundary.
They have completed the 25-acre Treatment Area 1 (refer to map), and currently, their contractors are working on the 150-acre Treatment Area 2.
We have been informed that there have been public interference issues during the contractor’s work days. They are having to take operational pauses to answer questions as well as prevent debris from impacting bikers and hikers in the project area.
Due to safety concerns such as flying debris and felled tree limbs, the project area must be avoided by the public during the entire project period. Please avoid the area so the work can be completed in a timely manner, and we can therefore get back to using our trail systems.
FOMP is pleased to be holding one of our monthly volunteer trail work maintenance sessions for 2023.
Note: Different location for meeting spot – Please meet at the corner of Mt Herman Lane and Turner Road https://goo.gl/maps/dmQGeYbDUoGXy8XFA
Check the website too! http://www.fomp.org
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.
Just to let you know, all participants will need to sign a waiver before beginning any trail work.
Thanks, and we hope to see you out there!
FOMP
The Pikes Peak Ranger District on the Pike-San Isabel National Forests will be conducting a fuels reduction project in Upper Monument Creek in support of the United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service’s 10-year Wildfire Crisis Strategy. The purpose of this project is to create a defensible space along Mt. Herman Road as well as along the Forest Service boundary. This project is scheduled to begin the week of June 5, 2023, and is expected to last approximately two weeks.
Due to safety concerns such as flying debris and felled tree limbs, the project area must be avoided by the public during the entire project period.
There are two mastication treatment areas. Up to 25 acres will be treated in Area 1, which involves masticating hand piles created from previous treatments. Up to 150 acres will be treated in Area 2 and involve masticating small diameter trees or “ladder fuels,” which will create a defensible space/fuel break for the adjacent subdivision and town of Monument.
Mechanical thinning of forests reduces the amount of vegetation that has built up to dangerous levels and benefits forests by reducing the probability of catastrophic fires, helping maintain and restore healthy and resilient ecosystems, and protecting lives and communities near the boundaries between wildlands and urbanization. Mechanical treatment can be used on its own or together with prescribed burning to change how wildfire behaves so that if a fire does burn through a treated area, it is less destructive, less costly, and easier to control.
“The U.S. Forest Service ensures that mechanical thinning sustains healthy forest ecosystems while also protecting lives and property,” said Pikes Peak District Ranger Carl Bauer. “We rely on skilled professionals who are guided by law and policy and grounded by science.”
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter @PSICCNF for the latest updates.
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
Main Agenda: Continue cleaning trails to remove debris from fire mitigation and begin maintenance work.
Tuesday, May 9th at 6:00 PM
FOMP is pleased to be holding one of our monthly volunteer trail work maintenance sessions for 2023.
Please register here so that we have a headcount: FOMP May 2023 Trail Night
Please meet at the main parking lot at Mt Herman and Nursery https://goo.gl/maps/rdJuhbbQWEx
Check the website too! http://www.fomp.org
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.
Thanks, and we hope to see you out there!
FOMP
FOMP is pleased to be holding one of our monthly volunteer trail work maintenance sessions for 2023.
Please register here so that we have a headcount: FOMP April 2023 Trail Night
Please meet at the main parking lot at Mt Herman and Nursery https://goo.gl/maps/rdJuhbbQWEx
Check the website too! http://www.fomp.org
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.
Thanks, and we hope to see you out there!
FOMP
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:
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.
FOMP is pleased to announce our March 2023 Board Meeting
Meeting Time:
Tuesday, March 14th at 7:00 PM
We are doing a Zoom meeting. If you want to attend, please go ahead and RSVP to info@fomp.org, and more login details will be provided.
Board Member Updates
Topics
Open Discussion
Thanks
FOMP BOD
FOMP is pleased to announce our February 2023 Board Meeting
Meeting Time:
Monday, Feb 13th at 7:00 PM (Not Tuesday, since 14th is Valentines Day)
We are doing a Zoom meeting. If you want to attend, please go ahead and RSVP to info@fomp.org, and more login details will be provided.
Board Member Updates
Topics
Open Discussion
Thanks
FOMP BOD