Just a brief reminder that FOMP will not hold its monthly meeting tomorrow. Enjoy the holidays and we’ll see you in January!
Thanks
FOMP Board
No December Board Meeting
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Category Archives: FOMP
Hunting in the Preserve
Please be advised that it is legal for hunters to hunt in the Monument Preserve and surrounding National Forest. While we do not encounter hunters in the Monument Preserve proper very frequently it is legal and apparently there was a hunter in the Preserve this morning hunting deer or elk. You might want to wear hunter orange or something similar until the end of hunting season – which appears to be 11/16 for Deer and Elk rifle hunting in the Game Management Unit for the area .
If you are a hunter or know one that operates in the area please remember that the Preserve is laced with trails and trail users at all times of day – most of whom are under the impression that no hunting occurs there.
Thanks and please be careful out there!
Reminder: Final Board Meeting for 2008
Just a quick reminder that Tuesday November 11, 2008 at 7:00 PM will be the final monthly FOMP Board Meeting for 2008. The meeting will be held in the classroom building at the Monument Fire Center within the Preserve. (turn left into the fire center from Mt. Herman Rd and proceed to the first building on your right)
Final Trail Night 2008
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.
VOC Call for volunteers
Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado has put in a request for help from FOMP members:
(150 volunteers needed — minimum age: 12)
The East-West Trail in Stratton Open Space, just west of Colorado Springs , is a diverse region of five ecosystems. The Parks ponderosa pine forests, scrub oak brush lands, high meadow grasslands, cattail marsh and riparian area are home to a wide variety of wildlife. Thousands of visitors utilize the park each year for its panoramic views and popular hiking and mountain biking trails. Stratton’s popularity has led to a growing network of social trails that threaten its beauty and habitats. Join your Front Range neighbors to construct and rehabilitate 4,500 feet of trail, close social trails and rehabilitate scarred areas by planting native grasses.
Right now we are really short of volunteers and we need you! Please help spread the word.
Work Day is 7:30-3:30
Coyote Corner
This year there has been a marked increase in coyote activity in the Preserve and surrounding areas. Many of these coyote’s are attacking dogs and frequently doing so in the presence of humans. These desensitized animals are becoming a nuisance and potential safety issue to Preserve users. We have been in contact with the USFS and The Colorado Division of Wildlife and are working on a solution to these de-sensitized coyote’s. Please pay attention to yourself and your animals when you are in the Preserve. We will let you know what we work out with the various agencies as soon as possible.
Dyad drilling decision delayed
FRERC.ORG has just setn the following news release to all of its memebers, FOMP would also like you to be aware. More info at www.frerc.org
“U.S. FOREST SERVICE COLLECTING ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Dyad Petroleum Decision Delayed
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., June 25, 2008.Pike National Forest, Pikes Peak Ranger Brent Botts said more information has been requested from Dyad Petroleum before a thorough Environmental Assessment (EA) can be completed for the El Paso County project. No decision on the exploratory drilling proposal is expected prior to the Spring of 2009.According to Botts, “We asked Dyad Petroleum representatives for additional information about the site, roads, air and water quality and they responded favorably. It will likely take at least another six months to evaluate the information and prepare the environmental analyses.”The Forest Service will prepare a formal scoping statement and solicit public comment following receipt and evaluation of the additional information requested of Dyad.”
Tree Project this Saturday
We are in a dry spell and it looks like it won’t let up soon.
FOMP members planted 200 pine seedlings in mid-April this year, about
1/3 mile West of Memorial Grove centered around where the trail turns
sharply South and starts its climb to the rocky ridge and traverses
Southwest to 715. We’d like to get some water up to them on this
Saturday, 14-June, at 8am. Jon will have a pickup at Nursery and
Schilling with a horse trough full of water (non-potable!) if folks
would be willing to show up with some plastic jugs and packs to help
these trees through the dry spell. These seedlings are pretty easy to
spot – they were protected from wildlife by yellow-weave basket material
and were planted in natural breaks in the scrub oak. You can spot a few
from the trail even – they are spread out from there covering about 3
acres in a rough circle. We plan to only be at this an hour – a few
folks on bikes might get a couple round trips in. Families welcome! If
you arrive late, fill up with water from the truck, and hike up the road
to Memorial Grove. From there, continue West on the trail about another
1/3rd mile and you’ll find folks in there searching for trees. Bring a
garden shovel to help mulch and build berms to hold runoff near these
trees. Even if you can make that area part of your Saturday walk or
ride, bring a spare water bottle and dump it on a seedling up there.
Thanks,
Questions/Comments to Jon Nordby at 719-640-1347.
Trails/Email List/WebSite
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.
Trails and Trees Postponed!
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 …