August Trail Night

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FOMP needs you for this work session!
Tuesday August 12 at 6:00 PM 

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

Note: We really need volunteers to come out even if it is only once per year. We need new faces to help us maintain our trails – have you been out enjoying the trails this year? Please consider spending one evening per year giving back so we can keep the trails open! — Thanks!]

We will be working on trails that desperately need some TLC after a long and busy spring and heavy summer rains – as well as some neglect while we have been working to clean up Mt. Herman Rd after the recent recreational shooting ban. We will also be performing seedling release – this 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 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 the corner of Mt. Herman Rd and Nursery Rd at 6:00PM! (map: http://bit.ly/FOMPMeetingSpot)

Thanks and we hope to see you out there!

Devin John Seifert Memorial Clean Up& BBQ 2014 Mt. Herman

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Devin John Seifert Memorial Cleanup and BBQ 2014

  • Mt Herman Road
  • 9am-6pm Sunday August 10th

Devin’s family and friends want to invite the community to join them Sunday August 10th to honor Devin and help pick up the trash on Mount Herman Road.  The focus is to clean up some of the old shooting areas as well as clean up any problem dumping spots along the road.   Wear sturdy shoes, sunscreen, and gloves – consider bringing water and a snack.  Rakes and shovels come in handy as well, and a few wheelbarrows are useful at the different sites.  BBQ at Dirty Woman Park afterwards.

Meet at 9am at Dirty Woman Park.  Please signup below on the Facebook event, or contact the Friends of Monument Preserve (info below).   If you can only make part of the day, please come on up the road anytime before 2pm to pitch in!  We will be near dumpsters placed about 6 miles up from the parking lot on 320a,b,c and further up near 318 addressing the problem areas on the way up the road

This effort is partnered with the US Forest Service, Friends of Monument Preserve (FOMP), and many local businesses donating food, materials, dumpsters, and volunteer help.

More information online:

Friends of Monument Preserve can be Found Online at:

Mt. Herman Road Cleanup

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FOMP needs you for this work session!

[Note: new dates – Saturday and Sunday July 19th and 20th – please see the details they have changed a little bit – Thanks!]

When:

Saturday , July 19 at 9:30 AM – 12:00 PM (at the 4.5 mile marker where you will find the dumpster)  

Sunday , July 20 at 9:30 AM – 12:00 PM (at the 5 mile marker just past the dumpster)

This month instead of our regular trail work session FOMP will be working on Mt. Herman Rd to cleanup the mess left at some of the now closed shooting sites. Have a look at this photo from Saturday morning’s cleanup effort (courtesy of Bill Benson):

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The main area we will be working is approximately 4.5 miles and 5.o miles from the main parking lot up Mount Herman Road (MHR).  If you are unclear where this area is , just wear leather gloves and sturdy footwear (there will be broken glass and other similar hazards), bring a rake and personal water supply (bug spray is also good idea) and head up MHR until you find us.  Show up for the entire time if you can or just an hour or two, every little bit helps!

FOMP and USFS will provide any other 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 as appropriate. We meet rain or shine unless there is lightning active in the area.

If you have any questions about the cleanup effort please contact Jon Nordby (719.640.1347) or Chris Tirpak (719.439.8865). Large groups are welcome so rally your group and come join us. 

Mt. Herman Rd. Cleanup

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USFS Closes Mt. Herman Road to recreational shooting!

The USFS has listened to and stepped up for the community and closed Mt. Herman Rd and many of the spur roads between Monument and Rampart Range Road to recreational shooting.  It is time for us to support them in this decision and help clean up and restore Mount Herman. Information and maps about the closure are linked below.

More importantly we need you to come join us and help with the cleanup and restoration efforts.

FOMP is organising trash cleanups at the recently closed shooting areas on Saturday July 12th from 8am-noon and Tuesday July 15th 6pm-dusk (this will replace our regularly planned trail work and seedling release work session).  The main area we will be working is approximately 4.5 miles from the main parking lot up Mount Herman Road (MHR).  If you are unclear where this area is , just wear leather gloves and sturdy footwear (there will be broken glass and other similar hazards), bring a rake and personal water supply (a hat, bug spray and sunscreen  are also good ideas) and head up MHR until you see us.  We are purposely only going half a day because this cleanup, involving up to 16 distinct areas all the way to Rampart Range Road, will take the rest of the season to get cleaned up and restoration started.  Show up for the entire time if you can or just an hour or two, or even just bike-hike-run-horse ride on through and fill a bag up on your way. Every little bit helps!

If you have any questions about the cleanup effort please contact Jon Nordby (719.640.1347) or Chris Tirpak (719.439.8865). Large groups are welcome so rally your group and come join us. 

Additional Information on the closure can be found on these posts on the website:

Recreational Shooting Closure Maps and Order
https://fomp.org/2014/07/09/recreational-shooting-closure-maps-and-order/

Recreational Shooting Closure Implemented on Pikes Peak District
https://fomp.org/2014/07/08/recreational-shooting-closure-implemented-on-pikes-peak-district/

Thanks and we hope to see you out there soon!
FOMP

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!