 |
| April gravel pit workday crew |
|
| Grasses are growing taller and check dams are reducing erosion thanks to the many volunteers who worked this spring in the restoration project.
In April two dozen people raked, seeded and placed erosion mat in the gravel pit after the Forest Service bulldozed the area. It has been transformed from a barren weed-filled sediment producer into a green spot with good germination of seed. It’s not perfect – the Canada thistle is still growing along the north side, but we expected that. Our partners at Rocky Mountain Field Institute helped plan and supervise this work day.
During the warmer days in May, Trout Creek continued to flow at high levels and returning birds and flowers were much in evidence. The Southwest Conservation Corps camped for nine days upstream near Eagle Creek, and the eight of them and their supervisor from Rocky Mountain Field Institute did an incredible amount of work. Among other things, they built 104 check dams, recontoured 1,900 feet of trail bed, raked and seeded 4,900 feet of trail, brushed in 3,200 feet of trail, recontoured 2,300 sq. ft of slope and raked and seeded 5,500 sq. ft. of slope.
Then on a nice May Saturday, 36 people, including a crew from Colorado Springs Utilities and the Conservation Corps, worked on the lower section of the trail corridor that was started in 2009. All the preparation was done with hand tools in this steep section. More check dams, erosion mat, raking and seeding, and finally pulling brush and logs onto the trails were competed.
|
