High Country Conservation Advocates (HCCA), in partnership with the Bureau of Land Management, Colorado Parks & Wildlife, and the Upper Gunnison Water Conservancy District will be hosting a volunteer workday that needs your help!
When: Thursday, August 5 (8:00 am to 3:30 pm)
Where: Monson Gulch
Parking: Meet at the Colorado Parks and Wildlife office in Gunnison (300 West New York Ave, Gunnison, CO 81230. We will carpool to the work site from there.
What: Take a few hours to stabilize and preserve sensitive habitat in a unique environment to benefit Gunnison Sage-Grouse. Workday activities will include the installation of a number of (Zeedyk)structures, including: A Low Water Crossing (LWC), One Rock Dams (ORDs), Rock Rundowns (RRs), Beaver Dam Analogues (BDAs), sod plugs and worm ditches.
Here are a few things you should know:
We will provide lunch and water for refills
Bring a water bottle & weather-appropriate clothes/gear (hat, sunscreen, bug spray, etc.)
We provide work gloves and tools
Wear close-toed shoes, comfortable outdoor layers, and clothes you aren’t afraid to get dirty
Please note that there are no bathroom facilities on site
We recommend bringing a small pack to carry anything you may need (water, snacks, bug spray, extra clothes)
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns at eli@hccacb.org. I hope to see you all soon!
Stewardship of public lands helps ensure their sustainability into the future. The above project entails spending a fun-filled day with like-minded community members giving back to YOUR public lands and supporting our lovable wildlife. They are great opportunities to get your hands dirty – and experience personal fulfillment – in furtherance of a worthy cause. Their success is dependent on public participation.
More about the Monson Gulch Project:
The main focus of the project is to promote re-population of the Gunnison Sage Grouse, an indicator ESA species, but wet meadows (wetlands) are also critical to the life cycles of a vast array of wildlife from rare obligate plant species to large game animals and predators… and everything in-between. In other words, these restored systems protect biodiversity. Restored systems also cycle nutrients, restore top-soils through sedimentation and provide groundwater recharge. On a landscape scale, we aim to connect these systems and/or reduce fragmentation to mitigate, or even reverse, climate change effects on the ground, which ultimately provides healthy watersheds.
The goal of the Monson Gulch project is to restore the hydrological function and wet meadow habitat regeneration of the drainage that has been degraded by anthropogenic disturbance, cattle trailing and hoof sheer, and channel incisement and erosion. Bi-proxy, we are creating resilience within the system to combat the effects of climate change. This goal incorporates ecological, economic, and social outcomes to benefit the community at large, including agriculture, recreation, hunting, and ecosystem services.
The objectives of the project will be to incorporate the installation of a number of (Zeedyk)structures, including: A Low Water Crossing (LWC), One Rock Dams (ORDs), Rock Rundowns (RRs), Beaver Dam Analogues (BDAs), sod plugs and worm ditches. By utilizing these different structures and techniques at different points down the reach to address various degradation issues, we are effectively and efficiently manipulating the live water that is present to obtain the aforementioned goal of wet meadow restoration.