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July 2022 Work Party Updates
Sandy Freethey and I have been meeting regularly to do trail work on the PSH and Powerdam areas. We have been making great strides in fixing social trails, getting good signage installed, and rock outlining trails. Very rewarding.
We recently held a tumbleweed roundup party and had 11 volunteers. We plan to continue this every couple of weeks or so, focusing on goatheads when they make their inevitable appearance!
Sandy Freethey and I have been meeting regularly to do trail work on the PSH and Powerdam areas. We have been making great strides in fixing social trails, getting good signage installed, and rock outlining trails. Very rewarding.
We recently held a tumbleweed roundup party and had 11 volunteers. We plan to continue this every couple of weeks or so, focusing on goatheads when they make their inevitable appearance!
September 2021 Work Party
Now that Diego Velasquez has joined our team, we will be holding periodic work parties in the canyon. Two were held in September to address the enormous number of goatheads that proliferated after flooding. We removed 4 forty gallon bags from the parking area to the Powerdam.
Regular daily work continues, pulling tumbleweeds, trimming back brush to keep the trails easy to navigate, removing any recyclables or trash left behind, and planning major trail work with other partners working in the canyon.
Now that Diego Velasquez has joined our team, we will be holding periodic work parties in the canyon. Two were held in September to address the enormous number of goatheads that proliferated after flooding. We removed 4 forty gallon bags from the parking area to the Powerdam.
Regular daily work continues, pulling tumbleweeds, trimming back brush to keep the trails easy to navigate, removing any recyclables or trash left behind, and planning major trail work with other partners working in the canyon.
On September 1, 2020, Sandy Freethey joined me and Sam, my new employee. The three of us worked on maintaining a trail along the creek and closing off user created trails. Sandy used this giant tumbleweed to help in that effort.
Long overdue updates!
So much has changed because of the virus. But work in the canyon continues, continuously. With so few visitors in the area recently, the spring grasses and flowers have flourished. In the places where we placed slash, to keep folks on the trail, there has been an explosion of yellow, white, and purple flowers. But let's back up a bit....MORE TO COME!
So much has changed because of the virus. But work in the canyon continues, continuously. With so few visitors in the area recently, the spring grasses and flowers have flourished. In the places where we placed slash, to keep folks on the trail, there has been an explosion of yellow, white, and purple flowers. But let's back up a bit....MORE TO COME!
Updates on recent activity - November 2019
We continue with the regular daily maintenance and cleanup in the canyon, but now that summer is behind us, we have scores of social trailing to erase. To that end, we have been busy. Recent trail work focused on naturalizing many trails past the powerdam and on the way to the confluence. Our hope is that the slash we are placing will host all the spring growth, and help create healthy ecosystems for new growth.
In early October, we partnered with the Grand County Weed Department and had a volunteer work day to address the tumbleweeds on the Powerdam side of the canyon. We had a bunch of volunteers show up and collectively we removed hundreds of the "tumbles". The Weed Department, just a couple of weeks later, worked with a volunteer group on the Potato Salad Hill side of the creek, removing hundreds more. This is the way to reduce the spread of these weeds. Great job!
Our next goal is to get all the work up to the confluence completed, then go to the waterfall, and to right-hand to see what is happening over there. I have to get my waders out so I can cross the creek without getting cold feet.
We continue with the regular daily maintenance and cleanup in the canyon, but now that summer is behind us, we have scores of social trailing to erase. To that end, we have been busy. Recent trail work focused on naturalizing many trails past the powerdam and on the way to the confluence. Our hope is that the slash we are placing will host all the spring growth, and help create healthy ecosystems for new growth.
In early October, we partnered with the Grand County Weed Department and had a volunteer work day to address the tumbleweeds on the Powerdam side of the canyon. We had a bunch of volunteers show up and collectively we removed hundreds of the "tumbles". The Weed Department, just a couple of weeks later, worked with a volunteer group on the Potato Salad Hill side of the creek, removing hundreds more. This is the way to reduce the spread of these weeds. Great job!
Our next goal is to get all the work up to the confluence completed, then go to the waterfall, and to right-hand to see what is happening over there. I have to get my waders out so I can cross the creek without getting cold feet.
Updates on recent activity - March 2, 2019
It has been a snowy winter and we are looking forward to a beautiful wildflower season. We are also getting ready for visitors to return to the area in great numbers. That is why we have been doing whatever trail work is possible in between the snow storms.
Trail Mix did a great project in the canyon during Public Lands Day back in September. I am currently working with a Trail Mix trail worker on maintenance and restorations. Having highly experienced trail workers is fantastic, and I am grateful for some grant money I receive for this purpose. But we would love to have some volunteer days this spring. We need to pull some weeds, and trim brush along the main trail. Let us know what days work for you! We will make it work.
We have been working, in a large group with many others, with Betsy Burne from the Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program. BLM, SITLA, County and City agencies, nonprofits, and a variety of others are working toward finding long term solutions to the impacts of increased visitation to Mill Creek, including the issue with cars parking illegally and others traffic issues. We are hoping to get some short-term measures in place before the peak of the spring season, but the recent government shutdown caused some delays.
There are a few bad actors who visit the canyon and delight in destroying beaver dams, moving brush we have placed to protect off trail areas into the middle of the trail and more. Please! If you see someone doing that, and can safely take a photo without them seeing you, that would be great. If you could let us know of anything that needs to be redone, let me know. 435-401-4685. THANKS!
It has been a snowy winter and we are looking forward to a beautiful wildflower season. We are also getting ready for visitors to return to the area in great numbers. That is why we have been doing whatever trail work is possible in between the snow storms.
Trail Mix did a great project in the canyon during Public Lands Day back in September. I am currently working with a Trail Mix trail worker on maintenance and restorations. Having highly experienced trail workers is fantastic, and I am grateful for some grant money I receive for this purpose. But we would love to have some volunteer days this spring. We need to pull some weeds, and trim brush along the main trail. Let us know what days work for you! We will make it work.
We have been working, in a large group with many others, with Betsy Burne from the Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program. BLM, SITLA, County and City agencies, nonprofits, and a variety of others are working toward finding long term solutions to the impacts of increased visitation to Mill Creek, including the issue with cars parking illegally and others traffic issues. We are hoping to get some short-term measures in place before the peak of the spring season, but the recent government shutdown caused some delays.
There are a few bad actors who visit the canyon and delight in destroying beaver dams, moving brush we have placed to protect off trail areas into the middle of the trail and more. Please! If you see someone doing that, and can safely take a photo without them seeing you, that would be great. If you could let us know of anything that needs to be redone, let me know. 435-401-4685. THANKS!
Enjoy these photos from our March, 2016 work party. A fence was built and a huge tire
was removed from the beach area near the parking area.
was removed from the beach area near the parking area.
Beavers, our best friends!
What's the deal with beavers?
Some people get concerned when they see beaver-downed trees. Tell them not to worry! Beavers are so vitally important to a healthy environment that they are being reintroduced in suitable areas as a way to heal the planet from climate change. We cage front county cottonwoods and let the beavers work their magic elsewhere. Check out this great article by Mary O'Brien for more information about our best friends.
Some people get concerned when they see beaver-downed trees. Tell them not to worry! Beavers are so vitally important to a healthy environment that they are being reintroduced in suitable areas as a way to heal the planet from climate change. We cage front county cottonwoods and let the beavers work their magic elsewhere. Check out this great article by Mary O'Brien for more information about our best friends.
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Ravenna grass
(Saccharum ravennae) is a tall, dramatic bunchgrass that was introduced from Eurasia and threatens wetlands and riparian corridors in the desert southwest. This plant is highly invasive and competitive; it produces hundreds of thousands of seeds that are wind and water dispersed and germinate quickly and easily in a variety of soil and canopy conditions. Click here for an informative flyer on Ravenna Grass |
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