Beginning on September 1, park officials will put annual closures in place for travel on foot or horse off established roadways or designated trails from 5 p.m. to 10 a.m. In 2020, the closure time extended to 10 a.m. from 7 a.m. due to a significant increase in visitors approaching elk when the morning meadow closures lifted. These closures last through October 31 and are effective in Horseshoe Park, Upper Beaver Meadows, Moraine Park, Harbison Meadow and Holzwarth Meadow in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Fishing in the Fall River, Thompson River or Colorado River within the posted areas remain the same as previous years and are closed from 5 p.m. to 7 a.m.
The purpose of the closures is to prevent disturbance and harassment of elk during their fall mating period and to enhance visitor elk viewing opportunities. As always, elk calling and the use of spotlights or vehicle headlights for spotting wildlife is prohibited in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
HikinginGlacier.com
TetonHikingTrails.com
Ramble On: A History of Hiking
Exploring Glacier National Park
Exploring Grand Teton National Park
Tuesday, August 31, 2021
Thursday, August 26, 2021
Man attacked by bull moose while running with dogs in Winter Park
A 62-year-old New Mexico man was attacked by a bull moose Wednesday morning while running with his two dogs on a trail on the west side of Winter Park.
The victim was taken to the emergency room of a local hospital with minor injuries and released later Wednesday. The dogs were unharmed.
The man was running on Sundog Trail around 7:30 a.m. with his two dogs off-leash when the attack occurred.
“The dogs were 40 to 50 feet in front of him and came running back toward him,” said CPW District Wildlife Manager Serena Rocksund. “He stopped and saw the moose at 50 feet. At that point, the dogs ran past him and left the scene.”
Rocksund said the man reported he took two steps forward to get a better look at the moose and “those two steps caused the moose to charge. He’s very lucky that his only injury is a hoof print-shaped laceration on the back of his head.”
Rocksund said wildlife officers did not find the moose after walking the trail system around Sundog Trail.
“This is a good reminder for folks to keep their dogs on leash and give moose plenty of space when recreating outdoors,” Rocksund said. “It’s hard to see around these corners with the thick vegetation on these trails, so having a dog on a short leash here is key.”
Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
HikinginGlacier.com
TetonHikingTrails.com
Ramble On: A History of Hiking
Exploring Glacier National Park
Exploring Grand Teton National Park
The victim was taken to the emergency room of a local hospital with minor injuries and released later Wednesday. The dogs were unharmed.
The man was running on Sundog Trail around 7:30 a.m. with his two dogs off-leash when the attack occurred.
“The dogs were 40 to 50 feet in front of him and came running back toward him,” said CPW District Wildlife Manager Serena Rocksund. “He stopped and saw the moose at 50 feet. At that point, the dogs ran past him and left the scene.”
Rocksund said the man reported he took two steps forward to get a better look at the moose and “those two steps caused the moose to charge. He’s very lucky that his only injury is a hoof print-shaped laceration on the back of his head.”
Rocksund said wildlife officers did not find the moose after walking the trail system around Sundog Trail.
“This is a good reminder for folks to keep their dogs on leash and give moose plenty of space when recreating outdoors,” Rocksund said. “It’s hard to see around these corners with the thick vegetation on these trails, so having a dog on a short leash here is key.”
Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
HikinginGlacier.com
TetonHikingTrails.com
Ramble On: A History of Hiking
Exploring Glacier National Park
Exploring Grand Teton National Park
Monday, August 23, 2021
Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers rescue moose calf from Grand Lake basement; reunite it with mom and relocate both
Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers rescued a moose calf trapped in the basement foundation of a house that burned in last year’s East Troublesome Fire, reunited it with its mother and relocated both to more suitable habitat.
CPW officers received a call the morning of Aug. 19 from residents of the Aspen Pine Estates in Grand Lake reporting a moose calf had fallen into the four-foot-deep foundation left when the rest of the structure burned.
The neighbors tried to rescue the calf themselves by creating a ramp with boards that might have allowed the calf to climb out. But it was unable to get enough traction to make the steep climb.
CPW Officer Serena Rocksund responded to the calls for help and found the calf with its agitated cow nearby.
“The calf’s mother would come up to the foundation, walk over to the calf and touch muzzles and walk away about 40 yards,” Rocksund said. “The residents saw the calf and mother were stressed and needed help so they called CPW.”
Rocksund tranquilized both the cow moose and calf and the animals were placed inside a wildlife transport trailer to be relocated to more suitable habitat. The moose calf and cow were released in suitable habitat near Craig later that afternoon.
“It’s a good reminder that folks need to fence off foundations and cover their window wells because animals can get trapped and die,” said CPW Area Wildlife Manager Jeromy Huntington.
“We’ve had some increased reports of human-moose conflicts near Grand Lake since the East Troublesome Fire burn and we didn’t want to take the risk that this moose might get trapped again if we released it near the burn area.”
Huntington said CPW has been working to grow the moose population in suitable habitat near Meeker and Craig.
“So this relocation actually was a win-win for these moose and the CPW project,” Huntington said.
Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
HikinginGlacier.com
TetonHikingTrails.com
Ramble On: A History of Hiking
Exploring Glacier National Park
Exploring Grand Teton National Park
CPW officers received a call the morning of Aug. 19 from residents of the Aspen Pine Estates in Grand Lake reporting a moose calf had fallen into the four-foot-deep foundation left when the rest of the structure burned.
CPW Officer Serena Rocksund responded to the calls for help and found the calf with its agitated cow nearby.
“The calf’s mother would come up to the foundation, walk over to the calf and touch muzzles and walk away about 40 yards,” Rocksund said. “The residents saw the calf and mother were stressed and needed help so they called CPW.”
Rocksund tranquilized both the cow moose and calf and the animals were placed inside a wildlife transport trailer to be relocated to more suitable habitat. The moose calf and cow were released in suitable habitat near Craig later that afternoon.
“It’s a good reminder that folks need to fence off foundations and cover their window wells because animals can get trapped and die,” said CPW Area Wildlife Manager Jeromy Huntington.
“We’ve had some increased reports of human-moose conflicts near Grand Lake since the East Troublesome Fire burn and we didn’t want to take the risk that this moose might get trapped again if we released it near the burn area.”
Huntington said CPW has been working to grow the moose population in suitable habitat near Meeker and Craig.
“So this relocation actually was a win-win for these moose and the CPW project,” Huntington said.
Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
HikinginGlacier.com
TetonHikingTrails.com
Ramble On: A History of Hiking
Exploring Glacier National Park
Exploring Grand Teton National Park
Wednesday, August 18, 2021
Road And Parking Lot Striping Taking Place Throughout Rocky Mountain National Park
Beginning this week, all paved roads and parking areas within Rocky Mountain National Park will be striped. Work is expected to last three weeks and should be completed by September 4, weather and resources permitting.
During the day, when striping occurs on paved roads, travelers should expect rolling delays up to 30 minutes Monday through Friday. Most work for parking areas will be completed at night Sundays through Thursdays from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. When striping occurs in parking lots, those areas will be closed. Striping work will not occur on weekends.
Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
HikinginGlacier.com
TetonHikingTrails.com
Ramble On: A History of Hiking
Exploring Glacier National Park
Exploring Grand Teton National Park
During the day, when striping occurs on paved roads, travelers should expect rolling delays up to 30 minutes Monday through Friday. Most work for parking areas will be completed at night Sundays through Thursdays from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. When striping occurs in parking lots, those areas will be closed. Striping work will not occur on weekends.
Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
HikinginGlacier.com
TetonHikingTrails.com
Ramble On: A History of Hiking
Exploring Glacier National Park
Exploring Grand Teton National Park
Thursday, August 12, 2021
A Look at the Cameron Peak Fire One Year Later
When the Cameron Peak Fire began on August 13, 2020, no one would have predicted the immense impact it would have on our communities, our forest, or our lives. No one would have predicted it would grow to become the largest fire in Colorado history with ten Incident Management Teams over the course of many months. What one could predict, however, is that the people of northern Colorado and Larimer County would join forces to recover and demonstrate incredible strength.
From that first day, the Cameron Peak Fire put up challenge after challenge for fire managers from drought conditions to rugged terrain to extreme weather conditions, fueling its growth to 208,913 acres. The fire was ultimately contained December 2, 2020, and called controlled January 12, 2021. The damage done by this historic fire took five months. The recovery will take longer and be accomplished by partners working shoulder to shoulder.
Below is a summary from a few of those amazing northern Colorado partners and the recovery work already accomplished or anticipated. This work shows the resiliency of the people and the land. It is long, hard work to recover. We are all in it for the duration.
The Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee National Grassland is addressing recovery in three phases. Fire suppression repair work continues across the landscape. More than 140 miles of fire hand line and dozer line have been repaired. A semitrailer load of 16,000 feet of hose, seven pumps, fuel cans and other suppression items were collected within the fire area and returned for future use.
Burn Area Emergency Response (BAER) work is the second phase. Information on Cameron Peak Fire BAER is available at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7210/. Volunteers and crews have cut approximately 4,000 hazard trees from trails, removed bridges so they will not wash away, installed 455 erosion control structures (like water bars or retaining walls), repaired 661 erosion control structures, and replaced over 60 signs within the burn area. We thank our incredible volunteers – Poudre Wilderness Volunteers, Overland Mountain Bike Association, Cameron Pass Nordic Rangers, and Wildlands Restoration Volunteers – for their contributions, as well as the Rocky Mountain Conservancy Conservation Corps, Larimer County Youth Conservation Corps, and Rocky Mountain Youth Corps.
Long-term Recovery is the final phase and includes integrated work with partners. The Forest Service has issued numerous permits to facilitate recovery work, such as aerial mulching, water monitoring, and utility infrastructure efforts, and are analyzing what reforestation might look like within the burn scar, as well as other longer-term recreation needs.
The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is implementing the Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) Program to provide federal assistance on five of the 2020 wildfires in Colorado, including Cameron Peak. The EWP program relieves imminent hazards to life and property, and through EWP, NRCS is providing $7.3 million towards Cameron Peak recovery efforts, including the installation of measures that reduce sedimentation, erosion, and threats from future flooding.
Larimer County has been in collaboration with local, state, and federal partners leading the way throughout the Cameron Peak Fire recovery and restoration efforts. The recovery and restoration work of debris management, erosion control, suppression repairs, sandbagging, and vegetative debris removal have been key activities that have guided the participation of recovery partners.
The Long Term Recovery Group has mobilized dozen of volunteer and non-profit groups to help with recovery needs and post-fire impacts. These groups have addressed hazardous trees on private lands, erosion control, stream mitigation, structure protection, private land repairs, and more.
Community meetings have been very important in addressing the needs for the impacted communities and helping those impacted in this recovery process. As a result of the recovery efforts, a greater focus on preparedness in flood-after fire and mitigation for our communities in vulnerable areas will continue to guide the collaboration of our partners. Resources for those impacted by the fire are available at https://www.larimer.org/emergency/recovery/wildfire-resources.
The City of Greeley has been a key partner in aerial mulching activities within the burn area for recovery efforts with partners. Water officials monitor source water quality as it flows downstream. Greeley strategically draws water from several sources, and water officials have the ability to change water sources when river water quality degrades. The diversity in supply and treatment infrastructure allows Greeley staff to navigate around poor water quality without affecting taste or quality or disrupting service.
The City of Fort Collins continues to address the short-term and long-term effects of Cameron Peak on its water supplies in the Poudre River watershed. In addition to partnering with the Coalition for the Poudre River Watershed and the City of Greeley on aerial mulching to support long-term watershed recovery, Fort Collins Utilities also continually monitors water quality along the river and adjusts water treatment measures and protocols as needed to ensure high-quality drinking water for its customers. While thunderstorms continue to wash ash, sediment and debris down the river, Fort Collins Utilities is able to rely on Colorado-Big Thompson water supplies in Horsetooth Reservoir and customers should experience no change in water quality or service. See fcgov.com/water-status for details.
The Coalition for the Poudre River Watershed (CPRW) is partnering with the cities of Greeley and Fort Collins to implement aerial mulching operations on more than 10,000 acres of high priority land within the Cameron Peak burn area. To date, more than 2,000 acres have been mulched as part of this effort. Mulching is part of a larger program of recovery work intended to provide holistic post-fire mitigation on a total of 20,000 acres, helping to mitigate the negative consequences of the wildfire to watershed values including water quality and river ecosystem function and health. High priority project areas were identified using science-based information and modeling, as well as collaborative data input from partners of the Larimer Recovery Collaborative. Mulching will be conducted through the summer and fall of 2021 and potentially into the summer of 2022.
The Big Thompson Watershed Coalition (BTWC) has been an active member of the Larimer Recovery Collaborative since the Cameron Peak Fire edged into the Big Thompson watershed in October 2020. While only a third of the fire burned in this watershed, there is a large proportion of private lands impacted across five communities. BTWC’s work emphasizes private land recovery while seeking funding for future aerial mulching endeavors uphill of our communities. Restoration activities have focused on landowner restoration trainings and volunteer programs. Trainings have provided 7,000 linear feet of wattles and 40 pounds of native seed to landowners. Volunteer programs have engaged over 80 volunteers in approximately 400 hours of erosion control work and will continue two Saturdays a month through the end of the year. BTWC is committed to helping our communities recover from this event while reducing water resource impacts from runoff from the burn and associated flooding.
Again, recovery will take time but working together is key to restoring our lands. We will not soon forget the date August 13, 2020, but we will move forward together. To find information about upcoming events, research, safety and more, please visit the Cameron Peak Fire Recovery StoryMap that was just recently published.
Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
HikinginGlacier.com
TetonHikingTrails.com
Ramble On: A History of Hiking
Exploring Glacier National Park
Exploring Grand Teton National Park
From that first day, the Cameron Peak Fire put up challenge after challenge for fire managers from drought conditions to rugged terrain to extreme weather conditions, fueling its growth to 208,913 acres. The fire was ultimately contained December 2, 2020, and called controlled January 12, 2021. The damage done by this historic fire took five months. The recovery will take longer and be accomplished by partners working shoulder to shoulder.
Below is a summary from a few of those amazing northern Colorado partners and the recovery work already accomplished or anticipated. This work shows the resiliency of the people and the land. It is long, hard work to recover. We are all in it for the duration.
The Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee National Grassland is addressing recovery in three phases. Fire suppression repair work continues across the landscape. More than 140 miles of fire hand line and dozer line have been repaired. A semitrailer load of 16,000 feet of hose, seven pumps, fuel cans and other suppression items were collected within the fire area and returned for future use.
Burn Area Emergency Response (BAER) work is the second phase. Information on Cameron Peak Fire BAER is available at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7210/. Volunteers and crews have cut approximately 4,000 hazard trees from trails, removed bridges so they will not wash away, installed 455 erosion control structures (like water bars or retaining walls), repaired 661 erosion control structures, and replaced over 60 signs within the burn area. We thank our incredible volunteers – Poudre Wilderness Volunteers, Overland Mountain Bike Association, Cameron Pass Nordic Rangers, and Wildlands Restoration Volunteers – for their contributions, as well as the Rocky Mountain Conservancy Conservation Corps, Larimer County Youth Conservation Corps, and Rocky Mountain Youth Corps.
Long-term Recovery is the final phase and includes integrated work with partners. The Forest Service has issued numerous permits to facilitate recovery work, such as aerial mulching, water monitoring, and utility infrastructure efforts, and are analyzing what reforestation might look like within the burn scar, as well as other longer-term recreation needs.
The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is implementing the Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) Program to provide federal assistance on five of the 2020 wildfires in Colorado, including Cameron Peak. The EWP program relieves imminent hazards to life and property, and through EWP, NRCS is providing $7.3 million towards Cameron Peak recovery efforts, including the installation of measures that reduce sedimentation, erosion, and threats from future flooding.
Larimer County has been in collaboration with local, state, and federal partners leading the way throughout the Cameron Peak Fire recovery and restoration efforts. The recovery and restoration work of debris management, erosion control, suppression repairs, sandbagging, and vegetative debris removal have been key activities that have guided the participation of recovery partners.
The Long Term Recovery Group has mobilized dozen of volunteer and non-profit groups to help with recovery needs and post-fire impacts. These groups have addressed hazardous trees on private lands, erosion control, stream mitigation, structure protection, private land repairs, and more.
Community meetings have been very important in addressing the needs for the impacted communities and helping those impacted in this recovery process. As a result of the recovery efforts, a greater focus on preparedness in flood-after fire and mitigation for our communities in vulnerable areas will continue to guide the collaboration of our partners. Resources for those impacted by the fire are available at https://www.larimer.org/emergency/recovery/wildfire-resources.
The City of Greeley has been a key partner in aerial mulching activities within the burn area for recovery efforts with partners. Water officials monitor source water quality as it flows downstream. Greeley strategically draws water from several sources, and water officials have the ability to change water sources when river water quality degrades. The diversity in supply and treatment infrastructure allows Greeley staff to navigate around poor water quality without affecting taste or quality or disrupting service.
The City of Fort Collins continues to address the short-term and long-term effects of Cameron Peak on its water supplies in the Poudre River watershed. In addition to partnering with the Coalition for the Poudre River Watershed and the City of Greeley on aerial mulching to support long-term watershed recovery, Fort Collins Utilities also continually monitors water quality along the river and adjusts water treatment measures and protocols as needed to ensure high-quality drinking water for its customers. While thunderstorms continue to wash ash, sediment and debris down the river, Fort Collins Utilities is able to rely on Colorado-Big Thompson water supplies in Horsetooth Reservoir and customers should experience no change in water quality or service. See fcgov.com/water-status for details.
The Coalition for the Poudre River Watershed (CPRW) is partnering with the cities of Greeley and Fort Collins to implement aerial mulching operations on more than 10,000 acres of high priority land within the Cameron Peak burn area. To date, more than 2,000 acres have been mulched as part of this effort. Mulching is part of a larger program of recovery work intended to provide holistic post-fire mitigation on a total of 20,000 acres, helping to mitigate the negative consequences of the wildfire to watershed values including water quality and river ecosystem function and health. High priority project areas were identified using science-based information and modeling, as well as collaborative data input from partners of the Larimer Recovery Collaborative. Mulching will be conducted through the summer and fall of 2021 and potentially into the summer of 2022.
The Big Thompson Watershed Coalition (BTWC) has been an active member of the Larimer Recovery Collaborative since the Cameron Peak Fire edged into the Big Thompson watershed in October 2020. While only a third of the fire burned in this watershed, there is a large proportion of private lands impacted across five communities. BTWC’s work emphasizes private land recovery while seeking funding for future aerial mulching endeavors uphill of our communities. Restoration activities have focused on landowner restoration trainings and volunteer programs. Trainings have provided 7,000 linear feet of wattles and 40 pounds of native seed to landowners. Volunteer programs have engaged over 80 volunteers in approximately 400 hours of erosion control work and will continue two Saturdays a month through the end of the year. BTWC is committed to helping our communities recover from this event while reducing water resource impacts from runoff from the burn and associated flooding.
Again, recovery will take time but working together is key to restoring our lands. We will not soon forget the date August 13, 2020, but we will move forward together. To find information about upcoming events, research, safety and more, please visit the Cameron Peak Fire Recovery StoryMap that was just recently published.
Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
HikinginGlacier.com
TetonHikingTrails.com
Ramble On: A History of Hiking
Exploring Glacier National Park
Exploring Grand Teton National Park
Thursday, August 5, 2021
Why you may see mountain goats with paint markings atop Mount Evans
Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials continue monitoring the mountain goats on Mount Evans for any further disease outbreaks that were previously detected in 2013 and 2019. Mountain goat kids were observed to be suffering from severe diarrhea and almost the entire age class of kids were lost those two years due to this unknown disease.
In 2020, wildlife biologist Lance Carpenter and wildlife pathologist Karen Fox initiated a study to try and identify the cause of the disease. That includes taking fecal samples of the nannies (adult females) and their kids (this year’s offspring) from June through October.
“Right now we are collecting some baseline information, so we are marking these goats with paintballs,” Carpenter said. “The paintballs that we hit them with don’t hurt the goats, but we individually mark each animal that we are tracking and we want to track these animals over time. The hope is to get some baseline information of what their feces contains - the bacteria, the viruses or if there are parasites - to help us understand what is going on.”
If a diarrhea outbreak happens again in September or October, wildlife officials will have that standard sampling information to compare it with.
“One of the things we have initially seen this year is high loads of E. coli,” Carpenter said. “We don’t know if that is the cause yet, but it is kind of interesting to us that we are seeing these high loads of E. coli.”
From the mountain goat population survey in 2020, there are between 80-90 mountain goats that utilize the habitat Mount Evans provides.
Visitors at the summit should use the rule of thumb, and always remember to “give them room, use your zoom.” That refers to photographers keeping a safe distance from these animals. The rule of thumb offers a way to help people maintain a safe distance from wildlife. If you can stick your thumb up and it blocks out the entire animal from your vision, you generally are at a safe distance. If you stick out your thumb and you can still see portions of the animal in your vision, you are too close and need to back away.
With that, CPW reminds visitors to practice Leave No Trace principles.
* Pack out what you carry in (this includes human and dog waste).
* Maintain a safe distance from all wildlife. If a mountain goat approaches you on the summit, which they most likely will, you should back away from that animal.
* Do not feed any wildlife.
“It is easier for us as humans to change our behavior than it is for the animals to change their behavior,” Carpenter said.
Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
HikinginGlacier.com
TetonHikingTrails.com
Ramble On: A History of Hiking
Exploring Glacier National Park
Exploring Grand Teton National Park
“Right now we are collecting some baseline information, so we are marking these goats with paintballs,” Carpenter said. “The paintballs that we hit them with don’t hurt the goats, but we individually mark each animal that we are tracking and we want to track these animals over time. The hope is to get some baseline information of what their feces contains - the bacteria, the viruses or if there are parasites - to help us understand what is going on.”
If a diarrhea outbreak happens again in September or October, wildlife officials will have that standard sampling information to compare it with.
“One of the things we have initially seen this year is high loads of E. coli,” Carpenter said. “We don’t know if that is the cause yet, but it is kind of interesting to us that we are seeing these high loads of E. coli.”
From the mountain goat population survey in 2020, there are between 80-90 mountain goats that utilize the habitat Mount Evans provides.
Visitors at the summit should use the rule of thumb, and always remember to “give them room, use your zoom.” That refers to photographers keeping a safe distance from these animals. The rule of thumb offers a way to help people maintain a safe distance from wildlife. If you can stick your thumb up and it blocks out the entire animal from your vision, you generally are at a safe distance. If you stick out your thumb and you can still see portions of the animal in your vision, you are too close and need to back away.
With that, CPW reminds visitors to practice Leave No Trace principles.
* Pack out what you carry in (this includes human and dog waste).
* Maintain a safe distance from all wildlife. If a mountain goat approaches you on the summit, which they most likely will, you should back away from that animal.
* Do not feed any wildlife.
“It is easier for us as humans to change our behavior than it is for the animals to change their behavior,” Carpenter said.
Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
HikinginGlacier.com
TetonHikingTrails.com
Ramble On: A History of Hiking
Exploring Glacier National Park
Exploring Grand Teton National Park
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