With the enactment of the continuing resolution, staff at Colorado National Monument are returning to normal winter operations. It will take a few days for all operations to return to normal.
The Saddlehorn Visitor Center has resumed its normal winter schedule of 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily. Rim Rock Drive continues to be open from Grand Junction to DS Road and from Fruita to Independence Monument View. The portion of Rim Rock Drive from DS Road to Independence Monument View is closed due to snow and ice which have accumulated over the last month. The monument maintenance staff will be working to re-open when it is safe to do so. Please do not travel beyond closed gates to allow for safe snowplow operations.
Entrance fee collection will take a couple of days to be fully operational. The fee collection staff must reprogram cash registers and change signage to reflect entrance and camping fee increases that were scheduled to go into effect January 1, 2019. This fee increase was approved two and a half years ago.
“We would like to send out a huge thank you to the community for their overwhelming support during the last month,” said Superintendent Ken Mabery. “Our natural and cultural resources sustained no significant damage. The outpouring of offers of assistance for our staff from the community was heartwarming.” A special thank you goes to Mesa County for continuing to plow the east hill and to Rocket Toilet Rental for continuing to service the portable toilets.
Chief Ranger Mark Davison reminds everyone to keep safety in mind while visiting. Sidewalks and overlooks may still have ice and snow in places. Shaded areas of Rim Rock Drive will be slippery.
While the government shutdown is over, unfortunately its effects will be long lasting. January is typically the month staff prepares for the summer season. Tasks such as hiring summer interns and employees have been delayed a month. Planned natural and cultural compliance reviews which are critical to summer maintenance work were not completed. Planning meetings with community groups and organizations were missed. For some of the permanent staff there will be projects which will need to be delayed until next year. Please be patient with the staff as they regain momentum.
Winter hours are now in effect at Colorado National Monument. The visitor center is open from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily. For additional information please visit www.nps.gov/colm or call 970-858-3617, ext. 360.
Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
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Ramble On: A History of Hiking
Tuesday, January 29, 2019
Monday, January 28, 2019
Bear Injured in Wildfire near Durango Now Back in the Wild
The bear cub injured in the 416 forest fire in southwest Colorado last summer is now back in the wild, hibernating in a “den” in the mountains west of Durango.
On Friday (Jan. 25), the bear and another female cub orphaned in the Durango area were placed together in an ideal location -- deep in the forest where they’ll find plenty of food when they wake from hibernation.
Colorado wildlife officers captured the bear on June 21, 2018, after receiving reports from firefighters that a cub was wandering alone in a burn area about 15 miles north of Durango. The bear was then taken to Frisco Creek, the wildlife rehabilitation facility operated by Colorado Parks and Wildlife near Del Norte.
“Black bears are an important native species in Colorado,” said Matt Thorpe, area wildlife manager for the Durango area. “Taking it to rehab and giving it a second chance of surviving in the wild was the right and humane thing to do.”
Photos of the bear went viral last summer and media around the world reported the story. The bear’s feet were badly burned and her mother had not been seen in the area; she was born early in 2018 and weighed only about 10 pounds when captured. At Frisco Creek, Michael Sirochman, veterinary technician and manager of the facility, applied dressings to the bear’s feet and wrapped them in bandages a few times each week. The young bear healed quickly and within a month she was ready to go outside with other orphaned cubs.
The primary purpose of wildlife rehabilitation is to mimic, as much as possible, the conditions an animal will face in the wild to prepare it for a successful release. So, for bears at Frisco Creek that means that contact with humans is minimized. Bears live in a secure enclosure with other bears which helps them to develop physically and socially. Large tree branches, stumps, boulders, platforms and metal shelters allow the bears to develop the skills they need to survive in the wild.
The bears are also fed in a way that imitates life in the woods. During summer and fall in the wild, food is abundant and bears eat almost constantly in order to put on the fat they need to get them through the winter. At Frisco Creek they were fed generously and the 12 cubs at the facility all grew to about 100 pounds.
As the weather cools in the fall, the amount of food available to bears in the wild declines ‒ that also provides a signal that the hibernation season is near. So at Frisco Creek the quantity of food the cubs were given was cut back and eventually cut off.
In early January, the cubs settled into hibernation in the metal containers they’d used for shelter and where they’d slept and hid. The containers – about 4-feet square – became their dens.
On Friday (Jan. 25) the “den” of the 416 bear and her companion was closed and taken by truck to the remote trail head where it was loaded on a snow-cat and hauled deep into the mountains. At the location selected by wildlife officers, the den was placed and covered with hay bales, pine boughs and snow. Within a few weeks a wildlife officer will go back to the site and remove the den door. Bears usually emerge from hibernation in mid-April.
“We’ve found that putting bears into hibernation before moving them has been pretty successful,” Sirochman said. “They are fat enough to survive the winter and have their familiar home. We try to re-create the natural conditions as much as possible.”
The once 10-pound, injured, orphaned bear cub now weighs 90 pounds. When the weather warms, she and her crate mate will emerge into good black bear habitat ‒ and they’ll be wild bears again.
“Making it in the wild is tough for young bears,” Thorpe said. “We’ve done everything we can to give the 416 bear a second chance at a good wild life.”
Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
HikinginGlacier.com
TetonHikingTrails.com
HikingintheSmokys.com
Ramble On: A History of Hiking
On Friday (Jan. 25), the bear and another female cub orphaned in the Durango area were placed together in an ideal location -- deep in the forest where they’ll find plenty of food when they wake from hibernation.
Colorado wildlife officers captured the bear on June 21, 2018, after receiving reports from firefighters that a cub was wandering alone in a burn area about 15 miles north of Durango. The bear was then taken to Frisco Creek, the wildlife rehabilitation facility operated by Colorado Parks and Wildlife near Del Norte.
Photos of the bear went viral last summer and media around the world reported the story. The bear’s feet were badly burned and her mother had not been seen in the area; she was born early in 2018 and weighed only about 10 pounds when captured. At Frisco Creek, Michael Sirochman, veterinary technician and manager of the facility, applied dressings to the bear’s feet and wrapped them in bandages a few times each week. The young bear healed quickly and within a month she was ready to go outside with other orphaned cubs.
The primary purpose of wildlife rehabilitation is to mimic, as much as possible, the conditions an animal will face in the wild to prepare it for a successful release. So, for bears at Frisco Creek that means that contact with humans is minimized. Bears live in a secure enclosure with other bears which helps them to develop physically and socially. Large tree branches, stumps, boulders, platforms and metal shelters allow the bears to develop the skills they need to survive in the wild.
The bears are also fed in a way that imitates life in the woods. During summer and fall in the wild, food is abundant and bears eat almost constantly in order to put on the fat they need to get them through the winter. At Frisco Creek they were fed generously and the 12 cubs at the facility all grew to about 100 pounds.
As the weather cools in the fall, the amount of food available to bears in the wild declines ‒ that also provides a signal that the hibernation season is near. So at Frisco Creek the quantity of food the cubs were given was cut back and eventually cut off.
In early January, the cubs settled into hibernation in the metal containers they’d used for shelter and where they’d slept and hid. The containers – about 4-feet square – became their dens.
On Friday (Jan. 25) the “den” of the 416 bear and her companion was closed and taken by truck to the remote trail head where it was loaded on a snow-cat and hauled deep into the mountains. At the location selected by wildlife officers, the den was placed and covered with hay bales, pine boughs and snow. Within a few weeks a wildlife officer will go back to the site and remove the den door. Bears usually emerge from hibernation in mid-April.
“We’ve found that putting bears into hibernation before moving them has been pretty successful,” Sirochman said. “They are fat enough to survive the winter and have their familiar home. We try to re-create the natural conditions as much as possible.”
The once 10-pound, injured, orphaned bear cub now weighs 90 pounds. When the weather warms, she and her crate mate will emerge into good black bear habitat ‒ and they’ll be wild bears again.
“Making it in the wild is tough for young bears,” Thorpe said. “We’ve done everything we can to give the 416 bear a second chance at a good wild life.”
Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
HikinginGlacier.com
TetonHikingTrails.com
HikingintheSmokys.com
Ramble On: A History of Hiking
Saturday, January 26, 2019
Statement on reopening of national parks following the lapse of appropriations
Statement on reopening of national parks following the lapse of appropriations, attributable to P. Daniel Smith, Deputy Director, National Park Service:
Following the enactment of the continuing resolution, the National Park Service is preparing to resume regular operations nationwide though the schedule for individual parks may vary depending on staff size and complexity of operations.
Many parks which have been accessible throughout the lapse in appropriations remain accessible with basic services.
Visitors should contact individual parks or visit park websites for their opening schedules and the latest information on accessibility and visitor services. Some parks which have been closed throughout the lapse in appropriations may not reopen immediately, but we will work to open all parks as quickly as possible.
We appreciate the support of state and local partners nationwide who stepped up to offer support to national parks. We are grateful to have the dedicated men and women of the National Park Service back at work, serving the American people and welcoming visitors to their national parks.
Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
HikinginGlacier.com
TetonHikingTrails.com
HikingintheSmokys.com
Ramble On: A History of Hiking
Following the enactment of the continuing resolution, the National Park Service is preparing to resume regular operations nationwide though the schedule for individual parks may vary depending on staff size and complexity of operations.
Many parks which have been accessible throughout the lapse in appropriations remain accessible with basic services.
Visitors should contact individual parks or visit park websites for their opening schedules and the latest information on accessibility and visitor services. Some parks which have been closed throughout the lapse in appropriations may not reopen immediately, but we will work to open all parks as quickly as possible.
We appreciate the support of state and local partners nationwide who stepped up to offer support to national parks. We are grateful to have the dedicated men and women of the National Park Service back at work, serving the American people and welcoming visitors to their national parks.
Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
HikinginGlacier.com
TetonHikingTrails.com
HikingintheSmokys.com
Ramble On: A History of Hiking
Thursday, January 24, 2019
CPW officials are asking the public for help solving a recent poaching case in the Estes Valley
Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials are asking the public for help solving a recent poaching case in the Estes Valley.
On the evening of Jan. 13, in the area of Devils Gulch Rd. (Colorado Road 43) and H Bar G Rd, a bull elk was shot and left.
For anyone with information of the incident, please contact CPW Wildlife Officer Chase Rylands at 970-652-0595.
To provide information anonymously about a wildlife violation, the public can contact Operation Game Thief at 877-265-6648, by dialing #OGT from a Verizon cellphone, or by email at game.thief@state.co.us. Rewards are available if the information leads to an arrest or citation.
Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
HikinginGlacier.com
TetonHikingTrails.com
HikingintheSmokys.com
Ramble On: A History of Hiking
For anyone with information of the incident, please contact CPW Wildlife Officer Chase Rylands at 970-652-0595.
To provide information anonymously about a wildlife violation, the public can contact Operation Game Thief at 877-265-6648, by dialing #OGT from a Verizon cellphone, or by email at game.thief@state.co.us. Rewards are available if the information leads to an arrest or citation.
Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
HikinginGlacier.com
TetonHikingTrails.com
HikingintheSmokys.com
Ramble On: A History of Hiking
Monday, January 14, 2019
Rocky Mountain National Park Restores Accessibility And Resumes Basic Visitor Services
Rocky Mountain National Park announced today that areas that have been closed due to the inability to plow and maintain roads, will once again be accessible to visitors. On Saturday, January 12, a limited number of park staff began snowplowing US 36 past the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center and US 34 past the Fall River Entrance. This morning, US Highways 36 and 34 were reopened to Deer Ridge Junction. Trail Ridge Road beyond Deer Ridge Junction to Many Parks Curve has also reopened. US Highway 34 on the west side is now open to the Colorado River Trailhead. Snowplows are working today on Bear Lake Road and it is anticipated that it will reopen sometime tomorrow.
Also this past Saturday, a limited number of custodians began cleaning toilet facilities and trash receptacles. Some basic visitor services, including entrance stations and two out of five loops at the Moraine Park Campground, will also reopen later this week. Entrance stations will be open to provide safety and basic information to visitors, but entrance fees will not be collected.
These basic services are being funded with revenue generated by recreation fees. National Park Service officials have determined that by using Federal Land and Recreation Enhancement funds to bring back limited park maintenance staff to plow roads, clean restrooms, and remove trash, the park can restore accessibility to the park for visitors.
Outdoor areas of the park remain accessible. Most facilities, including Beaver Meadows Visitor Center on the east side and Kawuneeche Visitor Center on the west side will remain closed. “We greatly appreciate Rocky Mountain Conservancy’s efforts to staff the Fall River Visitor Center during the lapse in appropriations,” said park superintendent Darla Sidles. Fall River Visitor Center is located outside of the park near the Fall River Entrance.
While basic visitor services have been restored, other services will be limited or unavailable during the lapse in appropriations, including visitor centers, ranger talks and programs. Visitors are reminded that all rules and regulations still apply. Visitors should visit the park website at nps.gov/romo while planning their visit to get the latest information on accessibility and available services.
Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
HikinginGlacier.com
TetonHikingTrails.com
HikingintheSmokys.com
Ramble On: A History of Hiking
These basic services are being funded with revenue generated by recreation fees. National Park Service officials have determined that by using Federal Land and Recreation Enhancement funds to bring back limited park maintenance staff to plow roads, clean restrooms, and remove trash, the park can restore accessibility to the park for visitors.
Outdoor areas of the park remain accessible. Most facilities, including Beaver Meadows Visitor Center on the east side and Kawuneeche Visitor Center on the west side will remain closed. “We greatly appreciate Rocky Mountain Conservancy’s efforts to staff the Fall River Visitor Center during the lapse in appropriations,” said park superintendent Darla Sidles. Fall River Visitor Center is located outside of the park near the Fall River Entrance.
While basic visitor services have been restored, other services will be limited or unavailable during the lapse in appropriations, including visitor centers, ranger talks and programs. Visitors are reminded that all rules and regulations still apply. Visitors should visit the park website at nps.gov/romo while planning their visit to get the latest information on accessibility and available services.
Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
HikinginGlacier.com
TetonHikingTrails.com
HikingintheSmokys.com
Ramble On: A History of Hiking
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