Hermosa Creek field trips available
The San Juan National Forest Columbine Ranger District is hosting public field trips to the Hermosa Special Management Area to allow participants to explore proposals for the Hermosa Creek Watershed Management Plan.
Dates, locations and focus areas for the remaining field trips will include:
A 10-mile out-and-back mountain bike trip from the Upper Hermosa Creek Trailhead will take place July 11. Participants should be physically fit and bring their own bikes, water and other gear.
Short hikes in Hermosa Park to look at historic resources and issues related to dispersed camping impacts, trailhead facilities, low-water road crossings and Sig Creek Campground will be held July 17.
A 10-mile hike on Upper Dutch Creek/Pinkerton Flagstaff Trail to look at motorized-use issues and to visit old logging areas to discuss reforestation possibilities will take place Aug. 21. Participants should be physically fit and bring their own gear.
A winter snowmobile/snowcat trip in the Cascade Divide-Relay Creek area to look at winter recreation issues will be set at a later date.
Members of the public are asked to sign up no later than one week in advance of each trip they are interested in attending. To sign up, call Cam Hooley at 884-1414 or email HermosaSMA@fs.fed.us.
Details about meeting times and locations will be provided to people who sign up. Plans may be changed or canceled depending on the weather, level of interest or other unforeseen factors.
Mesa Verde to feature free Hopi dances
The Lomayestewa Family of Shungopavi Village, Second Mesa, Arizona, will perform traditional Hopi dances Saturday and Sunday at the Visitor and Research Center in Mesa Verde National Park. Performances will begin at 11 a.m., noon, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. All programs are free and open to the public.
The Lomayestewa family has been coming to Mesa Verde National Park each summer for more than 25 years and performs a variety of dances.
This year they will share the Rainbow Dance. This event is part of the annual Four Corners Lecture Series, which features presentations about the archaeology, current Native American cultures, history and natural resources.
For more information, visit www.mesaverde.org/four-corners-lecture-series.
Dock project to limit access at McPhee
The U.S. Forest Service Big Bend Day Use Area on the eastern arm of McPhee Reservoir off of County Road 27 will have reduced pedestrian access to the water for the next two weeks, beginning this weekend.
This is to allow a portion of Big Bend to be used as a staging area for construction of new marina docks, which will be floated down to the McPhee Marina for final installation in mid-July. During this time, the McPhee Marina and House Creek boat ramps will remain open to the public.
For more information, call Tom Rice at 882-6843.
Forst resource group invites your comments
The San Juan Title II Resource Advisory Committee will meet from 9 a.m. to noon July 23 at the San Juan Public Lands Center, 15 Burnett Court.
The purpose of the meeting is to gather committee members to review previously approved projects and review current project proposals to be recommended for funding under the Title II provision of the Secure Rural Schools Act.
The public is invited to attend, and a public comment period will be offered at the meeting from 10:30 to 11 a.m. People who want to bring related matters to the attention of the committee may also file written statements with committee staff members before or after the meeting.
The Title II provision of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act is designed to fund projects that restore watersheds, decommission or maintain roads, remove noxious weeds, thin vegetation or otherwise improve the condition of the national forest.
Projects should create employment opportunities through maintenance of existing infrastructure, implementation of stewardship objectives or restoration of land health and water quality.
For more information, call Ann Bond at 385-1219.
Herald Staff
