Bioblitz at Rollins Pass, starting Tues. 13th, going through Thurs.

[Linda Andes-Georges]

Thurs. is the "Public Education Day," and sounds like a lot of fun.

The previous days are for serious or intermediate birders; as most of you know, the more eyes/ears are out there, the more thorough the results are.

Many of us will be camping overnight, either Mon., Tues. or Wed.

You can start observing as soon as you are within the boundaries shown on the attached map.

Some folks will be going for moths, butterflies; others for plants. See note from organizers copied below. As usual in the high country, be ready for any kind of weather. Hope we see some familiar faces-- let's put Covid joyfully behind us for now!

Please pass this along to the DFO and any other groups you know! Thanks

Linda Andes-Georges

Dear all,

Looking forward to seeing you all next week!  The overall purpose of the bioblitz is to document as many species as we can in the area, roughly from Winter Park up to the Continental Divide to support conservation, management, and appreciation of Rollins Pass. To whatever extent possible we would like to tally everyone’s observations as we go, so that we have a good idea of our total list for Thursday’s Education Day. Some species will need to be verified in the following weeks, but we will do our best!  We already have wildlife cameras set up (as of July 8), and will deploy acoustic monitors to identify local bat species. We are working closely with the US Forest Service, and understand that we do not need collecting permits. It will be fine for us to take plant specimens as needed to identify and document significant plant populations.

Please bring any gear you need for making plant and animal observations. Pictures are great--animal signs, animals, plants, etc., and videos work well for moths and butterflies. These can often be identified later as needed.

Please bring your camping gear as needed, food for breakfast, lunch, and snacks, and plenty of water.  The nights could be chilly and of course we could have some rain; we can keep an eye on the weather forecast as it gets closer.  We will provide dinner Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights.  We have decided to break camp on Thursday after the Education Day and depart.

Please see the image below for the location we plan to camp and meet each day.  We will stay in touch and provide signs if we have to move the location.

We will be starting early and working late.  We are planning to coordinate transportation in the CSU vehicles at 8:30 AM for Tuesday and Wednesday. We can help provide transportation to high elevation areas, and directions to areas that would benefit from surveys, such as wetlands, riparian areas, rock outcrops, etc.  If you would like to leave earlier or later as per your own needs or the needs of detecting particular targets (like birds) you are free to set other schedules. 

Although there is a fire ban, we will plan to sing and play around a small propane fire ring in the evenings, so please bring your musical instruments if you’d like to join in!

Please keep me posted as to the day and time you expect to arrive so we can keep an eye out for you, and let me know if there are any questions or concerns!

 

Here is contact info for each of us at CNHP- there is reasonably good cell phone service up there:

David Anderson 970-980-4680

Susan Panjabi 970-217-6102

John Sovell 970-215-3988

Drive to Winter Park and then follow 80 through many twists and turns (it is marked as 149 on some signs), following bioblitz signs until you reach the red dot area-- roughly a twenty-minute drive.