Phantom Canyon Trail Work

Trail work 2006

photo by Dave Piske

photo by Dave Piske

On April 1 and again on April 15, 2006, volunteers from the chapter conducted two days of trail maintenance on the foot-trail that follows the 6-mile course of the North Fork of the Poudre River through The Nature Conservancy's Phantom Canyon Preserve. These workdays were part of a continuing cooperative arrangement between Trout Unlimited, represented by the Rocky Mountain Flycasters, and The Nature Conservancy. Another element of this cooperative arrangement is the Phantom Canyon River Adventure Days by our TU chapter and the Nature Conservancy (see Phantom Canyon).

The trail maintenance crews were organized and lead in the field by TU member Scott Baily who coordinated the activities with Heather Knight, The Nature Conservancy's Laramie Foothills Project Director.

The work included reconstructing rock cairn trail markers, clearing of vegetative growth around the cairns, trimming of shrubs and tree branches encroaching on the pathway and clearing of deadfalls across the trail. Eleven TU members participated in the April 1 workday including Dave and Matthew Cranor, Paul Prevost, Mike Frey, Scott Baily, Milt Mays, Justin Shannon, Jim Bolick, Tom Mazarissi, Phil Wright, and Dave Piske (photographer.) Six TU members (Tom Mazarissi, Jim Bolick, Milt Mays, Scott Baily, Justin Shannon, and Dave Piske) returned and were joined by Mike Frey and Jim Schmehl on the April 15 workday.

End of the day, getting ready to run up the switchback trail
to the canyon's rim. photo by Dave Piske

Maintaining the river trail in good condition is obviously helpful to the conduct of the Public Fishing Days in the canyon, but the trail is also utilized by many of the guided interpretive hikes on diverse ecological topics conducted by The Nature Conservancy.

Among the topics to be covered during hikes scheduled for this season are: migratory songbirds, rare botanicals along the East rim, wildflowers, geology of the canyon, lichens on the cliffs, ecology of the aquatic and riparian systems, and aquatic insects of the North Fork.

For those interested in learning more about The Nature Conservancy work being done in Phantom Canyon and other Conservancy preserves in Colorado, please visit http://www.nature.org/colorado. Additionally, the April issue of the Phantom Phlyer, the Conservancy's newsletter about Phantom Canyon events and volunteer activities can be forwarded to you. If you're interested in having the April edition forwarded to you, contact either Scott Baily or Dave Piske.