Chatfield Farms: Joint Field Tour with Denver Botanic Gardens and Butterfly Pavilion Staff
8:30-11:30 am, April 12th, 2022; Participant Limit: 20
Registration $20 Regular / $10 Student
Where to meet
Meet at 8:30 am at Chatfield Farms (8500 W Deer Creek Canyon Road, Littleton, CO 80128). From C-470, exit south on Wadsworth, take first right at light onto Deer Creek Canyon Road. Take first left into Denver Botanic Gardens Chatfield Farms. Follow signs to the visitor parking lot. Follow the sidewalk towards the Visitor Center, where we will meet outside to begin the tour. There is a restroom available on site.
About the workshop
**Registration for this workshop is not included with conference registration. It must be purchased separately.**
Increased native biodiversity is often a measure of success in restoration projects. This joint field tour at Denver Botanic Gardens Chatfield Farms will offer participants an understanding of planning, managing and evaluating habitat restoration projects with a focus on pollinators. Chatfield Farms is a 700-acre native plant refuge and working farm. The tour will include active prairie and riparian restoration projects, specifically focusing on the role of plant diversity and pollinator habitat. Part of the workshop will investigate the components of successful pollinator habitat in natural and developed areas, as well as an overview of pollinator diversity and ecology. Participants will learn pollinator monitoring methods and field identification, as well as discuss restoration planning with pollinators in mind. Other tour elements will include some variety of grassland and riparian restoration efforts.
Dr. Hufft – Associate Director of Applied Conservation at Denver Botanic Gardens
Becky has overseen plant conservation projects since 2011. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago and her doctorate from the University of California Santa Cruz. She is a broadly trained conservation biologist whose research interests include restoration, ex situ conservation, long-term monitoring and phenology. She supports the Gardens’ efforts to conserve Colorado’s rare plants by incorporating the ecology and demography of rare plant species and studies of biodiversity, invasive species and phenology into the conservation program.
Amy Yarger – Butterfly Pavilion Horticulture Director
Amy has worked in the public horticulture field since 1996. She received a bachelor’s degree in ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California, Irvine and then went on to study plant-animal interactions at the University of Michigan. Her master’s thesis concerned the effects of invasive weeds on pollinator-plant relationships. Amy currently leads Butterfly Pavilion’s local pollinator habitat initiatives, such as the Baseline Pollinator District and the Urban Prairies Project, which restores habitat in urban and suburban green spaces. Her work at the Butterfly Pavilion, where she has worked since 2000, touches on many of her passions: plants, insects, habitat conservation and science education.
Ashley White – Community Habitats Manager
Ashley’s work at the Butterfly Pavilion supports initiatives throughout the Front Range that guide sustainable provision of habitat by working with community members in generating native plant materials and installing and caring for gardens. She manages the Urban Prairies Project, a greenspace restoration program based in community stewardship and educated volunteerism. She is a true nature-nerd and relishes in sharing all that a healthy outdoors provides – from the micro to the macro!
Boulder County Parks and Open Space Riparian and Grassland Restoration
1-4 pm, April 12th; Participation Limit: 22 people (FULL)
Registration $20 Regular / $10 Student
Where to meet
Meet at BCPOS offices at 5201 St Vrain Rd, Longmont (80503) at 12:50 pm to carpool to the field sites (to stay on schedule, vans will depart from the office at 1 pm); we’ll return by 4 pm. There are bathrooms available at the BCPOS office for use before and after the field tour. There are no bathrooms at our field sites.
About the workshop
**Registration for this workshop is not included with conference registration. It must be purchased separately.**
Resiliency, biodiversity, and restoration. These three concepts are intimately entwined in the restoration work that Boulder County Parks & Open Space pursues. This field trip will span two different types of restoration; the first, a riparian restoration along St. Vrain Creek that improves in-stream and riparian habitat for a Federally threatened species, provides fish passage for native fish species, all while improving ditch infrastructure and water delivery and overall flood resilience. The second site will look at the use of the herbicide Rejuvra (Indaziflam) to control non-native annual grasses, that shows promising results for increasing native vegetation, available pollinator habitat and wildlife browse, and reduces fuel for wildfire.
Mac Kobza – Wildlife Biologist
Mac Kobza has 25 years of experience in aquatic resource monitoring and restoration, with 10 years as a Wildlife Biologist with Boulder County Parks & Open Space. Mac develops sound natural resource policy, conducts ecological resource assessments and biological monitoring, writes management plans, provides stakeholder and public engagement and seeks to apply new and developing scientific research into open space management. Mac has helped direct multiple stream restoration projects following the 2013 flood including the riparian restoration project visited during this workshop. He has a specialty in native fish ecology and a master’s degree in Biology from Florida International University.
Joe Swanson, Boulder County Parks & Open Space – Senior Weed Specialist/County Weed Coordinator
Joe Swanson is the Senior Weed Specialist/County Weed Coordinator for Boulder County Parks and Open Space located in Longmont Colorado. Joe has served 8 years with Boulder County Parks and Open Space overseeing invasive plant and noxious weed management on over 45k acres of open space property. Joe has 15 years of experience in rangeland management, collectively overseeing 140,000 acres of DOD property in his career. Joe has been on the forefront of Boulder County POS Rejuvra applications working with aerial and ground applications of approximately 3,000 acres since 2014. Joe is a 1991 Graduate of Kansas State University and has a B.S. in Natural Resource Management.
Carrie Cimo – Plant Ecologist and Volunteer Coordinator
Since 2014, Carrie has hosted hundreds of restoration-focused volunteer projects and has collected 1,500+ pounds of native seed for ecological use throughout Boulder County. She co-manages a ¼ acre seed increase garden to produce local, ecotypic native seed material for use in restoration. In addition to working with volunteers, Carrie has held key roles on flood recovery/stream restoration projects and is aiding wildfire recovery efforts at Heil Valley Ranch. She also sits on the Board of Directors for the Southern Rockies Seed Network, and helps in department-wide efforts addressing climate change, pollinator conservation, and equity and inclusion. She has a bachelor’s degree in Conservation Biology from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
Tour of Big Thompson River Reclamation between Rossum and Wilson, Loveland Ready-Mix Concrete
8-11 am, April 12th; Participant Limit: 30
Registration $20 Regular / $10 Student
Where to meet
We’ll meet at 8 am at the Namaqua Park parking lot, located at 730 N Namaqua Ave, Loveland, CO 80537 (https://goo.gl/maps/A9hKwFHiDU3QuL9t5), and enjoy some breakfast goodies provided by Loveland Ready-Mix Concrete. Restroom facilities will be available near the parking lot. Attendees will need to sign a waiver upon arrival and should be prepared to walk up to 2 miles over approximately 2-3 hours (with 8-9 stops) along a flat gravel trail that parallels the Big Thompson River.
About the workshop
**Registration for this workshop is not included with conference registration. It must be purchased separately.**
The Big Thompson Watershed Coalition used FEMA funding to study, reshape, revegetate along the Big Thompson River between Rossum and Wilson in response to 2012 flood damage. The project was completed several years ago. The property within the Project span is owned by Loveland Ready-Mix Concrete and the City of Loveland. The Loveland Ready-Mix Property was mined for sand and gravel in the late 60’s through early 80’s and was in various stages of reclamation at the time of the flood.
This field tour will offer participants a chance to see the results of implementation of several techniques to restore wetland, riparian and floodplain habitat, including elements of natural channel design, bioengineering, and revegetation with native species.
ECI Site Construction Management was the Lead Team Contractor for the Project. Subcontractors included Connell Resources, Western States Reclamation, and FlyWater. ECI worked under the direction of BTWC, and the Design Team Engineers Otak and CDM Smith. Ecosystem Services, LLC was another Key Team member and provided the Restoration Design and Plan as the Revegetation Specialist.
Tour at Guttersen Ranch, between Kersey and Keenesburg, Fortress Development Solutions
12-4 pm, April 12th; Participant Limit: 30 (Lunch included)
Registration $20 Regular / $10 Student
Where to meet
We’ll meet at 12 pm at the Main Entrance to the Guttersen Ranches, located at the intersection of CR 34 & 53 in Kersey (https://goo.gl/maps/WFjuyn7p4TCWZMZf8). Lunch, provided by Guttersen Ranch/Fortress Development Solutions, will be served from 12-1 at the entrance, followed by a tour from 1-4. Attendees should wear sturdy footwear and proper clothing for changing weather and sun exposure. Please carpool, when possible, within the Ranch. Portable restrooms and bottled water will also be available at the Ranch entrance.
About the workshop
**Registration for this workshop is not included with conference registration. It must be purchased separately.**
Art and Parker Guttersen and Guttersen Ranches, have decades of cattle ranching history coexisting with oil and gas development on a 35,000 acre working cattle ranch south of Kersey, CO. Reclamation activities have been conducted over the years with a focus on maintaining native vegetation and reducing soil erosion in sandy textures, to increase wildlife habitat and conservation, in conjunction with livestock grazing and rangeland stewardship. Projects are developing in soil carbon sequestration and storage through disturbed land reclamation and restoration on the ranch, including cheatgrass control, soil studies and vegetation monitoring. Future educational opportunities are emerging for the community, with plans to get youth involved with agricultural and stewardship activities. Site visit will potentially include demo of nearby reclamation equipment, as well as a variety of revegetation and restoration projects.
Fortress Development Solutions, owned by the Guttersens’, provides reclamation and restoration activities, and is dedicated to quality operations. Kate Graves, Reclamation Division Manager, BS Soil and Crop Science and MNRS Rangeland Science, has extensive experience in reclamation projects for mines, oil and gas development, power generation, renewable energy, water resources, agriculture, and public open space.