On a gorgeous September 30 some 15 GARNA members and others joined 5 Friends of Fourmile “guides” for a (no fee) driving tour of the Fourmile.
This was GARNA’s 15th (!) and final scheduled Summer Seminar for 2006, and was judged by all concerned as a fun and fitting end to a really successful season. |
Lyn Berry (plaid shirt) explaining the history of the Spanish Mill “arrastra” (near the Fourmile Creek crossing of FR 376). The 4” deep circular cut in the granite, when complete with a set of steel or stone balls being dragged round and round a central pole by mule power, was used as a crude way of crushing raw gold or silver ore. In some such mills the fine crushed material was then mixed with liquid mercury so that bits of pure gold would be amalgamated with the mercury, which could be collected for later separation. |
 The group was a great mix of several 40+ year veterans of Buena Vista, who could share stories of their own explorations in Fourmile over the years, and relative newcomers who were seeing this easily-accessible year-round backyard treasure for the first time. Here we paused before lunch along FR311 to point out the elusive but locally-famous Natural Arch. Many visitors to Fourmile have traveled this route for years but failed to locate the arch (arrow), which can be reached on foot on a moderate scramble from a simple parking area a bit farther on.
After visiting historic sites associated with the Midland RR in Chubb Park north of US 285 the group crossed to the southern section for a quick visit to a Native American chert quarry, but ran short of time. The unanimous recommendation by the satisfied crowd was to continue the tour to the south around Castle Rock Gulch and Bassam Park to Aspen Ridge next season-and even to consider this a GARNA/Friends fund raiser by collecting donations. |
A bit of background: the 2003 Travel Management Plan for Fourmile identified three areas which had been severely damaged by years of unauthorized use by vehicles, and called for their control and restoration. The BLM, Forest Service and the Friends of Fourmile were aware of these areas but it took some time to arrange for the considerable financial resources, detailed design and volunteer labor needed to tackle them. By mid 2005 a wide-ranging partnership developed in which the BLM provided budget and technical design, GARNA/Friends contributed grant funds originating in registration fees for off-road vehicles, a contractor for heavy work was hired, the Forest Service cut and donated hundreds of timber poles, the AHRA and volunteers transported them, the Correctional Facility scheduled work teams, and volunteers from several other local groups (High Rocky Riders, Quiet Use Coalition, Trout Unlimited) were lined up to complete the lighter tasks. Result: by midsummer 2006 two of the three areas had been successfully fenced, signed, reshaped, fertilized and seeded with native grasses. Read on for a “before and after” view of the Spanish Mill and Sevenmile project sites. Hopefully the third site will receive similar treatment in the coming year.
Here’s Spanish Mill in the early spring of 2006 after early labor in the project is complete. Bare areas and tracks are the result of hill climbing and other off-road play. These unvegetated sections can easily erode during heavy rains and deposit big loads of sediment into Fourmile Creek (visible along the bottom of the picture). You can see (to the left) the extensive buck and rail fencing and on the right the heavier steel post and cable installed in the summer and fall of 2005. Reseeding has already taken place (after a snowstorm in December 2005!) but summer rains have yet to begin.
Spanish Mill at the end of July 2006, well into the exceptionally heavy summer monsoon season the whole county experienced. The good news is that on the whole the fencing was effective in discouraging further trespass by vehicles, and the heavy green cover is having a positive effect on preventing further erosion into Fourmile Creek. The creek itself is looking remarkably different, with more beaver activity than seen in years and larger, clear ponds. Unfortunately but not unexpectedly the majority of the vegetation coming in this first year is the aggressive weed Russian Thistle (tumbleweed), although some of the native grass seed planted by volunteers has germinated and is hanging on under the weeds. The typical sequence is for the tumbleweed to dominate for several years and gradually be replaced by the planted grasses. The BLM is considering steps like cutting or possible controlled burning to speed this transition.
A major tributary of Fourmile Creek is Sevenmile Creek (whose course is along the green line of vegetation in the upper third of this June 2005 photo). Forest Route 376, also known as the historic Lenhardy Toll Road dating from the 1870’s, crosses left to right in the lower section. Here again off-road vehicles had been hill climbing and playing for several years, never allowing the area to revegetate on its own.
Same view, late July 2006, but what a difference post and cable barriers, reseeding and good summer rains make. Here, as at Spanish Mill, the majority of the vegetation in the first year has been unwelcome weeds, but managers are confident that if the barriers remain respected the native grasses the volunteers planted will eventually take over.
Overall the BLM and the Forest Service are really pleased both with physical results as well as the effectiveness of the partnerships, and in GARNA’s role in administrating contracts and funds. They also note the cooperation illustrated by participation of various volunteer groups that worked side by side with the Friends, and cite this as a measure of the progress the Fourmile as a whole has made in bringing groups of different perspectives and priorities together.
A sobering note at the end of this otherwise positive tale: the cost of these two restorations was substantial, with contracted work accounting for upwards of $40,000, agency staff salaries adding thousands more, and literally hundreds of volunteer hours in both labor and coordination. Everyone involved in this kind of work recognizes what a better deal it will be for the taxpayers-and the landscape-if Fourmile’s motorized users just stick to the hundreds of mile of roads open to them and resist the temptation to make tracks on their own.
Space has run out for this webpage update, so the full Bike Trail project will make its appearance in the next (spring 2007) edition. Suffice to say that the new grant-funded brochure has been well-received, all trail logo posts and trailhead signboards have been installed and that work is nearing completion on a major three-panel set of maps at the boathouse/restroom facility at the end of East Main Street in Buena Vista. Yeah Midland Team!
For a look at that new Midland Bike Trail map click here. |
