The Aspen TeamThe Aspen Team is a group of FoNAF members who go out as a group to repair and maintain aspen exclosures. During the months from May until November (depending upon the weather), we usually go once or twice a week. Several of us are retired and can go on weekdays while others are not and can only make weekends. Since FoNAF members are considered to be Forest Service volunteers, we are able to use FS vehicles, tools and supplies. The coordinator of the team is Dave Downes, and he tries to lay out a schedule of workdays for each month at least a week before the month begins. But we all know that any schedule is subject to change due to weather or changes in members’ plans – hey, we’re volunteers. Our goal is to bring all of the exclosures within the Flagstaff Ranger District up to our standards, to monitor and maintain them as needed, to react quickly when a steward reports a need for an urgent repair, and to construct some new ones as funding becomes available. But another goal is to enjoy each other’s company and to have a fun day in the forest. If this is an activity that you think you might like to try, let Dave know – 928-522-9207 or email at downes@haas.berkeley.edu. History of the Aspen TeamIn the summer of 2009, shortly after Friends of Northern Arizona Forests was formed, a small group of members began to visit the 40-some aspen exclosures that were located within the Flagstaff Ranger District to identify those that most needed repair. The original idea was that these exclosures would be the worksites for volunteer workdays when the public would be invited to participate. We held two such workdays, on Saturdays in November 2009, and were gratified at the turnout and the amount of work accomplished. But we soon realized that it would take many years of holding monthly workdays to repair all of the exclosures within the District. When we went out in the spring of 2010, we found most of the exclosures to be in need of even more work because the heavy snowpack of the previous winter had pulled the fences down. Several of us are retired and we decided that we could spend a day or two each week working on various exclosures, and so The Aspen Team was created . Since May 2010, the team has repaired more than 40 exclosures. In 2012, we plan to make any further repairs as needed on existing exclosures and to build several new ones.Aspen Team Members
|
|
