Adopt a Road update 2020

[FINOCJ]

I contacted Brant at USFS to see where things stand with BF and DC and trail clean-ups etc....his response below....

Hey James,
DC and BF are indeed open and good to go for the season.

Official or formal volunteering is still not allowed. Not sure when it will be allowed again. I keep asking and keep getting told, not yet…
If you or others want to make a unofficial trip there is no problem. Unfortunately, I can’t count your hours. If you make a trip, unofficially, keep track of how many hours and people. You can total up your unofficial hours and let me know.

I don’t have anything specific to deal with, my guys cut many trees in both areas so should be cleared out. Keep an eye out for problems and for sure document them and send to me. I heard there are a bunch of horses in Barbour, so watch out for them.

Keep in touch.

[Jim]

Horses? Would they be from a local owner or wild?

[Swank1975]

Barbor borders some private property I wonder if they belong to the ranch that has that shelter along the trail

[Getaklu]

I wonder if there is a difference in operating philosophies between ranger districts. Colorado Four Wheelers did the gate swing at China Wall with the forest service on the 15th, just don’t know if it was “official” or not. They also were scheduled to do a cleanup run on the 20th.

Brian, if you see this, can you elaborate?

[newracer]

Up here in the Canyon Lakes district we cannot officially volunteer at this time. I was told it is because the FS has not yet finalized their plan on how to handle volunteers with the pandemic. We still unofficially did a cleanup of Moody Hill and Kelly Flats.

[Brian]

I wonder if there is a difference in operating philosophies between ranger districts. Colorado Four Wheelers did the gate swing at China Wall with the forest service on the 15th, just don’t know if it was “official” or not. They also were scheduled to do a cleanup run on the 20th.

Brian, if you see this, can you elaborate?

We definitely had the support of the ranger district on the 15th. They sent us two FS rangers to assist us/unlock the gates, and they rode the entire trail with us just like in years past. The 20th clean up was just a club run without FS support to go back and take care of items we discovered on the 15th. A little litter and some carsonite posts, etc.

I didn't get to go back on the 20th after experiencing either a bad IAC or TPS. Had to hold it above 2500 RPM to keep it running and limped it home. Couldn't get replacement parts in time for the 20th. Someone had replaced the TPS previously and busted the pigtail, but thread-locked the screws! Seriously boogered up the threads trying to remove the TPS, so ordered a new TB which should be here today.

[Getaklu]

Thanks Brian. Hope the new body takes care of the problem. Sounds like it was super crowded on the 20th.

[FINOCJ]

Just got another update from Brant at USFS....in short, it sounds like we are able to do 'official' hours counted clean-ups again - with some additional C19 protocol. Copy of Brant's email:
All,
I finally got a chance to review the protocols and procedures that we(all of you and FS employees) must follow in order to do any volunteering. Volunteers were recently added to the mix on this but these are essentially the same as what the FS has been following for the past couple months. Attached are the documents we will need to guide us. Some of the SOP’s are essentially the same questions I had to answer when I got a haircut recently, so hopefully are not any big surprise to you. You will also notice that we are required to ride separately in vehicles…this is a big deal but also what the FS has been doing for the last couple months. It’s a pain but necessary for the 2020 season.
The RAW or Risk Assessment is our current governing safety document…all of you have signed(in years past) a similar document where we highlight some of the hazards associated with the work we perform. This is new so has some bugs to work out but its what we have…don’t be intimidated by it…we can talk it through on your work days. Let me know if questions.
Please review these documents and send me any questions you might have. If any of this is not workable for you or your club, I completely understand, however if your group is not able to follow these guidelines you cannot have official volunteer work days.
I won’t be changing any adoptions or looking for other groups to fill your adoptions unless you want to end your agreement. If you want to take 2020 off from Volunteering, hoping that 2021 will bring changes, I completely understand. We’ll just have to wait to see what the future brings…
If you are ok with these guidelines and changes, I will be happy to start filling the calendar with your work days and discuss some possible projects for this year. Let me know if you want to talk about any of this or just send me a message…Hope all is well with all of you.

He also attached the two documents he mentions...I'll see if I can get those loaded below...haven't even read through them myself yet.

[FINOCJ]

Here is the C19 SOP:

COVID-19 Volunteer Standard Operating Procedures (SOP)
Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests
Prior to each volunteer day, volunteers must review the screening questions and self-certify:
1. Have you, someone living in your household, someone with whom you have been in close or frequent contact with, or someone you are caring for been diagnosed with COVID-19 (Coronavirus) or had any contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19?
2. In the last 14 days, have you or someone living in your household, or someone with you have been in close or frequent contact with, or someone you are caring for returned from, or made a travel connection through a CDC Level 3 or Level 2 country or State Department Level 3 or Level 4 country, for example, China, Korea, Japan, the European Union, and Iran? (reference hyperlinked CDC or State Department websites for updated lists of countries).
3. Do you currently have, or have you had within the last 24 hours, any cold or flu symptoms with a fever greater than 100.4 or acute respiratory distress (e.g., shortness of breath and coughing)?
If a volunteer answers “yes” to any of the questions above, they will not be allowed to volunteer at this time.
Volunteers must follow the same policies and regulations that apply to Forest Service Employees (in all cases). Specifically related to COVID-19, the following applies:
· Only one person is allowed per vehicle when volunteering. The only exception to this rule is if volunteers are living in the same household.
· Volunteers must wear facial coverings at all times inside Forest Service facilities. Follow any additional safety protocols established for that facility.
· Volunteers must wear facial coverings outside any time social distancing of at least 6 feet cannot be maintained.
Volunteers may supply their own work gloves, face covering and eye protection if they have preferences for specific PPE that meets safety requirements, or if agency shortages would prevent work from being completed. PPE shall not be shared.
Public Contacts:
· Volunteers should adjust their expectations for response to emergencies, as first responders, City and County dispatch centers may be operating on diminished capacities during this period. 
· Volunteers should adjust their expectations for Forest Service and Law enforcement response when reporting violations.
· Do not attempt to enforce or educate any state or county ordinances around COVID-19 (ex: group gatherings, requirements for facial coverings, stay at home orders, etc.)
· Be courteous. Announce your presence to others when passing others to help maintain social distance.
· Stay on trails except to maintain social distance. If you need to maintain social distance while accessing trails, step off the trail and allow others to pass.
· In order to maintain social distancing, do not schedule volunteer activities which cause people to gather in close proximity, such as trailhead ambassadors, VIS, or large group education events.
Risk Assessments Worksheet (RAW):
· Risk Assessments and/or Job Hazard Analyses will be developed by the Forest Service to address COVID-19 and project specific hazards and appropriate mitigation measures. Volunteers must review and sign prior to participating in any volunteer activity.
County Resources for Local COVID-19 Requirements/Restrictions:
Boulder County: https://www.bouldercounty.org/families/disease/covid-19/
Clear Creek County: https://www.co.clear-creek.co.us/1173/COVID-19-Coronavirus
Gilpin County: http://www.gilpincounty.org/departments/public_health_agency
Grand County: https://www.co.grand.co.us/COVID19
Jefferson County: https://www.jeffco.us/3999/Coronavirus-Disease-2019-COVID-19
Larimer County: https://www.larimer.org/health/communicable-disease/coronavirus-covid-19 for the latest city information. For updates from the Larimer Office of Emergency Management, https://www.larimer.org/emergency
Weld County: https://www.weldgov.com/departments/health_and_environment/2019_novel_coronavirus
Visit www.fs.usda.gov/arp (http://www.fs.usda.gov/arp) for up-to-date information for possible visitor restrictions or closures in response to trail and forest conditions

[FINOCJ]

The RAW (Risk Assessment) info - sorry, it was an xcel file that I downloaded into a pdf - hopefully the link works as that is easier than trying to get it directly into this thread.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aKynBpWNvErSWawDJjG6eW7w2E48ffpB/view?usp=sharing

[Getaklu]

I will be happy to start filling the calendar with your work days and discuss some possible projects for this year

This makes it sound like he may have something more than us just picking up trash this year?

[FINOCJ]

This makes it sound like he may have something more than us just picking up trash this year?

The email I copied into the thread above went out to all the adopt a trail club representatives....Some of the trails had some projects in the works that were delayed, but may happen now. As for DC and BF, there were no planned projects, so guessing it will stay that way.

[dr350jja]

Just as an observation, it seems that Barbour Fork trail has gotten a lot tougher, since I first was on that trail in 2009. Has a tough spot that I struggle to get past sometimes and my truck bottoms out more.