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Poudre Wilderness Volunteers (PWV) is a Larimer County, Colorado nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1996 to assist the Canyon Lakes Ranger District of the United States Forest Service in managing and protecting the wilderness and backcountry areas within its jurisdiction. To achieve this mission, PWV recruits, trains, equips, and fields citizen volunteers to serve as wilderness rangers and hosts for the purpose of educating the public, and provides other appropriate support to these wild areas.
PWV has grown substantially and diversified since its founding and is considered to be one of the largest, most effective organizations of its kind in the nation.
The Need
- Federal appropriations for the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) are not sufficient to cover the costs of forest management and conservation. Furthermore, the USFS doesn’t have enough staff to adequately patrol and monitor the Wilderness and backcountry trails in our area.
- Backcountry use continues to rise, reflecting population growth and demographic changes along the Front Range and elsewhere in the nation. A recent National Survey on Recreation and the Environment (2000 – 2007) indicates that participation in outdoor recreation activities increased by 25 - 31% and that Americans’ interest in nature and nature-based recreation is changing. While activities such as hiking, backpacking, horse riding, mountain climbing, and snow skiing have recently shown declines in popularity, viewing or photographing birds, wildlife, and flowers and trees have increased by 19 to 26%, and kayaking has increased by 63%. In 2010, the Arapaho & Roosevelt National Forests were visited by 6 million people, the second highest number of visits to a National Forest in the nation.
- Many backcountry users have no idea what a designated Wilderness is or why it must be left “untrammeled" by man. A majority of them know very little about low-impact camping. If there is nobody to inform visitors about appropriate Wilderness use, some of our Wilderness areas could become so heavily impacted that additional restrictions on public use will be imposed.
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Weed Crew
- Trained 40 new PWV recruits to identify, report, and treat five target noxious weed species.
- Held 20 weed pulls to treat noxious weeds at 23 locations in 9 different areas. Musk thistle, Houndstongue, Bull thistle, and Common mullein were treated on a total of 114 acres. Scotch thistle, Diffuse knapweed, and Common burdock were seen and treated at a few locations. Canada thistle was seen at many locations but not treated while Leafy spurge and Yellow toadflax were each seen at one location but not treated. Fourteen different PWVs participated in one or more weed pulls. Collectively, they volunteered a total of 479 hours on these weed pulls.
- Held two public weed pavilions; one at the North Fork trailhead (where a total of 42 people learned about noxious weeds – where they occur, the negative impacts they have on native ecosystems, and what PWV, Canyon Lakes Ranger District, and Larimer County are doing about them) and one at the Little Beaver Creek trailhead on Old Flowers Road.
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Randy Ratliff PWV Most Recent Past Chair 2017 - 2018
It has been my great honor and privilege to serve as the Board Chair for this outstanding organization during the past year. During my tenure as Chair:
- PWV provided a total of 25,961 volunteer hours valued at $640,977.
- Another highly rated Spring Training was conducted, in spite of the rain and cold.
- 300+ members submitted their Volunteer Agreements in 2018
- Numerous PWV members attended the the October National Wilderness Workshop held in Gunnison.
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Planning is in process for a Rocky Mountain Wilderness Volunteer Workshop in 2019 co- hosted by PWV and the Friends of Wilderness.
- Provided needed assistance to a family lost & lacking food and water on Kreutzer/Mt. McConnel. Our Rangers who assisted this family were described by the family as “our angels ....as they helped us find the shorter trail out, gave us water and snacks, along with encouragement to continue on.”
- Assisted with the rescue of rafters stuck in swift current under a bridge on the Poudre River.
These are just two of many examples of how PWV volunteers have significantly impacted the lives and welfare of our Canyon Lakes Ranger District trail users.
Read more: PWV's Most Recent Past Chair Looking Back At 2018