Nature & Wildlife
2014 August
Pg 10 - The Sunshine Express
Wildlife go to: cpw.state.co.us
Help Partners Help Kids
3rd Annual Partners Benefit Pistol Shoot
Set your sites and mark your calendar to join us
for the 3rd Annual Partners Benefit Pistol Shoot.
This year¡¯s event will again be hosted by the San
Juan Shooting Range and the Montrose Police
Department on Aug 9, 9a-3p, at the San Juan
Shooting Range, 19878 Dave Wood Road.
$20/person, all money goes to PARTNERS youth
mentoring program. Bring your handgun and
ammunition (no magnums) and shoot four
courses of fire as an individual, and/or sign up a
three-person team and compete with local law
enforcement and friends.
Awards to the first place team and top individu-
al shooter!
Firearms must be holstered, zippered or hard
cased.
Youths under 18 require parental supervision.
No experience is necessary, coaching provided.
Loaner guns available - ammo and lunch will be
available for purchase.
Law enforcement officers will be there to com-
pete and to assist the public.
Be an event sponsor - for $500 or $100, get
your logo on the kiosk for 1year & team discount.
Help PARTNERS to help our kids! To register, call
the Partners office at: 970.249.1116 or visit our
website: www.partners-west.org
For shooting questions, please call Paul Miller at
San Juan Shooting Range: 970.249.4227, a map
to the Range is available on their Web site:
www.sanjuanrange.com
sponding positive charges on the ground, far
more powerful strokes can originate from the
positively charged upper portions of a cumu-
lonimbus cloud, extending miles into clear air
(often behind the thunderstorm), and angling
to the ground many miles from the storm itself.
Because of the much greater gaps these posi-
tive strokes bridge to corresponding negatively
charged ground objects (including people), they
are much more powerful. A thunderstorm may
have passed, the sun is out and the sky is blue;
so you¡¯re back to play or work. Wham! Likewise,
such strokes can precede a storm by miles for
the same reason.
For more information on the subject of lightning
behavior and safety go to:
www.crh.noaa.gov/pub/ltg.php
Lightning Safety Tips
cluding CPW offices, online at: cpw.state.
co.us/BuyApply/pages/hunting.aspx
or by phone: 800.244.5613. A list of license
agents can be found at: cpw.state.co.us/
buyapply/Pages/LicenseAgentsList.aspx
CPW Draw Coordinator Devon Adams
recommends checking with your preferred
license purchase agent ahead of time to en-
sure business hours coincide with the start
of the sale and that they are familiar with
changes to big game license sales this year.
In addition to a current and valid photo
ID, proof of residency and social security
number, anyone buying a license must have
a Hunter Education card, unless the hunter
was born before Jan. 1, 1949. Online veri-
fication requires input of the hunter educa-
tion information located on the card and the
state in which it was issued. Bring this card
with you for in-person sales.
To sign up for a Hunter Education course go
to: cpw.state.co.us/learn/Pages/HE-Cours-
es.aspx
To request a replacement Colorado hunter
education card, go to: cpw.state.co.us/
learn/Pages/HE-CardReplacement.aspx
For more information about hunting big
game in Colorado or the Aug.5 sale go to:
cpw.state.co.us/Documents/RulesRegs/Bro-
chure/BigGame/biggame.pdf
or contact your local CPW office or call:
303.297.1192
For more news about Colorado Parks and
Carbondale, CO: Running season continues at
Independence Run & Hike, with their weekly run-
ning group every Thursday night at 6:30p, and
every other Saturday morning at 7:30a from the
store or 8:15a from the trailhead. All levels of
runners are welcome.
The Thursday run is a fun and casual ¡®Beer Run¡¯:
run 3-4 miles and end at a local restaurant for
drinks and food.
The Saturday run schedule is as follows:
Saturday, Aug 9, Capitol Creek Trail, a wonderful
backcounty trail run to one of the most astonish-
ing mountain lakes you will ever see! Enjoy great
views during the whole 8-miles out to the lake,
so you can turn around whenever you want.
Saturday, Aug 23, Thompson Divide Trail, exact
location TBD.
To get updates on the weekly meeting locations
and routes join our email list or visit:
www.Facebook.com/IndependenceRunandHike
For more info call: 970.704.0909 or email to:
independencerun@sopris.net
Weekly Running Group
Big Game & Turkey Licenses For Sale Aug 5
Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) offers big
game licenses for elk, pronghorn, bear, deer and
turkey, to residents and nonresidents, begin-
ning at 9a (Mountain Daylight Time) Aug 5. This
is the first time all big game licenses (leftover,
over-the-counter with caps, unlimited over-the-
counter) are for sale at the same time.
CPW has approximately 6,000 deer, 30,000 elk,
5,000 pronghorn and 1,800 bear licenses avail-
able for the fall hunting seasons. Leftover licens-
es are surplus licenses that went unsold during
the limited drawing. A list of available leftover
licenses may be accessed at:
cpw.state.co.us/thingstodo/Pages/hunt.aspx
The leftover list updates every 15 minutes once
the sales process begins Aug. 5.
Over-the-counter with caps licenses are licenses
that initially go on sale Aug 5 but are limited in
quantity, or ¡°capped¡±. Unlimited over-the-counter
licenses are not limited in number. Look for un-
limited over-the-counter licenses and hunt codes
for over-the-counter with caps licenses in the
2014 Big Game Brochure.
License sales begin 9a (Mountain Daylight Time),
Aug 5. Individuals may choose to purchase in
person at more than 700 licensing agents, in-
Get Ready For Hunting
Here are some good tips to reduce a threat to
your safety during Summer thunderstorms in
the backcountry:
Plan trips to descend from high elevations to
avoid afternoon thunderstorms above timber-
line. A good rule of thumb is to descend to tree
line by noon.
When skies begin to look threatening, they
already are. Anytime clouds develop vertically
and cloud bases grow dark, a lightning hazard
exists, even before you hear thunder or see
lightning.
Monitor approaching storms on the horizon as
well as thunderstorm development overhead or
nearby. Lightning bolts can strike 10-15 miles
out from a thunderstorm.
If you recognize a hazard is developing, seek
cover in a building or vehicle, if possible. That
means a substantial building (not picnic shel-
ters, bus stops, dugouts, etc.) or inside a metal,
covered vehicle (not open jeeps, golf carts). If
inside a vehicle or building, don¡¯t touch anything
that could conduct electricity.
If caught out in the backcountry during a thun-
derstorm:
Retreat from high exposed areas to minimize
the chance of a direct hit, and don¡¯t be the tall-
est object in the vicinity. Lightning often seeks
higher objects, because it¡¯s a shorter gap for the
electrical charge to bridge, so being near a sin-
gle tall tree or group of tall trees in an opening
is also dangerous. Move into a stand of smaller
trees in a lower position on the landscape to in-
crease the odds that lightning will strike higher
points or taller objects instead.
The majority of lightning strikes are not direct
hits, but rather arc from another object or
through the ground after a nearby strike. Dan-
gerous ground currents can reach out up to 100
yards from the object that is struck. Minimiz-
ing your contact with the ground will minimize
the likelihood of being hit by a ground arc. In a
worst-case scenario, squat down with your head
on your knees, feet and legs together, and bal-
ance on the balls of your feet.
In dangerous situations, it¡¯s advisable for
groups to separate, not huddle together. If a
ground arc hits one person, it will probably af-
fect everyone nearby. By spreading well out,
you reduce the odds of everyone being hit.
Avoid things that conduct electricity, like water
channels or metal fencing. Lightning can follow
streams or barbed wire fences for long distanc-
es, flow into the ground, and spread out.
Even when a thunderstorm is far away or has
already passed over, lightning danger may
remain. While most lightning strikes originate
from the negatively charged lower levels of a
thunder cloud and bridge the gap to corre-
Investing In Water Assets
Watershed rehabilitation funding
to repair dams in 26 states
Perry, Ok: Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack
July 18 announced that communities across the
nation will benefit from a $262 million invest-
ment to rehabilitate dams that provide critical
infrastructure and protect public health and
safety. Natural Resources Conservation Service
(NRCS) Chief Jason Weller and Representative
Frank Lucas, chairman of the House Committee
on Agriculture, were in Oklahoma to recognize
the importance of this announcement to agricul-
ture and communities nationwide.
¡°This investment will protect people and prop-
erty from floods, help keep our water clean,
and ensure that critical structures continue to
provide benefits for future generations,¡± Weller
said. ¡°Families, businesses and our agriculture
economy depend on responsible management of
dams and watersheds, and we are continuing to
provide that support to these communities.¡±
A number of the projects to be funded are in
Oklahoma and Weller noted that the state had
the first full watershed plan and structure com-
pleted by USDA on private lands in the 1940s.
The 2014 Farm Bill, signed into law by President
Obama earlier this year, increased the typical
annual investment in watershed rehabilitation
by almost 21 fold, recognizing the critical role
of these structures in flood management, water
supply, and agricultural productivity.
Earlier in the week, the President discussed
the importance of infrastructure to job creation
and commerce, noting that ¡°Funding infrastruc-
ture projects helps our families, it fuels our
economy, and it better positions America for the
future.¡±
From the 1940s through the 1970s, local com-
munities using NRCS assistance constructed
more than 11,800 dams in 47 states.
These watershed management projects provide
an estimated $2.2 billion in annual benefits in
reduced flooding and erosion damages, and
improved recreation, water supplies and wildlife
habitat for an estimated 47 million Americans.
Colorado aid:
Boxelder Crk - $350,000 in Technical
Assistance(TA); Boxelder Crk WS - $350,000
TA, $1,000,000 in Financial Assistance(FA);
Franktown/Parker Tributaries of Cherry Creek -
$300,000 TA; Franktown/Parker - $140,000 TA,
$500,000 FA. (source: www.nrcs.usda.gov)