| This was written by David Tice in the summer of 1999 to summarize the restoration work taking place at the Windstar Conservancy. We are saddened to announce that David passed away December 8, 1999. We will surely miss his caring and gentle spirit and his dedication to the land. Our prayers go out to his family and friends. |
| Ecological Restoration in Progress |
| The variety of projects underway
at the Windstar Land Conservancy are all part of our effort to restore the health
of the ecosystem and, in doing, serve as a model for others around the western
United States and the world. Renewing the Wildlife Pond. The wildlife pond has been drained temporarily. Over the past 16 years since it was built, the pond had become clogged with silt and had lost much of its effectiveness as wildlife habitat. The original depth of the pond will be restored, using the silt that is removed to fill in the artificial drainage ditches. When it is re-invigorated, the pond will serve as the centerpiece of a project to restore the wetlands and native trout habitat. Restoring the Wetlands. The same artificial drainage ditches that caused the pond to silt up also caused the historic wetlands to dry up. We plan to restore the wetlands by next summer. In the process, the natural stream will be returned to approximately the course that it had flowed for hundreds of years before it was channelized by ranching in the past century. The ponds, stream and wetlands will then be able to support native cutthroat trout for the first time in a hundred years. Controlling Noxious Weeds. If you visit the Conservancy, you will see bare patches of ground in some places. These are areas that were heavily infested with exotic weeds - thistle, tansy, and toadflax - that are detrimental to the native wildlife. The Windstar Land Management Team has nearly eliminated knapweed and tansy and reduce the thistles by about 25 percent. These sites have now been seeded with native grassed to speed their restoration. After decades of letting them flourish, we still have a long ways to go to bring the noxious weed problem under control at Windstar, but we are finally making progress. Eliminating the Gullies. Gullies are being eliminated that washed away valuable soil. Here, too, we will be reseeding with native grassed to provide long-term protection of the soil. Volunteer Contributions. The annual Windstar Foundation Memorial Day Volunteer Work Weekend kicked off the summer of 1999. Twenty-eight volunteers contributed over 266 hours of labor and love to paint and refurbish an old log cabin that was donated two decades ago by co-founder of The Windstar Foundation, Tom Crum. In addition, volunteers pulled weeds, planted seeds, and enhanced the Nature Trail. If you would like information about the next volunteer weekend, please contact Jeanie Tomlinson, 2317 Snowmass Creek Road Snowmass, Colorado 81654. We hope you will support our efforts to restore this unique environment at Windstar. Protected forever by a conservation easement, the land earns no income. The Conservancy relies on the generosity of donors to provide the financial resources to help restore and preserve the land. Please visit to see the progress that we are making, knowing that this special place is going to be even better once we are finished! David Tice, Land Management |
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