LITTLE THOMPSON WATERSHED RESTORATION COALITION (LTWRC) JOURNAL—Issue 12, May 8, 2014
UPCOMING EVENTS
Volunteer Workday – Boulder Reach – May 17
Public Meeting – Master Planning Session – May 28
Volunteer Workday – Berthoud (Weld) Neighborhood – June 14
NEXT PUBLIC MEETING – WEDNESDAY, MAY 28
Our next big meeting will be a master planning session with Tetra Tech. We’ll break out into groups covering different reaches of the river. This will be an important
opportunity for you to learn about what the Tetra Tech team has uncovered in their
research and field work, and to give them feedback about what you hope to see implemented through the master plan. Please be there!
Exact details about time and place coming soon.
VOLUNTEERS WORKING THEIR WAY DOWN RIVER
We thought it was impossible, but our wonderful volunteers are proving us wrong. They are tearing through those debris piles and really making a difference. We’ll
continue working neighborhood by neighborhood through this first phase of the cleanup effort.
We received some great coverage of our efforts on the news media: April 26 – KDVR Coverage of Blue Mountain Clean Up
May 3 – 7NEWS Coverage of Berthoud-Larimer Clean Up
Go to our website www.ltwrc.org and click on “Little Thompson in the News”.
Next Volunteer Workday: Saturday, May 17, on the Boulder Reach
Volunteers should arrive at Doug Spence’s house, 4617 County Line Road 2, Berthoud (off N. 83rd) at 8:30 a.m. For anyone who’d like to help please bring leather work gloves, pants (no shorts), hat, sturdy shoes, your lunch, and any of the following tools if you have them: shovels, pick axes, long pry bars.
We Need ATVs and Small Trailers!
It’s impossible to drive a truck into some parts of the river along the Boulder reach, but an ATV with a small trailer would be immensely helpful. If anyone has an ATV
and/or a trailer to move debris from the cleanup sites to where they’ll be stockpiled
for later use (or for trash haul-out), it would be greatly appreciated and we will reimburse you for gas. Further questions contact Terry Parrish, (970) 980-4745.
ASK YOUR NEIGHBORS, CO-WORKERS, CHURCH GROUPS TO VOLUNTEER There’s plenty of work to do, and we’re trying to beat the deadline for free roadside debris pick-up on May 21 in Boulder County. Volunteers need to:
- Bring a brown bag lunch, and we’ll provide snacks and water, cookies and fruit.
- Wear sturdy boots, bring work gloves and a sun hat. Long sleeves and long pants are best for this work. If you have a shovel, a crowbar, or pick-ax at
home, please bring it!
- Safety glasses provided but bring your own if you have any, please.
VOLUNTEER WORKDAY IN BERTHOUD (WELD) ON JUNE 14
Stay tuned…. Details coming soon.
CAN ANYBODY HEAR ME?
Are you still waiting for help? It could be that your pleas haven’t reached our ears. If you need assistance with debris cleanup:
- 1. Send an email to info@ltwrc.org letting us know you want that done.
- 2. Check in with your neighborhood captain. They are:
Big Elk Meadows: Kevin Sweeney & Jerry Fearn
Main Stem (between Big Elk Meadows and Pinewood Springs, about a dozen properties): We need a captain. How about you?
Pinewood Springs: Steve Fitzgerald
Blue Mountain: Deirdre Daly, 303-823-5307 d2daly@yahoo.com
Boulder County: Terry Parrish & Fran Goss Berthoud: CR23 TO CLR: Julia Stapp & Brad Clark Berthoud: CLR TO I25: Kevin McCarty
Johnstown: Norma Stremme
Milliken: Ron Blackmer
Find their emails and phone numbers: http://ltwrc.org/contacts.html
- 3. If you haven’t already signed the Right of Entry/Hold Harmless form, print one, sign it and send it to u Get the form and instructions at http://ltwrc.org/page3.html
- 4. If you have truck, dump truck, backhoe or any equipment that could be used for moving debris, contact Larry Glover at (303) 549-6515.
- 5. If you can help coordinate volunteers and direct their work, contact Larry
Glover at (303) 549-6515.
MORE HELP
If you need help with flood-related home and infrastructure repairs, your business was impacted by the flood, you have medical needs, or you need help with legal or
insurance matters, contact your County Long-Term Recovery Group:
Boulder – 303-442-2178
Larimer – 970 461-2222
Weld – 970-590-8401
TURN YOUR TIME INTO MONEY
Volunteer time and landowner time spent doing recovery work is like money in the bank. A lot of federal grants require matching funds of 25% or more of the total project cost. Often they allow volunteer time/expenses to be used as “in-kind” contributions towards that 25%. We will need millions of dollars to complete the restoration of the Little Thompson River, and may be expected to raise at least a quarter of that amount on our own. That’s why it’s so important to account for every hour, mile, and dollar you spend working on flood recovery.
It’s a bit of a hassle, but look at it this way: Every dollar’s worth of your time and expense helps us qualify for 4 to 8 times as much in State and Federal aid.
The instructions for loading your recovery hours and expenses into the database is still in the works. Look for your instructions to arrive early next week.
TRUCK DRIVERS NEEDED
We have an opportunity to get a large quantity of rock and fill material from the Colorado Department of Transportation, from a roadwork project that is a short distance from the Little Thompson River near Lyons. This is an area that suffered
severe erosion, and the fill material is desperately needed to stabilize the river and protect existing homes.
The material is free, but we have to haul it a few miles. The Busters (of Lyons Sandstone) have generously offered the use of two of their 10-wheel trucks, but we need drivers with a commercial class A or B license who can take shifts.
Remember when you used to play with toy trucks in the sandbox, and dreamed of driving one for real? If you want to live out those fantasies, or you just want to help, please contact Denise@footprintz.net for details.
AG GRANTS IN THE WORKS
Individuals and Ag businesses should check with NRCS and FSA to ensure they have reported property and livestock damage. Most of the sign up dates have expired, but
they will still work with producers who have not reported.
The Colorado Department of Agriculture is administering the HUD grants to AG producers. LTWRC is providing a quick overview of the program Monday morning (May12) at Johnson’s Corner. We will also help you sign up for an appointment with Lara Duran from CO Dept of AG to fill out an application. You can also sign up for an appointment on your own. Go to http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite/ag_Main/CBON/1251646276937
and click on the word “doodle” next to the CSU Extension Office nearest you. These grants will award from $15,000 to $150,000 to eligible producers and landowners.
Keep tracking hours, activities, receipts and all expenses relating to flood repairs or clean up. This information will be critical to establishing grant amounts. Be meticulous and track every dollar. Each landowner will soon be able to input this information on the LTWRC website in a secure, anonymous system that only you and a few select District staff will be able to view.
CDBG-DR FUNDS THROUGH DOLA
The only way to get these grants for home restoration is if you are registered with the Long Term Recovery group in your area. The time to do that is NOW. Don’t
miss out on this potential opportunity. Information for registering with the Long
Term Recovery Group in your county is on the www.ltwrc.org web site.
ADDITIONAL FUNDS TO COME
In a separate announcement recently, HUD Secretary Donovan announced Colorado will receive an additional $199 million in CDBG-DR funds. In compliance with federal
guidelines, a separate Action Plan will be prepared to address this second allocation and will include a public comment period. The allocation of funds of $199 million have not yet been recorded in the Federal Register. Once the grant is recorded, the
process for allocating the funds can begin.
DONATIONS
The Big Thompson Conservation District (BTCD) is the sponsor of the Little Thompson Watershed Restoration Coalition (LTWRC) and has been paying for all the ongoing costs of the LTWRC.
Since the BTCD operates on donations* (not taxes), we are asking your help in covering the costs of the LTWRC work to restore the Little Thompson River. If you suffered a loss in the flood, we aren’t asking for monetary help from you. However, if you were fortunate enough to emerge from the flood unscathed, please help us out with a donation of any size. We have chosen the gofundme.com website to collect donations. Please click on the link below to access this secure payment site.
http://www.gofundme.com/83ah28
If you prefer to donate by check, please make the check payable to
“Big T CD/LTWRC Fund” and mail to:
Big Thompson Conservation District
P.O. Box 441
Berthoud, CO 80513
*The BTCD is an agency of the Colorado Department of Agriculture, not a non-profit agency. Donations aren’t tax deductible.
GO TO THE WEBSITE: www.ltwrc.org
JOIN US ON FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/groups/LTWRC
