outdoors

 Pollinators, such as bees, wasps, and butterflies, are critical to the food system and ecosystem. The Colorado Department of Agriculture is taking part in a national effort to protect the pollinators and priorities are placed in two areas based on legislative mandates:

Pesticide application in a manner safe to the public and the environment as mandated by the Pesticide Applicator Act and the Pesticide Act and; Honeybee health as mandated by the Bee and Bee Products Act.

 Pollinators, such as bees, butterflies, and birds make our world a more beautiful place by pollinating flowers and plants but they are also an integral part of the food system. The honey bee pollination alone adds more than $15 billion in value to agricultural crops each year, and helps ensure that our diets include ample fruits, nuts, and vegetables. In Colorado, we have several agricultural industries that rely on pollinators such as our Palisade peaches and Rocky Ford cantaloupes.

Pollinators are a group of diverse animals that play a critical role in the world's food production. There are over 20,000 species of wild pollinators ranging from wild bees to managed honey bees, plus many species of butterflies, flies, moths, wasps, beetles, birds, bats and other animals that pollinate crops including those that provide fruit, vegetables, seeds, nuts and oils.   In Colorado, we have several agricultural industries that rely on pollinators such as our Palisade peaches and Rocky Ford cantaloupes.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife is participating in Operation Dry Water, June 24 to 26, 2016, as part of a nationally coordinated effort to raise awareness about the dangers of boating under the influence (BUI) and reduce the number of accidents and deaths related to alcohol and drug use on our waterways.

Last year over 5,800 tourists visited Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site (NHS) near Eads, Colorado. Ranger staff responded by presenting over 450 formal interpretive and education programs. This year, the park is recruiting for volunteers to assist staff with visitor services such as welcoming and orienting the public and presenting short interpretive programs.

Arkansas Headwaters

The Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) Board awarded $20.7 million in grants for land conservation and school playground projects across the state of Colorado.

The bulk of the funding was part of the first round of grants from GOCO's new Protect Initiative, part of its five-year strategic plan for large-scale land conservation. Other grants awarded were part of GOCO's conservation easement transaction costs grant program, the conservation excellence grant program, and the School Yard Initiative.

Arkansas Headwaters

Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Forest Service are seeking public input on draft alternatives for the management plan revision for recreation use along the Arkansas River. The public comment period begins tomorrow and closes on June 22, 2016.

Saturday, June 11^th, the Bent's Fort Chapter of the Santa Fe Trail Association will tour several historic sites in Southeast Colorado.  The tour will start at the Star School at 9:00 AM. The Star School is located about 3 miles west of Colorado Beef (junction of Hwys 50 and 287) or 10 miles east of Hasty. Watch out for traffic if you are coming from the west. West bound traffic is hard to see at the school. After learning about the history and reconstruction of the school we will travel to Bent's New Fort.