Summer ’21 Educational Events

Join us for an evening with Blue River Water Commissioner, Troy Wineland, as he discusses the snowfall from the 2020-2021 winter season and what we can expect for our rivers, reservoirs and drought conditions this summer. Learn more about diminished water levels in the Colorado River Basin and how this affects water availability and use. There will be a question and answer segment at the end of the webinar.

Join the Dillon Ranger District’s Fuels Planner, Kat Gray, on a hike around some of the recent fire breaks that have been implemented around the county. We will discuss the work that goes into these treatments as well as the importance of these clear cuts to our community. Take in beautiful views of Lake Dillon while learning how the USFS is preventing greater negative impacts from wildfires.

Join longtime local and FDRD board member, Charlotte Clarke for a visit to a local ghost town. We will use guides to study nails, glass, cans, and other remnants that are on site to determine when this ghost town was in its heyday.

Join FDRD and Blue River Water Commissioner, Troy Wineland, for a walk by the waterside! At the time when rivers are usually at their highest for the season, Troy will discuss what the water level this year means for our community and water users downstream. We will also discuss how Troy forecasts water levels and what this year’s forecast means.

You must have a current FDRD Membership to sign up for this hike. (Please email info@fdrd.org if you are unsure.) Come join wildflower guru, Pat Taylor, to learn more about the incredible wildflowers that color our mountainsides. During our 3-hour hike, we will identify wildflowers and learn about some incredible adaptations and characteristics make each species so unique. After our hike we will enjoy a picnic lunch, provided by FDRD from Mountain Lyon Cafe.

Join dedicated FDRD volunteer and birder extraordinaire, Ruth Heimburger Carroll, for a driving tour to spy on a few of our local raptor nests here in Summit County from a distance with a spotting scope. If we are lucky we will see some osprey, hawks, maybe even a bald or golden eagle! Due to current COVID-19 regulations, we will not have people carpooling to different locations, you must drive to each site with the same people you came with.

Join dedicated FDRD volunteer, Pat Taylor, to learn more about the incredible wildflowers that color our mountainsides. During our three-hour hike, we will identify wildflowers and learn about some incredible adaptations and characteristics that make each species so unique.

You must have a current FDRD Membership to sign up for this hike. (Please email info@fdrd.org if you are unsure.) Join Eric Erslev for our first ever FDRD kayak tour! Eric, a former geology professor at CSU and UWyo, will lead tour attendees on a paddle that will start and end at the Frisco Marina, where FDRD will rent kayaks for the attendees for the morning. We will follow the coastline, tracing out the geologic moraines laid down by repeated incursions of ice from the Tenmile River valley. On the way, we will observe the wildlife that call Lake Dillon home, discuss the complicated network of dams, rivers and tunnels that provide critical water resources for communities from the east slope of Colorado to California, and the potential impacts of climatic changes.

Have you ever been curious about the different rock formations that speckle our local landscape? The mountainous environment here in Summit County provides a phenomenal landscape to observe geological and historical points of interest. Join FDRD and our resident geology expert, Joe Newhart, for an informative tour of some of Summit County’s most interesting geological locations. This tour has 5 different stops around the county to observe rock formations, therefore we drive to each location and very minimal walking is done.

Join our friend and mining/history expert, Rick Hague, for an informative walk covering our rich history of mining in Summit County. Rick will lead discussions on the way things were back in the mining days. Bring your questions for Rick – he’s got all the answers! This will be a fascinating morning you won’t want to miss.

Join FDRD friend and CSU Extention Agent, Dan Schroder, for an exploratory hike up to the toe of the Peak One avalanche path (aka Silent Bob). See the destruction up close and personal after all of the snow has melted off. Learn about how these paths are formed and how they impact our local wildlife and forest health.

Join longtime local and FDRD board member, Charlotte Clarke for a visit to a local ghost town. We will use guides to study nails, glass, cans, and other remnants that are on site to determine when this ghost town was in its heyday.

Have you ever been curious about the different rock formations that speckle our local landscape? The mountainous environment here in Summit County provides a phenomenal landscape to observe geological and historical points of interest. Join FDRD and our resident geology expert, Joe Newhart, for an informative tour of some of Summit County’s most interesting geological locations. This tour has 5 different stops around the county to observe rock formations, therefore we drive to each location and very minimal walking is done.

You must have a current FDRD Membership to sign up for this hike. (Please email info@fdrd.org if you are unsure.) Join the Dillon Ranger District’s very own Wildlife Biologist, Ashley Nettles, for an engaging walk through some of Summit County’s abundant wildlife habitat. Learn all about the critters that inhabit our forests and about some of the management practices that keep our wild animal populations vibrant and healthy! Bring any questions you may have regarding anything that slithers, leaps, walks, bounds, crawls, swims or flies. This is a tremendous opportunity to explore local wildlife habitat with an expert. Stick around and get to know your fellow FDRD members for lunch after the hike!

Join your CSU Extension Director, Dan Schroder, and Blue River Water Commissioner, Troy Wineland, on an exploration of human impact on Summit County’s landscape. Our hike near Frey Gulch in Keystone will give participants a glimpse into how we strive to achieve a balance between open space and development.

Join Eric Erslev for an FDRD bike tour! Eric, a former geology professor at CSU and UWyo, will lead tour attendees on a 10 mile bike trip that looks at the geology and placer mining from Breckenridge to Frisco along the Blue River Valley. We will discuss how lode gold deposits were eroded to form placer deposits, view the impact of placer mining methods, and talk about current restoration efforts to revitalize rivers disrupted by gold-mining dredges.

Join our friend and mining/history expert, Rick Hague, for an informative walk covering our rich history of mining in Summit County. Rick will lead discussions on the way things were back in the mining days. Bring your questions for Rick – he’s got all the answers! This will be a fascinating morning you won’t want to miss.

Join FDRD, the Town of Dillon, and the Raptor Education Foundation for an evening of nature education at the Dillon Amphitheater that is great for all ages.

The Raptor Education Foundation’s Raptor Summit introduces the audience to a live eagle, hawk, falcon, and owl during a fifty-minute program that covers, biology, ecology, current status, along with the cultural history of raptors. Audience members will understand what makes a bird of prey a raptor, as well as the differences between the various species being discussed. Remember, most birds of prey are not raptors! More information about the Raptor Education Foundation can be found HERE.

During the program, the smaller birds will be moved through the audience with their handlers for close up views and photos. A short question session follows and visitors can move in for closer pictures near the stage with one or two of the raptors that will be on hand as the program finishes.

Join FDRD friend and CSU Extention Agent, Dan Schroder, for a tour through the black, exploring what remains 2 years after the Buffalo Mountain Fire. Learn about the dynamics of the Buffalo fire and the efforts that went into suppressing the flames; how our forests and wildlife benefit from and rely on fire for their existence; and what we can do to reduce wildfire risk in our own backyards.

Join Eric Erslev for an FDRD bike tour! Eric, a former geology professor at CSU and UWyo, will lead tour attendees on a 10 mile exploration of the local geology by riding our bikes down the new section of bike trail that will connect Leadville and Copper Mountain and then continuing to Frisco through Ten Mile Canyon. We will see evidence for the crustal contractions that created the Rockies and recently active faults like the Mosquito Fault, which encrusted faulted rocks with an abundance of quartz crystals as it worked to tear down of the Rockies.

Join FDRD and Blue River Water Commissioner, Troy Wineland, for a walk by the waterside! We will look back at the summer’s precipitation and what we might expect for the winter season. We will discuss the forecast that was set in the spring. Was the forecast high? Low? Take in the serene sights and sounds of the water as we pick the brain of a local water expert.

Join FDRD friend and CSU Extention Agent, Dan Schroder, for a tour through the sweeping, golden fall colors of Summit County’s autumn forests. Learn more about the “whys” behind the seasonal changes that we all find so entrancing.