EP NEWS/ Hazelton

Six days of rodeo action are rolling into Estes Park from July 7 through 12 when the town hosts the 83rd edition of the mountain community’s Rooftop Rodeo with 7:30 p.m. nightly performances at the Fairgrounds at Stanley Park.

The 2008 Estes Park Rooftop Rodeo was named Best Small Rodeo of the Year by the Professional Cowboy Rodeo Association (PRCA) and attracts over 10,000 people each year.

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EP NEWS/ Kris Hazelton

Little baby Chippewa, the young foal who we have been featuring in the EP News, continues to do well.

According to Dr. Marie Richardson (Dr. C) “In the past two weeks Chip has made much progress. I spoke to an equine nutrition specialist through Purina and we have made some adjustments to his feedings. He has flourished. He is gaining weight and growing in height. We feel that although he may need additional time to “catch up,” he will grow to his full genetically predisposed size. (In other words, he is going to be as big as he was supposed to be).

It takes a horse until they are three-four years old to get to their mature size. Some horses even take longer. The nutritionist felt that he would catch-up by the time he is one-two years old. Interesting enough, when I was listing his previous problems that he has overcome, the nutritionist stopped me and said, “Wait, are we still talking about one horse.” I’ll have to write a quick recap about his problems for the people who have not followed his story but for now, he is virtually problem-free! YEAH!

Until now, I had been transporting him in flat beds, which at this point would not really be safe for him. So, he now has his very own trailer. It is a 1970 trailer but it has been all redone. In fact it looks pretty retro. We have been working on getting him in and out without scaring him. The first day it took about 45 minutes to coax him in but the second day it took about three minutes. Just like everything else it is all about trust.

Make sure that you come see him in the rodeo parade on July 7th. Kathy and Brad Fitch will be performing their new song, “Chippewa” along with us. We are all very excited.”

Keep watching the EP News for further updates.

Black bear at a bird feeder in Estes Park

By: Kris Hazelton

The past few weeks a young, reddish/brown yearling bear has been seen in and around the downtown area getting into trash cans, dumpsters, bird feeders, grills and pet food bowls for a quick and easy meal.

According to Rick Spowart, Division of Wildlife Manager, “Unless people change their habits, this bear is doomed to die a tragic death!”
Spowart and local Bear Aware volunteers have been extremely busy, following this young bear around, trying to give him a negative human experience and teach him that he should not be seeking food around human sources.

Shocking as it sounds, simple human foods like sunflower seeds in a birdfeeder, peaches on your windowsill and trash in your trash can, kill bears every year.

Why? Because once a bear finds these easy sources of food, they can become conditioned almost immediately to favor them over the more difficult to find and less calorie laden natural bear foods such as clover and grasses, ants and grubs, and wild berries.

Spowart hates the thought that he may have to put this bear down, if residents and business owners cannot follow a few simple rules, because a bear seeking human foods is certain to come in conflict sooner or later with people and that can be a very dangerous situation.

We need to change our behaviors so we can prevent the death of this beautiful animal. Moving the bear, is not the answer. According to Spowart, “Capturing and removing bears to new areas has a history of mixed success. I’ve only had one successful bear move, all the others have resulted in the death of the bear.”

Training bears to go back to natural food sources by using tazers, cracker shells and bean bag rounds to convince a bear to move off and stay away from areas used by humans is also a time consuming and trying situation but that is what has to be done at this point to try to convince the bear to move back into the wild.

However, it is useless to move or retrain bears only to have them relearn their dangerous habits because nearby residents fail to eliminate access to bear attractants.

The most effective way to save our bears is to prevent them from obtaining any human foods or garbage in the first place. It is that simple, and that difficult. “If every individual does their part to prevent a bear from having easy access to human foods, our bear conflict problem would be virtually solved. If this bear is going to live, we need to take away these attractants!” said Spowart.

Barbecue Grills- Grills with food and grease attract bears. Keep grills clean after each use and store them in a secure location. Attend to food as it cooks outdoors, and when it is done promptly remove anything that would attract a bear including coolers, utensils, leftovers and used paper plates and cups.

Pets and Pet Food-Pet food and food bowls should not be filled and left out overnight, or left unattended. Feed pets indoors. Especially avoid feeding pets outside at dawn or dusk when bears are most active. Store pet food in a safe, secured area or bear-proof container.

Vehicles-Don’t leave food or garbage in the passenger compartment of a vehicle or the back of a pick-up truck as bears can pry open the windows and doors to access even traces of food on old paper plates or drops of soda pop in cans or used cups.

Human Garbage-Human garbage is a primary bear attractant. Garbage left out over night has a 70 percent chance of attracting a bear. Garbage put out in the morning of trash pick-up has only a two percent chance of attracting a bear. Trash should be stored during the week in a bear-proof location. Freeze particularly smelly items, and keep your trash container clean.
Birdfeeders-Avoid birdfeeders from now through November. Birds don’t need supplemental feed at this time, and birdseed is irresistible to bears. When using birdseed, store it in a bear-proof container in a secure location. Hummingbird feeders are especially attractive to bears. Seeds and sweetened liquids are high in calories.

Remember this-A fed bear is a dead bear.

For more information or if you have a bear problem, please call Division of Wildlife Manager Rick Spowart at the police station at 586-4000, or you may contact DOW Bear Aware Volunteers in our area:

Jim Boyd at 970-586-5700 ext. 6063
Kris & Gary Hazelton at 970-231-2635 or
Jayne Zmijewski at 970-586-9427

In case of potentially dangerous situations, please call the Estes Park Police Dispatch number at 586-4000 or 911 in an emergency, who can contact police and a CDOW Wildlife Manager in the area.

The Estes Valley Land Trust July breakfast-educational program will be held on Saturday, July 11, at 8:00 a.m. “A Celebration of Tahosa Valley” will be the focus for the gathering. The event will be held at the home of Barbara and Herbert Hoover [8150 Highway #7] on the east side of Peak to Peak Highway. The gate marking their driveway is south of the road leading to Longs Peak Trailhead, beyond the nine-mile marker.

The Hoovers placed a Conservation Easement on approximately 400 acres of their H BAR H Ranch property in 1998. Please make an effort to car share in order to minimize the impact on their land.

Each person attending should bring a lawn chair along with a hat, sunscreen and water.

Breakfast reservations are required; the cost is $10 per person.  Telephone (970) 577.6837 day/night or email evlt@evlandtrust.org no later than 5:00 p.m. on Monday, July 6. Please provide the name of each person attending so name badges can be prepared.

In case of rain, the event will be moved to the fellowship hall at Presbyterian Community Church of the Rockies, 1700 Brodie Avenue, in Estes Park.

Kent Keller, EVLT director and chair of the educational event committee, will serve as moderator for a panel of special presenters. The panel will include:
• Jan Robertson, author of Magnificent Mountain Women and Rocky Mountain Rustic;
• Jean Sutherland, former president of the Tahosa Valley Landowners Association;
• SoYoung Lee, music director, Rocky Ridge Music Center;
• Stan Adamson, editor, Paul Nesbit’s Longs Peak: Its Story and A Climbing Guide; and
• Jim White, EVLT vice president. Jim will highlight the Conservation Easements located in Tahosa Valley.

The local Land Trust currently has 145 Conservation Easements which protect 8,590 acres. Of this total, nearly 30% of those acres are in the area commonly known as the Tahosa Valley.

Following the formal program Marcia Tavel, an event committee member, will lead a “wildflower hunt” for those who are interested. Bring your wildflower guide and see how many specimens you can find from Marcia’s list.
The morning’s festivities will be topped off when Herb Hoover leads a group on his favorite hike through the property. Those interested in participating in the hike will want to wear walking shoes.

This is a unique opportunity to visit an Easement property, celebrate the preservation partnership between Tahosa Valley land owners and the Land Trust, and learn more about this special area.

Historian Laureate Jim Pickering to offer downtown history tour

Discover the hidden past with Estes Park Historian Laureate Jim Pickering on a Walking Tour of historic downtown Estes Park. The tour, sponsored by the Estes Park Museum, will be offered on Thursday, August 20 and repeated on Thursday, August 27. Both tours run from 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m., meeting in Bond Park, downtown Estes Park. Space is limited. Reservations are required and can be made beginning July 1 by calling the Museum at 970-577-3762. The cost is $5 for members of the Estes Park Museum Friends & Foundation, Inc. and $10 for non-members.

The village of Estes Park was platted by Abner Sprague in April of 1905. Within weeks, lots along the street he named “Elkhorn” were taken up and new businesses were planted. Within a decade the basic footprint of the town we know today had put down roots. Walk along historic Elkhorn Avenue with Estes Park Historian Laureate Jim Pickering and see the present through the eyes of the past.

Now through October, the Museum, located at 200 Fourth Street, is open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. and Sunday from 1:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. Closed July 3 and 4. Current exhibits at the Museum include Patchwork Storytellers, an exploration of quilting in Estes Park, located in the National Park Service Headquarters building and Altered Landscapes in the main gallery. The mission of the Estes Park Museum is to collect, interpret and preserve local history, as well as to present exhibits, programs and events for the education and benefit of residents and visitors of all ages. For more information call the Estes Park Museum at 586-6256 or visit the Museum’s website at www.estes.org/museum. Admission is always free.

Individuals interested in supporting the Museum can join the Estes Park Museum Friends & Foundation, Inc. for as little as $30 annually. Benefits include invitations to special events, receptions and tours such as the Cheley

Camp tour and other historic tours. Members also receive discounts on retail purchases at the Museum Shop, a complementary Friends publication and a subscription to the quarterly newsletters Museum Pieces and Friends to Friends.

Estes Park is gearing up to celebrate their annual Scandinavian Midsummer Festival, which will take place this Saturday, June 27 and Sunday, June 28, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. It is being held downtown at Bond Park, located at the intersection of E. Elkhorn (Rt. 36) and MacGregor.

Scandinavian Midsummer is a colorful festive event of light, flowers, food, music, and dance, which has its roots in the celebration of the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. Midsummer festivities center around the Maypole, a 20 foot tall pole decorated with live flowers and ribbons. Dancers and musicians encircle the pole with lively music and dancing. In Scandinavia, the revelry continues well into the sunny night.

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Photo courtesy Suzy Blackhurst

Two new cut-a-way vehicles holding 14 riders, a new cut-a-way bus accommodating 25 people, and an expanded service route will greet Free Estes Park Shuttle riders when the service begins operating on Saturday morning. The daily service begins Saturday, June 27 and continues through Aug. 30.

Riders can board or get off the shuttles at locations designated by shuttle stop signage along Fall River Road, Big Thompson Avenue, Marys Lake Road, Colorado Highway 66, Moraine Avenue and Elkhorn Avenue. Route maps are available throughout town at lodging properties and at retail stores on Elkhorn Avenue and the Estes Park Visitors Center.
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