{"id":1311480,"date":"2019-06-17T00:12:00","date_gmt":"2019-06-17T06:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/nearly-300-volunteers-step-in-to-help-reseed-basalt-mountain-after-lake-christine-fire\/"},"modified":"2019-06-17T00:12:00","modified_gmt":"2019-06-17T06:12:00","slug":"nearly-300-volunteers-step-in-to-help-reseed-basalt-mountain-after-lake-christine-fire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/local-news\/nearly-300-volunteers-step-in-to-help-reseed-basalt-mountain-after-lake-christine-fire\/","title":{"rendered":"Nearly 300 volunteers step in to help reseed Basalt Mountain after Lake Christine Fire"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery\" readability=\"6.907614213198\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-981502-814\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/basaltseeding-atd-061719-1-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/basaltseeding-atd-061719-1-1.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times | Volunteers register at Basalt Middle School to help with a reseeding effort on Basalt Mountain on Saturday, June 16, 2019. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-0.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"10\">\n<p><strong>Volunteers register at Basalt Middle School to help with a reseeding effort on Basalt Mountain on Saturday, June 16, 2019. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)<\/strong><br \/>Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/basaltseeding-atd-061719-1-1.jpg\" alt=\"Volunteers register at Basalt Middle School to help with a reseeding effort on Basalt Mountain on Saturday, June 16, 2019. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/basaltseeding-atd-061719-1-2-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/basaltseeding-atd-061719-1-2.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times | Rick Lofaro, the executive director of Roaring Fork Conservancy, talks while Olivia Deihs, the program manager at Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers, listens prior to a Basalt Mountain reseeding effort Saturday, June 16, 2019, at Basalt Middle School. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"3\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"17\">\n<p><strong>Rick Lofaro, the executive director of Roaring Fork Conservancy, talks while Olivia Deihs, the program manager at Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers, listens prior to a Basalt Mountain reseeding effort Saturday, June 16, 2019, at Basalt Middle School. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)<\/strong><br \/>Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/basaltseeding-atd-061719-1-2.jpg\" alt=\"Rick Lofaro, the executive director of Roaring Fork Conservancy, talks while Olivia Deihs, the program manager at Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers, listens prior to a Basalt Mountain reseeding effort Saturday, June 16, 2019, at Basalt Middle School. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/basaltseeding-atd-061719-1-3-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/basaltseeding-atd-061719-1-3.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times | Volunteers were given a pancake breakfast Saturday prior to the reseeding project on Basalt Mountain. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>Volunteers were given a pancake breakfast Saturday prior to the reseeding project on Basalt Mountain. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)<\/strong><br \/>Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/basaltseeding-atd-061719-1-3.jpg\" alt=\"Volunteers were given a pancake breakfast Saturday prior to the reseeding project on Basalt Mountain. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/basaltseeding-atd-061719-1-4-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/basaltseeding-atd-061719-1-4.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times | The burn scars on Basalt Mountain can be seen from Basalt Middle School ahead of a reseeding effort on Saturday, June 16, 2019. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"0\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"11\">\n<p><strong>The burn scars on Basalt Mountain can be seen from Basalt Middle School ahead of a reseeding effort on Saturday, June 16, 2019. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)<\/strong><br \/>Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/basaltseeding-atd-061719-1-4.jpg\" alt=\"The burn scars on Basalt Mountain can be seen from Basalt Middle School ahead of a reseeding effort on Saturday, June 16, 2019. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/basaltseeding-atd-061719-1-5-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/basaltseeding-atd-061719-1-5.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Courtesy photo | Nearly 300 volunteers came together Saturday, June 15, 2019, to help reseed part of the Colorado Parks and Wildlife land on Basalt Mountain that was destroyed by the Lake Christine Fire in 2018.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"0.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"12\">\n<p><strong>Nearly 300 volunteers came together Saturday, June 15, 2019, to help reseed part of the Colorado Parks and Wildlife land on Basalt Mountain that was destroyed by the Lake Christine Fire in 2018.<\/strong><br \/>Courtesy photo<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/basaltseeding-atd-061719-1-5.jpg\" alt=\"Nearly 300 volunteers came together Saturday, June 15, 2019, to help reseed part of the Colorado Parks and Wildlife land on Basalt Mountain that was destroyed by the Lake Christine Fire in 2018.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/basaltseeding-atd-061719-1-6-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/basaltseeding-atd-061719-1-6.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Courtesy photo | Nearly 300 volunteers came together Saturday, June 15, 2019, to help reseed part of the Colorado Parks and Wildlife land on Basalt Mountain that was destroyed by the Lake Christine Fire in 2018.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"0.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"12\">\n<p><strong>Nearly 300 volunteers came together Saturday, June 15, 2019, to help reseed part of the Colorado Parks and Wildlife land on Basalt Mountain that was destroyed by the Lake Christine Fire in 2018.<\/strong><br \/>Courtesy photo<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/basaltseeding-atd-061719-1-6.jpg\" alt=\"Nearly 300 volunteers came together Saturday, June 15, 2019, to help reseed part of the Colorado Parks and Wildlife land on Basalt Mountain that was destroyed by the Lake Christine Fire in 2018.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/basaltseeding-atd-061719-1-7-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/basaltseeding-atd-061719-1-7.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Courtesy photo | Nearly 300 volunteers came together Saturday, June 15, 2019, to help reseed part of the Colorado Parks and Wildlife land on Basalt Mountain that was destroyed by the Lake Christine Fire in 2018.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"0.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"12\">\n<p><strong>Nearly 300 volunteers came together Saturday, June 15, 2019, to help reseed part of the Colorado Parks and Wildlife land on Basalt Mountain that was destroyed by the Lake Christine Fire in 2018.<\/strong><br \/>Courtesy photo<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/basaltseeding-atd-061719-1-7.jpg\" alt=\"Nearly 300 volunteers came together Saturday, June 15, 2019, to help reseed part of the Colorado Parks and Wildlife land on Basalt Mountain that was destroyed by the Lake Christine Fire in 2018.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/basaltseeding-atd-061719-1-8-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/basaltseeding-atd-061719-1-8.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Courtesy photo | Nearly 300 volunteers came together Saturday, June 15, 2019, to help reseed part of the Colorado Parks and Wildlife land on Basalt Mountain that was destroyed by the Lake Christine Fire in 2018.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"0.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"12\">\n<p><strong>Nearly 300 volunteers came together Saturday, June 15, 2019, to help reseed part of the Colorado Parks and Wildlife land on Basalt Mountain that was destroyed by the Lake Christine Fire in 2018.<\/strong><br \/>Courtesy photo<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/basaltseeding-atd-061719-1-8.jpg\" alt=\"Nearly 300 volunteers came together Saturday, June 15, 2019, to help reseed part of the Colorado Parks and Wildlife land on Basalt Mountain that was destroyed by the Lake Christine Fire in 2018.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/basaltseeding-atd-061719-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/basaltseeding-atd-061719-1.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Courtesy photo | Nearly 300 volunteers came together Saturday, June 15, 2019, to help reseed part of the Colorado Parks and Wildlife land on Basalt Mountain that was destroyed by the Lake Christine Fire in 2018.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"0.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"12\">\n<p><strong>Nearly 300 volunteers came together Saturday, June 15, 2019, to help reseed part of the Colorado Parks and Wildlife land on Basalt Mountain that was destroyed by the Lake Christine Fire in 2018.<\/strong><br \/>Courtesy photo<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.postindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/06\/basaltseeding-atd-061719-1.jpg\" alt=\"Nearly 300 volunteers came together Saturday, June 15, 2019, to help reseed part of the Colorado Parks and Wildlife land on Basalt Mountain that was destroyed by the Lake Christine Fire in 2018.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/news\/local\/nearly-300-volunteers-step-in-to-help-reseed-basalt-mountain-after-lake-christine-fire\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/news\/local\/nearly-300-volunteers-step-in-to-help-reseed-basalt-mountain-after-lake-christine-fire\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Nearly a year after the Lake Christine Fire broke out in Basalt, members of the community were finally able to come together and begin the restoration process. With no lack of willing participants, Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers led a reseeding project Saturday, having to even turn away people who wanted to help.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe did have to go ahead and put a capacity limit, just for what we can actually accomplish in a day and the amount of people we can handle. But we are thrilled at the turnout,\u201d said Olivia Deihs, program manager for RFOV. \u201cWe are so thankful for everyone\u2019s community support and coming out to start the healing process. There will be ongoing projects for years and years going on Basalt Mountain.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">With around 300 people pre-registered and nearly that many who showed up at Basalt Middle School on Saturday, the project showed more than anything how ready the community is to move on from the wildfire that burned more than 12,500 acres last summer. What began as a small brush fire near the Basalt gun range July 3 soon became a federal emergency that destroyed three homes and caused hundreds to be evacuated.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Along with RFOV, the Roaring Fork Conservancy and Colorado Parks and Wildlife came together to organize Saturday\u2019s project. The reseeding efforts took place over roughly 500 acres of Parks and Wildlife land near the gun range. Volunteers took shuttles from the school to the burn area where they spent several hours hand-seeding areas that couldn\u2019t be reached by machines or through aerial techniques.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt\u2019s awesome to be part of a community like this. It doesn\u2019t take much of an ask to gather this many people behind a like cause,\u201d said Matt Yamashita, the area wildlife manager for Colorado Parks and Wildlife, which manages around 2,000 acres on Basalt Mountain. \u201cAs part of our process, we are trying to manage this for wildlife. We are going to be planting seeds up there that in five, 10 years, hopefully we\u2019ll see a bunch of deer and elk following suit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">While general aesthetics and the return of wildlife are part of the restoration efforts, at the top of the list is soil and erosion control. A slow-growing, juniper-pinyon woodland, volunteers were primarily planting seeds for various native grasses and shrubs to help stabilize the soil. Without the vegetation, flooding can become a major concern in post-burn areas.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt\u2019s about soil retention,\u201d said Rick Lofaro, the executive director for Roaring Fork Conservancy. \u201cRoots hold soil together. Plants take up water in an area that\u2019s just burned. The concern is how severe the burn was and how hot the soil got and whether or not the soil becomes hydrophobic, and in a hydrophobic situation it\u2019s like water running off a parking lot.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Lofaro said it\u2019s also important to re-establish the native plant species as events like the Lake Christine Fire leave the door open for non-native species and weeds to take root. It\u2019s something they will monitor over many years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">While Saturday\u2019s project was a start, it\u2019s only that. Only those few thousand acres of Colorado Parks and Wildlife land on Basalt Mountain are safe for volunteers at the moment. Most of the remaining burn area is part of the national forest, where downed and burned trees remain as hazards and will need to be removed before the public can safely help with the restoration efforts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">For those who may have been turned away Saturday, there will be plenty more projects over the coming years related to the Lake Christine Fire where volunteers will be needed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThis community comes together like no other that I\u2019ve seen,\u201d Lofaro said. \u201cIt\u2019s great that we have so many volunteers coming out to participate and really the best prescription for this forest type is to do seeding and work on erosion control.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Tagline\"><a href=\"mailto:acolbert@aspentimes.com\">acolbert@aspentimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/news\/local\/nearly-300-volunteers-step-in-to-help-reseed-basalt-mountain-after-lake-christine-fire\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: Post Independent<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Volunteers register at Basalt Middle School to help with a reseeding effort on Basalt Mountain on Saturday, June 16, 2019. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times)Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times Rick Lofaro, the executive director of Roaring Fork Conservancy, talks while Olivia Deihs, the program manager at Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers, listens prior to a Basalt [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[160],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1311480","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-19 04:53:37","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSKE Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1311480","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1311480"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1311480\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1311480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1311480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1311480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}