Tess’ June Site Update
What a rainy spring we have had! With thunderstorms rolling in more afternoons than not, the lake continues to be at full and overflowing into Sand Creek. The various filtration systems at Bluff Lake, whether people made, like the outfall, or natural, like the cattails, play a big role in making the stormwater a lot cleaner before it flows into the creek. It’s just one of the ways Bluff Lake shows that people and nature can coexist and thrive!
The site is vibrantly green as all the plants have an abundance of water. While the cloudy days keep the turtles and prairie dogs hidden away, there have still been plenty of wildlife sightings like mule deer and bull snakes. It’s shaping up to be a wonderful summer at Bluff Lake.
Sand Creek overflowing during a large rain event in May
To start off, let’s introduce our two GOCO Natural Resource Management Interns who are here for the summer. McCoy Burke and Sofia Pocs are both attending college and are pursuing degrees in environmental studies and science. Their positions are being funded by Great Outdoors Colorado.
McCoy and Sofia out on the boat during a lake fish survey
In addition to summer interns, the natural resource team and site have also benefited from two highschool interns from DSST Montview who worked on game camera surveys and with the education team on the after school program. Mile High Youth Corps continues to work with the education and site teams throughout the summer. They have assisted with invasive plant removal and trail maintenance among other projects. Additionally, volunteer groups from the Central Park Business Association, Graland Country Day School, Groundwork Denver, and Xcel Energy’s Clean transportation department have come out to help with trash clean up and invasive plant removal. Davis Brown also completed his Eagle Scout project where he and his fellow troop members repaired and replaced damaged and unsafe fencing along the bluff around the upstairs garden.
Davis (in green) and troop members working on fence repairs
Members from Xcels clean transportation department with the curly dock they removed
The Colorado Partnership in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (COPARC) held a bioblitz - a biological survey that attempts to record all living species within a designated area - for their members at Bluff Lake. We had over 50 herptile experts and enthusiasts help inventory herptile species all over the site. We had 110 observations of 12 different species. A species of snake, the lined snake, was observed by humans and officially cataloged for the first time on site. Please remember that this was an organized event with professionals, so please do not go off trail or pick up wildlife.
COPARC members showing off snakes observed during the herptile bioblitz
We are continuing data collection for many of our wildlife and lake projects. We are deploying game cameras to monitor the wildlife that calls the site home, surveying and monitoring lake fish, performing population counts for the prairie dog colony, and collecting data on the quality of the lake water.
As always, our Weed Warriors volunteer group is meeting on Friday mornings to remove invasive species from the site. We’ve been working on removing and mitigating common reed, Jim Hill mustard, curly dock, and others. If you’d like to join us, please check out our volunteer page on our website. We are also always looking for volunteers to pick up trash around the property, as the stormwater that feeds Bluff Lake always brings garbage with it. This opportunity is self-directed, and we have pickers and trash bags available for volunteers to access on their own time. Also check out our volunteer page on our website for more information on the opportunity and to register to volunteer.
Have a wonderful start to your summer, and we hope you continue to enjoy the site!
