Not even the Upper Colorado River could stop RMEF volunteers from accomplishing their goal of improving wildlife habitat at the Pumphouse Recreation Area near Kremmling. An annual fence pull led by RMEF member Jerry Pelis of Greeley, the project has continued for more than two decades with the removal of about 44 miles of fencing and is now under the guidance of member Stephen Winslow. This year, the volunteers got some special assistance.
“Jerry did a great job recruiting from the Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service and Colorado Parks and Wildlife, and to this day we still get involvement from all three agencies,” said Winslow. “The last few years we have been focused near the Pumphouse boat launch, a very popular spot for anglers and river rafters.”
During those years working at Pumphouse, the volunteers removed all the old barbed wire fencing on the near side of the river in an area accessible by road. This year, they turned their attention to the abandoned fencing on the other side of the river, which has no road access.
No road, no problem—thanks to assistance from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) River Rangers. Coordinated by Anna Gubbins of the BLM Kremmling Field Office, five River Rangers and their rafts ferried about 30 volunteers across the river to the work site. Once there, the group removed a mile of old fencing, and the River Rangers later transported it across the Upper Colorado to the take-out spot.
“We all got a free guided tour from the BLM River Rangers in addition to getting a lot of great work done for habitat and wildlife,” said Winslow. “The whole group loved the experience, and the rafting provided a fun change of pace from our typical work days!”