Friends of Browns Canyon April Newsletter
Spring has Sprung.
Our beautiful landscape is greening up, and we’ve been seeing exquisite new images of earth captured from space with the flight of Artemis, making this the perfect moment in time to contemplate and celebrate Earth Day.
Earth Day, held annually on April 22nd, was initiated to promote environmental awareness and protection. Public lands are key to this protection.
Public lands are our lands, held in common; they are not owned for private gain, but are entrusted to the American people as a whole. Protecting land as Wilderness Areas and National Monuments ensures that this inheritance is not diminished by private ownership for exclusive use, or by corporations with plans for short-term gains, or for extractive use.
As nature awakens, it’s a great opportunity to get involved in conservation, while enjoying the outdoors. Hiking, fishing, rafting, and horseback riding are great ways to experience Browns Canyon National Monument on Earth Day. A map of the routes in the Browns Canyon Wilderness Study Area can be found here: https://brownscanyon.org/plan-your-visit/maps/
Speaking of horseback riding…
Heart of the Rockies Backcountry Horsemen will lead a group ride into the Wilderness Study Area (WSA) within Browns Canyon National Monument (BCNM) on May 16th starting from the Ruby Mountain trailhead.
The trailhead leading south into the WSA is located in the Bureau of Land Management portion of the Monument and is called the Turret trail for the reason that if you follow the trail far enough, you will end up in the town of Turret.
Our group will ride 8-10 miles round-trip. As we ride, we’ll see stunning views of the Sawatch Range across the valley, spring birds migrating through, as well as spring wildflowers. We may even see some Big Horn Sheep among the rocky outcrops.
We are fortunate to have such a beautiful, lower elevation and quiet-use area to enjoy. Although the WSA is not a designated Wilderness, it is managed as such, and it deserves permanent protection. Those interested in joining the ride or in learning more about the Backcountry Horsemen, please contact Linda Bebell at: heartoftherockiesbch@gmail.com.
New Ebike will be used to Assist with Opening Seasonal Closure Gates
During the middle and end of April, Friends of Browns Canyon (FOBC) will be assisting in opening the Big Game Winter Seasonal Closure gates in and around BCNM. Opening some of the more remote closure gates will be of help to the US Forest Service, as they are currently short-staffed.
To reach remote gates, and to monitor trails and designated dispersed campsites, Subculture Cyclery of Salida has set us up with a rugged Specialized Turbo Levo 4 mountain e-bike that can handle Aspen Ridge Road, Turret Road, FS-1434 Trail, and the Hefley Saddle Trail. Thank you, Subculture!
Nighttime Skies this Month
April is your last opportunity to get a good look at the constellations Orion the Hunter and Taurus the Bull. They are both low to the west, and will soon be setting.
During normal viewing hours 9:00 pm to 12:00 am, the Milky Way is in the west low to the horizon and very dim. This is because during that time period we are facing outward towards the edge of our galaxy. If you are looking for the magical bright photograph of the Milky Way you will need to wait until approximately 4:00 am.
We all need to look up at the Moon this month as NASA’s Artemis II mission carries four astronauts around the Moon on a 10-day mission. The lunar flyby is the first crewed mission of the Orion spacecraft, and the first crewed mission to the Moon since Apollo 17 landed in 1972.
So, no matter where you are, look up at the Moon at least once this month.
Links:
- Dark Sky International:https://darksky.org/
- Star Map: https://www.skymaps.com/articles/index.html
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