Birding festival features several tours
Several tours offered during the 11th annual Ute Mountain-Mesa Verde Birding Festival will focus on the Dolores River’s various habitats.
Birding enthusiasts who register for these tours will have opportunities to spot raptors, owls, herons, waders, waterfowl and other spring migrants.
Tours include McPhee Reservoir on May 7 and May 9, the Dolores Canyon on May 8, local lakes on May 8 and Bradfield Bridge on May 9 and May 10.
A family tour May 10 will visit the Butler Bluebird Trail.
Tours are filled on a first-come, advance-registration basis.
For more information and to register, visit www.utemountainmesaverdebirdingfestival.com or call 565-1151.
Grant money available for fire mitigation
FireWise of Southwest Colorado is offering grant money to Vallecito-area residents to remove hazardous fuels to reduce wildfire risk.
The grant is a 50/50 cost-share program, however, the match from the homeowner can be either cash or volunteer labor.
Grant money can be used to hire a mitigation contractor for hand-thinning or mastication work, which makes use of a brush hog or similar apparatus.
Applications are available at www.southwestcoloradofires.org. They will be accepted until grant money is expended.
For more information, call Melody Walters at 903-2139 or email [email protected].
Atmos to host yard rescue contest
Atmos Energy invites people to enter its Yard Rescue 811 contest.
As part of National Safe Digging Month in April, the contest reminds property owners, construction crews and do-it-yourselfers to stay safe by always calling 811 before digging. By calling 811 in advance, property owners and contractors are connected to their state’s one-call center, which notifies all appropriate utilities about the excavation. Professional locators mark all underground utility lines at the digging site with flags or spray paint.
Atmos Energy’s Yard Rescue 811 contest offers participants the chance to win $2,000 for a yard makeover. Participants should take a photo of their yard, which can be at a home, church, school or business; upload the photo to www.atmosenergy.com/contests or through the contest tab on Atmos Energy’s Facebook page. Ask friends and family to vote for the photo every day on the Atmos Energy Facebook page; and the photos garnering the most votes in each state that Atmos Energy serves wins. The contest will end at midnight April 24.
FireWise offers rebate on chipper rental
FireWise of Southwest Colorado is offering a rebate on the rental of a wood chipper to reduce overgrown wooded areas on private property.
The offer, which begins Wednesday, is open to residents of La Plata, Archuleta, Montezuma, San Juan and Dolores counties. The program ends Oct. 30 or when funds run out.
The program reimburses the lesser of $100 a day or 50 percent of the chipper rental or the work of a contractor.
Rebate forms are available at www.southwestcoloradofires.org.
Cortez swim club taking applications
The Cortez Leopard Sharks swim club is currently accepting registrations for its summer season. Summer practices will begin at the Cortez Recreation Center on April 6.
For more information, visit the Cortez Leopard Sharks webpage at www.cortezleopardsharks.com or contact Chris Cutrone at 970-759-9534.
The Cortez Journal
