Meet Christina Harney, Our 2013/14 VISTA Volunteer

7350 E. 29th Avenue, Suite 300 Denver, CO 80238 303.468.3260 www.sandcreekgreenway.org

A QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER OF THE SAND CREEK REGIONAL GREENWAY PARTNERSHIP NOVEMBER 2013

Generous Donors and Volunteers Respond to Flooding

WILD SIDEA QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER OF THE SAND CREEK REGIONAL GREENWAY PARTNERSHIP NOVEMBER 2013 PAGE 4

Welcome to our Sand Creek Regional Greenway Partnership’s Winter Newsletter. To save paper, newsletters are also published electronically each quarter. To subscribe: • complete a form on the web at www.sandcreekgreenway.org• or, email scrgpstaff@sandcreekgreenway.org • or, call 303.468.3260 Your information will be shared with no one and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Was it a 100 year flood? A 500 year flood? All we know for sure is that the regional flooding that damaged many Northern Colorado homes and communities from Sept. 10 to 14 also wreaked havoc along the Sand Creek Regional Greenway.

Rain started Monday, Sept. 9, and we woke up Thursday, Sept.12, to find major flooding after a night of heavy rains. Another major storm swept through northeast Denver and Aurora that Saturday. By the following Monday it became clear what flood waters had taken and what they left behind: Huge sections of riverbank had eroded away, taking sections of the trail with it. In some trail sections, what had been a groomed trail was replaced

Sand Creek Regional Greenway Partnership7350 E. 29th Avenue Suite 300Denver, CO 80238

303.468.3260www.sandcreekgreenway.orgPrinted on Recycled Paper

ON THEWILD SIDE

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Special Thanks for ‘Helping Us Go Wild!’

We’re indebted to the volunteers who re-sponded following the September floods, and those who donated funds in our support! The following donors join 429 volunteers who sup-ported projects along Sand Creek during 2013.

Coming Back From the Wildest Days in

the Wilderness...

Special Thanks to Flood Responders!

by gaps that plunged as much as 30 feet from the former surface. More than one-half mile of soft-surface trail was lost completely.

Benches, educational signs, and parts of bridges

Amanda AllshouseKathleen AndersenSteve AustinCharlotte Aycrigg and Mark ZammutoCharles and Susan BayleyRobert BensonLisa Berry and Cyndee WoodenSue and Bix BicknellTammy and Mike BrislinRuss and Peggy BuegeArt and Nadine CaldwellAlice CarlsonBarbara CharnesCook Street Consulting, Inc.Deane Family FundDick and Ze DeaneCharles DinarelloDennis and Polly DonaldWendy EmrichRob FisherJohn and Mary ForhanPaul and Darcie Frohardt

Pam and Rich FryDoug Gertner, Maggie Mille and Jordan

GertnerPatricia GoreeSimon Hambidge and Elizabeth BaylissEleanor Harrison and Gedeon LaFargePaul and Mary HollemanEileen HuntCynthia and Edwin KahnMartha KingMatt and Molly LeporeEd Lewis in Memory of Mary Ann LewisIngrid and Don LindemannRoger and Barbara MattisonPatricia McClearnJoanne McGee and Bill GorhamMilbank Memorial FundCharles MooreCynthia and Jerry NagelBarbara Neal

Work is underway repairing damage to a pedestrian bridge along the Green-way in Commerce City. Flood damage to bank and trail remain to be repaired.

SCRGP’S 2013/2014 AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer is Chris-tina Harney. Christina runs the NextGen Partners program for the Greenway. After the September floods she was temporarily re-assigned to flood relief at the Colorado State Homeland Security Emergency Operations Center, where she helped manage donation distribution and volunteer coordination.

Christina spends her free time rock climbing, camping, and other outdoor pursuits. Christina is a recent graduate from Northeastern Illinois University and is enjoy-ing her first few months in real proximity to the mountains.

Charles OlesonJarrold OlssonPerry PeineA.M. Peters-RuddickDoug PflughMara PorperJohn and Ann ProsserGretchen RiggsMike RosserRuth RyanKevin SheaCeleste ShitamaJeff ShoemakerJim SmithKathy SmythePeggy SolomonSteel Storage SystemsStephen SubberKatherine and Ludvik SvobodaDon and Carol TroikeYukiko Ann Umemoto and Richard YoungeLindsay UnksJoseph WagnerDona WallaceCecilia and Mike WangCharles and Emma WarrenJoe WoodwardRuth Wright

Volunteers turn out on the Greenway following flooding.

A QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER OF THE SAND CREEK REGIONAL GREENWAY PARTNERSHIP NOVEMBER 2013 PAGE 2WILD SIDE

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Thanks to Our Generous Donors and Volunteers for Their Support

Recalling the Wildest Days Along the Greenway...SandCreek Reflections

Flood of the Century Draws a Rapid Response, Sense of RenewalI know first-hand the damage wrought by last September’s floods along the Front Range. Roads around my home northwest of Denver were washed out during the flood, and many of my neighbors suffered so much loss. My neighbors joined together to rebuild and restore.

Touring the devastation along the Sand Creek Regional Greenway in the days after the flooding, I realized that this community was going to join together, as well. Sure enough...that’s already happening!

First, an angel donor appeared with a matching grant. Next, volunteers began arriving to clear debris and rebuild trail, greatly accelerating the recovery time it took to make sections of the Greenway usable again. Then donors responded to our needs with generous gifts.

The heroes are many: the staff from Commerce City who reopened the trail in record time; volunteers who picked up trash; corporations and businesses that stepped up to rebuild a temporary trail; and friends who gave generously.

We have a long way to go. But since SCRG is a native landscape, flooding is also a time for renewal. The sand deposited all along the creek will allow new cottonwoods and other native trees to grow. Wider channels will allow the creek to meander more freely. Together we’ll watch these changes evolve.

Thanks to all who joined together to help us rebuild and restore!

Kate KramerExecutive Director

Kate KramerExecutive Director

disappeared—sometimes found under many feet of sand. SCRGP Executive Director Kate Kramer estimates that over 20% of the trees and bushes were swept downstream, adding to piles of debris that choked the remaining trees and bridges. “It’s amazing to witness the power of that destruction,” Kramer said.

Kramer added that the Sand Creek Regional Greenway partners are fortunate in that there were no injuries or loss of homes or businesses along Sand Creek, unlike so many other flooded areas in Colorado. Touring the Greenway following the flood was nonetheless sad and awe-inspiring: “It becomes clear why the waterway is named Sand Creek,” Kramer said. New sand bars, some a dozen feet deep, now cover shrubs, small trees, and grass.

Just as notable was the speed with which donors moved to support the SCRGP. One very generous donor offered a matching grant of $2,500, and within weeks we had raised over $12,000 — thanks to the matching grant. Simple as it sounds, we came away with an even greater respect for the quality of friends and supporters we have. We know that we can repair and rebuild, and that all of our dreams for future expansion will be achieved. Thanks to all of you who are contributing!

Torrent moves along Sand Creek washing out 100 feet of bank near the South Platte River.

Don’t Forget Our Photo Show Opening, Friday Evening, Jan. 24! Our ‘FotoStream’ show opens with a reception at the Aurora Cultural Arts District Gallery, 1400 Dallas Street, Aurora.

Nature at Work: A 1-ton boulder

and massive snags are among

debris casually deposited along trail sections by

floodwaters.

Commerce City Mayor Pro Tem René Bullock (above, left), Governor John Hickenlooper, State Represen-tative Dominick Moreno and Mike Brown joined dozens of citizens who toured the Greenway and dedicated many hours repairing and restoring Sand Creek.

Friends, supporters, and elected officials gathered Oct. 30 along the Sand Creek Regional Greenway to open a new underpass at 47th Avenue. Trail users can now ride the entire Denver/Com-merce City sections of the Greenway without crossing a road. Students from Commerce City Boys and Girls Club, with the sup-port of Trips for Kids, were some of the first to ride through. The project was made possible by generous support of Suncor Energy.

Suncor Energy Funds New Underpass