From the Director

Hello, Recreators –

Summer is near! Summer is my favorite season in Fort Collins - it’s a time when I can get out of the house, go to festivals, farmers markets, and explore the community in new and fascinating ways. Of course, this summer is going to look a little different than “normal” summers but as my colleague says, “every day that goes by is one day closer to the end of the pandemic.” With that in mind let’s continue to work together by following current health and safety protocols and we will all get through the pandemic.

As part of the summer season, my partner and I have a game we call “Make June Awesome.” The goal is to do something different and out of our routine each day in June. These activities could be trying food at a new restaurant, going for a hike in a new location, or really anything outside of the normal routine. After a year of distancing guidelines ,and not being able to do many of the activities I enjoy, I have a newfound appreciation for Make June Awesome and am planning to use the Recreator to help make it the best June yet!

Here’s my plan for this year’s Make June Awesome: ‰ I am planning on taking my kids to a new park for a picnic once a week during the month of June. I plan to visit The Farm at Lee Martinez Park, Crescent Park, Westfield

Park and a few others that I haven’t decided on yet. ‰ I plan on taking a cooking class (page 42) with my partner. ‰ A trip to City Park Pool is also on the family’s list, as the water slides are a required part of summer for us. ‰ For years, I’ve been interested in learning the skill of fly fishing and thankfully the

Recreator offers a program for that this season as well (page 60). ‰ Father’s Day wouldn’t be complete for me without a bike ride down the Spring Creek

Trail and Poudre Trail with a stop off for a meal in Old Town.

Make June Awesome can certainly be shifted into any time period based on what you are interested in doing. After Making June Awesome for nearly a decade I can highly recommend the activity as an excellent way to explore and reinvent the town that we call home. I am going to end this letter with a question. How are you going to Make _____ Awesome?

Aaron Harris, Interim Director of Recreation Pronouns: He/Him/His

Credits

City of Fort Collins Parks and Recreation Board

Catherine Carabetta, Ken Christensen, Mary Carlson, Jeff Haber, Shari Heymann, Bob Kingsbury, Michael Novell, Jesse Scaccia, Michael Tupa

Interim Recreation Director

Aaron Harris

Recreation Managers

Sara Mendez Marc Rademacher

Community Relations & Marketing

Emily Frare Kathryn Gehrke Valerie Van Ryn

Pagination

Tina Chandler

Cover Design Craig Powell

Contact Information

City of Fort Collins Recreation Department 215 N. Mason St. P.O. Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522 Registration & Programs 970.221.6655 recreation@fcgov.com Advertising, Partnerships, & Sponsorships 970.221.6875 recreator@fcgov.com Aaron Harris Interim Recreation Director 970.416.2225 aharris@fcgov.com For subscription information, please visit fcgov.com/recreator.

City of Fort Collins

Vision

To provide world-class municipal services through operational excellence and a culture of innovation.

Mission

Exceptional service for an exceptional community.

FROM THE

PARKS & RECREATION BOARD

Last year, City of Fort Collins Forestry Staff confirmed the presence of Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) in north Fort Collins, just outside the city limits. If untreated, this invasive, non-native insect kills all North American true ash species within two to four years of infestation by feeding under the bark, which cuts off water and nutrients to the tree. The first documented case of EAB in Colorado was in 2013 in Boulder. The arrival to Fort Collins likely came from the transport of infested ash tree materials. Once a community detects EAB, it can never be eradicated.

Within the City of Fort Collins, there are approximately 70,000 ash trees which is a third of the City’s tree canopy. The City’s Forestry Division began EAB preparations soon after its detection in the United States in 2003. Staff conducted multiple inventories of the City’s ash tree population, began removing and replacing those in poor condition and shadow planted non-ash trees as space allowed. Beginning this year, the City will begin a three-year rotation of treatment for 2,100 strategically selected, publicowned ash trees, that will start north of Mulberry and continue south.

Residents and Home Owner’s Associations should start developing their own EAB plan now —know if you have ash trees, evaluate tree conditions and determine the costs of removal, replacement or treatment. EAB can be difficult to detect because damage often begins in the tree canopy or mid-crown; symptoms can include a thinning canopy, vertical splits in the bark, new sprouts on the lower trunk or increased woodpecker activity. If you believe you have found EAB, contact the City’s Forestry Division at forestry@fcgov.com. If trees become infested with EAB, are otherwise healthy and wellmaintained, they can be saved although treatment will need to continue for the duration of the tree’s life. The City’s EAB website includes a list of licensed arborists who are certified to treat EAB. If your ash tree is small (less than 11-inches in diameter) or in poor condition, removal and replacement is the recommended plan of action. When replanting, trees that are adaptable to our soil and climate are important, as is species diversity in our urban canopy.

EAB has the potential to cause the extinction of North American ash species. Although it is now present in Fort Collins, it can be managed, and damage can be minimized through a well-informed, proactive community response. Proper ash tree management through removal or EAB treatment is important, and residents should never move firewood or other ash materials within our community (except to a proper disposal site) or to another community. Additional information about EAB, identification, preparation and response is available at fcgov.com/eab.

Catherine Carabetta Chair, Parks and Recreation Board