Contact Information Contact Information
- Dept Head: John Stokes
- 1745 Hoffman Mill Road
Fort Collins, CO 80524
- 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (M-F, except for holidays)
Natural Areas Newsletter Natural Areas Newsletter
Become a Volunteer Ranger Assistant
Are you looking for a way to give back to the outdoors? Are you committed to land stewardship and public enjoyment of natural areas? Do you enjoy the outdoors and talking with others? Are you looking for meaningful volunteer service? Become a Volunteer Ranger Assistant!
Volunteer Ranger Assistants participate in about 20 hours of training. Training topics include the values of natural areas and open lands, basic ecology, managing visitor use, outdoor safety, conflict management and responding to emergency situations. Read the full job description.
Training dates are:
- February 19, 2019 6-9 p.m.
- February 21, 2019 6-8 p.m.
- February 23, 2019 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Free Upcoming Activities
Skygazing, Friday, December 14, 7-9 p.m. at Fossil Creek Reservoir Natural Area. Each month volunteers from the Northern Colorado Astronomical Society provide telescopes for your viewing pleasure and share their knowledge about stars, planets, galaxies, and more. Dress warmly and bring a blanket or chair to sit on. Meet in the parking lot off Carpenter Road. Free, registration required. For weather updates, visit the NCAS website.
Eagle Watch Friday, December 14, 3-4:30 p.m. Fossil Creek Reservoir Natural Area Bald eagles from the north make Fort Collins their winter home. They spend nights in communal roosts in cottonwood trees near the reservoir. Volunteer Master Naturalists are stationed at the viewing pier and explain the eagles’ natural history and help visitors view them through spotting scopes and binoculars. Eagle Watches require a short walk along a paved trail to a viewing pier. Drop in any time during these programs. Free and no registration is required, but if you sign up you'll receive email reminders and notices of cancellations. If temperatures are below freezing, or it’s windy or foggy, the Eagle Watches may be canceled.
Restoration at Kingfisher Point Natural Area
Restoration projects are one example of how residents and the Natural Areas Department conserve and care for natural areas now and for future generations. The restoration project at Kingfisher Point Natural Area will connect a stretch of the Cache la Poudre River to its floodplain and improve habitat. At Gadwall Pond, wetlands are being created and habitat will be enhanced. Visitors to the Poudre Trail might see heavy equipment and construction, but no trail closures are necessary.
25th Anniversary Of Natural Areas
Thank you for a quarter century of Natural Areas land conservation, stewardship, and volunteerism, all made possible by sales tax ballot measures!