I would like to formally invite you to join us for three incredible field trips this summer and fall. 

On August 5th we'll be visiting Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge in Denver.  This beautiful natural area, home to more than 330 species of wildlife, was once a controversial United States chemical weapons manufacturing center.  The area was declared a national wildlife refuge in 1992 after U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials found a winter communal roost of bald eagles, then an endangered species.  Since then, the area has become one of the largest urban refuges in the United States with more than 12,500 acres and an additional 11,080 acres scheduled to be added in 2011.  We will be looking for the burrowing owl, the only owl to live in underground burrows and one of the Refuge's most charismatic residents, in its preferred abode: abandoned prairie dog burrows.

In early September we will be in search of wild mushrooms along the Front Range.  Our trip will focus on just a fraction of the more than 3,000 species of mushroom that call Colorado home, and will be guided by Vera Evenson, Curator of the Herbarium of Fungi at the Denver Botanic Gardens.  Ms. Evenson will teach us how to identify wild mushrooms and how to appreciate fungi in their natural habitat.

Late September will bring us to Soapstone Prairie Natural Area in Fort Collins.  Soapstone Prairie was recently acquired by the City of Fort Collins and will not be open to the public until 2009.  Our field trip offers you an advanced preview of all that this natural area has to offer: more than 113 bird species, 219 native plant species (including Colorado butterfly plant, which is protected under the Endangered Species Act), and wild populations of swift fox, coyotes, mule deer, mountain lions, and black-tailed prairie dogs among others.

We would love to have you join us as we explore some of Colorado's most impressive natural habitats.  Please follow the link to learn more about our field trips and to reserve your spot today!