Meadows Monday

A mostly weekly news update from Elk Meadows HOA, Ridgway, Colorado
March 9, 2020
BEETLES and BEARS
Spring is around the corner and we know what that means. Bears are waking up ravenous and beetles are looking for Douglas firs to lay their eggs. The Douglas fir beetle has become more of a threat than the infamous pine beetle. We can save our trees and forests by treating the Douglas fir trees in the spring in order to prevent further destruction. The dead trees create another hazard, wildfires. It is very important we treat the Douglas firs with MCH on private property as well as Elk Meadow green spaces.


Below is ordering information for MCH bubbles and pictures to help identify your trees that need to be protected.

DOUGLAS FIR
The Conservation Committee has organized and been approved for the MCH bubbles to go on the Douglas Firs in the EM green spaces. The advice from our CSU Forestry expert is that EM still should treat with the MCH bubbles this year. He has included an EM map with CSU satellite data on the areas with firs at risk. If you are an owner of any of the lots in orange on the map, he’s urging you to place MCH bubbles on your firs this year. The near drought conditions of 2018 did add stress to the trees which makes them vulnerable.


The CC is not offering a bulk buy of bubbles or placement on trees this year. If you would like to order MCH bubbles and put them on your trees you can order from the following vendor at a cost of approximately $3 per bubble: 
 
Synergy Semiochemicals Corp                         
Box 50008, South Slope RPO
Burnaby, BC V5J5G3
Canada
604-454-1122 

Another source:   shop4verbenone.com
 
The recommendation is to order early so that they arrive before you need to apply. Keep in your freezer until late spring and then apply according to included instructions.

For further information about other tree diseases such as Sudden Aspen Decline or SAD please refer to the EM website.
Douglas Fir
Ponderosa Pine
Close up of Douglas Fir needles which are shorter than Ponderosa Pines
  • Your Elk Meadows Conservation Committee

Photos courtesy of Diane Thompson
BOD February Meeting Minutes
Click here for BOD Meeting Minutes or see them on our website as well. www.elkmeadowshoa.org
BEARS.....CUTE? NOT CUTE....
Ouray County is one of the top five locations in Colorado for the most bear activity. There is a very informative article in The Plaindealer this week about preventing bear interaction and habituation. This article can be read only by subscribers.


Long story short about preventing bear problems is to not attract them. This means it is time to bring in all bird feeders including hummingbird feeders. As an avid birdwatcher it pains me to stop feeding them, but a bear in the house or the car is enough to make me take mine down. Bears are smart and very strong. They can break into a house or a vehicle. They can drag the Bruin waste containers away if they are not chained to a large object like a tree. If it is not possible to keep trash containers indoors, chain them to a tree or pole and keep the lid closed at all times. Do not leave any trash outside. A piece of gum, mints, air freshener, food wrappers, and even food in a sealed container in a vehicle will attract bears. They know how to open doors so keep them locked. If possible, keep trash containers inside until the morning of pick-up. Put trash containers out for pick-up Friday morning before 8:00 am rather than Thursday night. This may be inconvenient, but it is to protect the bears as well as ourselves and our homes.
For those of you who rent your homes please inform your guests how important it is to follow these guidelines. Many are unaware of how serious it is to habituate a bear. Some even feed them!
In other words, DO NOT FEED WILDLIFE . Keep them wild, they are not pets.

Remember: A fed bear is a dead bear!
THE WATCH
If you noticed two familiar faces on the front cover of WATCH, February 20 th , they are our neighbors, Indigo and Willow Krois, also known as the Carry On Girls. Their goal is to reduce the use of plastics as well as to recycle it. Plastic is everywhere and causing significant damage to our environment.
Carry On! was instrumental in Ridgway banning the use of plastic bags in December of 2018. We can also thank them for “upcycling” plastic film. We can drop off our clean plastic film at Alpine Bank in Ridgway where it will be recycled and made into patio decks by a company called Trex.

Willow and Indigo with the help from their mom, Deidra, have started their own business called Carry On Reusables (carryonreusables.com). They sell a zero waste kit that is made of 95 percent recycled materials.

Plastic pollution is a global problem and one that is destroying our planet. Thanks to environmental stewards like Willow and Indigo Krois along with their mom, Deidra, we may be able to turn the tide before it is too late. Avoid plastic as much as possible by using reusable products and recycle plastic that is unavoidable. 

Kudos and thanks to the Krois family and all who recycle and reuse rather than add to the plastic pollution that is engulfing our one and only home, earth.

EMBOD






If you have some Elk Meadows pictures you would like to
see in MM please send them
to me at ElkMeadows.Kristi@yahoo.com






None of the pictures in our database are labeled as to who provided them. Please feel free to let me know if I use one of your pictures and you want credit for it, I will credit you the following week. If not, then I THANK YOU in advance for providing pictures for all of us to enjoy.