The Marmot Messenger STAUNTON STATE PARK
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The Marmot Messenger STAUNTON STATE PARK VOLUNTEER NEWSLETTER MARCH – APRIL 2019 VOLUME 8 ISSUE 2 Volunteers of the year for 2018 Festag and Coburn honored at annual volunteer breakfast Keith Festag was named male volunteer of the year and Nancy Coburn was named female volunteers of the year at the annual volunteer breakfast. Park manager Zach Taylor, in honoring all volunteers for their service, said, “I want to celebrate the volunteers.” He added “It is nice to be recognized, but I did not expect it,” Staunton State Park would not be the phenomenal Keith said upon receiving the honor. “I am doing success it is without volunteers. something I am enjoying.” Keith Festag In addition, Festag gives photo workshops at the park and he enjoys trail hosting and working parking Volunteers and visitors alike know Keith as the guy detail. with the camera. Festag has done photography work for the park since before Staunton opened in 2013 and many of his photos have been featured in the annual What’s Inside calendar which sells through the Friends of Staunton Work on the VC 5 State Park organization. Historical Display 6 Seasonal Prognostication 7 Keith is a member of the first team of volunteers Fake News 8 who joined the park in 2012 before it opened. His wife Raptor Award 9 Susan, who is also a volunteer and female volunteer of First Day Hikes 10 the year for 2016, got him involved with the park. Friends 12 “Susan brought me out to the park to weed and Andrea 13 work on fencing,” Festag said. After that he became Team Coordinators and Staff 15 involved with taking photos and other projects. MARMOT MESSENGER 2 He also helps groups with special needs who come to produce “a lot of information and fun for the the park to enjoy activities such as fishing. volunteers.” “I try to make it fun for them and help aid them (so In addition, Nancy serves on the Raptor and they can enjoy this activity),” he said. Marmot monitoring teams and works parking and trail hosts. She also helps on the Trails team which builds Festag has also had paintings made from his photos and maintains trails in the park. and vividly describes his experiences shooting wildlife scenes at Staunton that eventually turn into pure An avid hiker, Coburn heads up a team of hikers pleasure for others who enjoy his work. who report on trail conditions in the winter months. She writes and submits weekly reports which are posted Keith also did some work in the new visitor center by her partner Mark Fisher on a variety of websites for and looks forward to spending more time at Staunton. visitors to check. One activity she said she particularly After all, he only lives a few minutes from the park enjoys is slash days. and he says “service here is so fulfilling. “I really love helping to clean up the park including Nancy Coburn slash days.” she said and added she would do anything A Staunton State Park volunteer since 2012, Nancy else she can do because “I have such a love for is a member of the first class. She said, “I am honored Staunton State Park and I enjoy working for the that I was considered for this recognition. I was not visitors.” expecting it.” Coburn, whose husband Bob is also a volunteer, said Coburn has served as editor of the Marmot she feels blessed to be a member of the team. “The Messenger since its beginning in 2012 and also serves best part of my experience has been meeting all the as reporter for the newsletter, writing many of the staff and volunteers, which has resulted in wonderful articles. She says one of her greatest pleasures is friendships and relationships with some of the most working with Elaine Rideout and Bonnie Scudder to interesting people I have ever known.” MARMOT MESSENGER 3 Visitor center to officially open May 18 Volunteers and staff get their first look The annual volunteer breakfast was held at the brand new visitor center in February. Although the center will not officially open to the public until May 18, the park's sixth anniversary, staff and volunteers got a sneak peak of the VC, including the displays, layout and inner workings. Reactions were positive: Annie Thran: Annie worked tirelessly to design and implement much of the displays and coordinated with other volunteers and outsiders to put together the Staunton story. “It turned out just the way I imagined it.” She added, “The animals in the displays came from this area.” Dale Specht: “I think it (the center) will make the park run more efficiently...having everything centrally located.” Randie Boldra: “A great educational opportunity— especially for kids. I like the kids’ corner.” Ron Lalone: “I think it is better than I imagined it to be. Excellent usage of square footage in the center. It is beautiful.” Connie Fox: (non volunteer's perspective): “The displays are informative. The kids can tune in. It's interactive. The windows and the views of the surroundings with good lighting are excellent.” Bonnie Scudder: (history display designer on the center displays) “An understanding and appreciation of the vibrant history of this beautiful park enhances the experiences of each visit.” Lew (Robert Lewis): “I think it turned out better than the plans. Now it has the “feel.” “If we (staff) have issues it is all right here...efficiency.” Zach the manager: “Most of the materials (for displays and furniture) in the visitor center came right from the park.” MARMOT MESSENGER 4 MARMOT MESSENGER 5 MARMOT MESSENGER 6 Historical Displays define history of park by Bonnie E. Scudder The various historical displays at the visitor center have been created and designed by Bonnie and Dick Scudder and Deborah Darnell so that many visitors can learn about and appreciate the rich history of Staunton State Park and the Elk Creek Valley. We know that many visitors are interested in learning more about their favorite state park. Our historical poster display features 20 large posters that tell these interesting stories. The posters feature many photographs, along with captions or short narratives. Longer narratives on each poster have been developed to enable visitors to learn more of each of these stories. (These will be very helpful to volunteers who may serve as guides.) The Evolution of Staunton State Park display, developed by Deborah and Jack Darnell, explains to visitors why it took 27 years after the original donation to open the park to the public. Other historical displays include the Legacy of the Staunton Family, the Staunton State Park Human Timeline and the various historical signs. A poster featuring the Reynolds Gang to accompany the “Outlaw” sign in the lobby will continue to intrigue visitors to the park as this gang is infamous and has been featured in many books. Our yearly Treasure Hunt during Living History Days relates to this sign. Deborah and I have spent well over 1,000 hours researching, developing, and creating these displays. We began researching photos in the Staunton Collection at History Colorado early in 2016. In addition, Dick Scudder has spent hundreds of hours creating the posters in a graphics-design format, and Steve Sparer has put the finishing touches and arranged for the printing on several of these displays. An understanding and appreciation of the vibrant history of this beautiful park enhances the experience of each visit. Those visitors who are unable to join in on family hikes around the park will be able to enjoy experiencing the park through the historical and other displays. MARMOT MESSENGER 7 Spring may be just around the corner, or not There's PunxsutawneyPhil, Staten Island Chuck, Atlanta’s General Beauregard Lee, Ontario's Wiarton Willie, Nova Scotia's Shubenacadie Sam, Alberta's Balzac Billy and Vancouver Island’s Violet. A couple of these groundhogs appear a bit sketchy. There were conflicting predictions from the US and Canada's rival weather marmots. Phil, Chuck, Wiarton, Merv and Billy didn’t see their shadows and forecast an early spring. While Sam and Beauregard Lee did see their shadows and predicted six more weeks of winter weather. Violet had no prediction because she was doing what she was supposed to be doing this time of year, namely hibernating. A Canadian climatologist David Phillips cited a survey Phil of 40 years of weather data from 13 Canadian cities, which concluded there was an equal number of cloudy and sunny days on Feb. 2 — and during that time, the Canadian groundhogs' predictions were right only 37 per cent of the time. According to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club's records, the various incarnations of Punxsutawney Phil have predicted 103 forecasts of more winter and 19 early springs. There are nine years without any records and and no one seems to know what happened to Phil during those years (sounds nefarious). Phil's prognostications have been correct about 39 percent of the time. Raymond, on the other hand, has been 100 percent correct. This year he saw his shadow and predicted more winter to come. Raymond Shubenacadie Sam Balzac Billy Merv Violet Wiarton Willie –albino, but looks like a white rat Chuck Beauregard Lee MARMOT MESSENGER 8 A groundhog day lesson about fake news By Daniel Blumstein, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, UCLA Our ‘fake news’ epidemic reminds us that we all must be The Boy Who Cried Wolf explains marmot behavior, then mindful of the sources of our information. Obtaining Nervous Nellies—who are unreliable— would be ignored.