Prairie Dog Monitoring

Prairie Dog Job Description

Location: Volunteers will help monitor Prairie Dog colonies North of the Boulder Reservoir
Date: June, July, and August 2019

Time Commitment

Commitment to a minimum of 6 – 4 hour Prairie Dog Monitoring Shifts from approximately, 5:45 to 9:45AM.
Additionally, volunteers are asked to attend a 1 hour training prior to the Prairie Dog monitoring shift.

Summary:

Volunteers will be assigned to count and record Prairie Dog numbers in a specified location North of the Boulder Reservoir.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Attend a training to monitor Prairie Dogs in a specific portion of the natural area located to the North of the Boulder Reservoir
• Observe and record the number of Prairie Dogs present during each 4 hour monitoring shift
• Provide accurate Prairie Dog observations to the Parks and Recreation’s Natural Lands staff
• Sign up for a minimum of 6 volunteer shifts using CountMeIn
• Record the number of hours they volunteers in CountMeIn volunteer profile

Requirements

• Complete volunteer application to express interest and potentially interview with Natural Area staff prior to volunteer training
• Experience using binoculars
• Wildlife monitoring experience is highly encouraged
• Attend volunteer training OR shadow Natural Area staff prior to their first shift volunteering alone

Training

A one hour training OR shadowing Natural Area staff is required prior to the first Prairie Dog volunteer shift.

Support

Volunteers will be trained by the Boulder Parks and Recreation’s Natural Area’s crew. The Natural Area staff will be present at each of the monitoring activities. Volunteers will also report their hours and projects with City of Boulder’s Parks and Recreation’s Volunteer Service’s staff via CountMeIn Boulder. Volunteer Service’s staff can assist volunteers with using CountMeIn as needed.

Benefits of Volunteering

• Working in a fun, relaxed environment with Natural Area’s Staff
•  Contributing to 15 years of Prairie Dog Monitoring Data used to measure the impact and direction of Parks and Recreation’s management actions at the Boulder Reservoir.
• Donuts are provided at the start of every shift
• All volunteers receive a Popsocket and snacks during the training
• Volunteers who sign up for 6 shifts or more will receive an Ecovessel water bottle
• Volunteers receive free day pass to the Boulder Reservoir for every 3 shifts they volunteer for!

Dress Code

Monitoring takes place outdoors and volunteers will be walking through tall grasses to complete the monitoring. Volunteers should wear long pants and closed toed shoes. All volunteers should bring their own binoculars and adequate water for their shift. Bring rattlesnake gaiters if you have them – gaiters will be provided for volunteers who need them.

Contact

If you have any questions or would like more information about volunteering for this event please contact, Cassy Bohnet at bohnetc@bouldercoloaro.gov or 303-441-4404.