BOISE PARKS HAVE GONE BATTY

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

National Public

Lands Day……………………...2

Birds for All Seasons ......... 2

Take a Cemetery Tour ...... 3

Share Your History ............ 3

Tending Our Foothills ....... 3

Rake Our Parks .................. 4

Can Man ............................. 4

Idaho Master Naturalists .. 4

Kestrels .............................. 5

Volunteer Hours ................ 5

CONTACT US

Jerry Pugh, Community Programs Coordinator

208-608-7617 jpugh@cityofboise.org

On the Web

http://parks.cityofboise.org

Like us on Facebook!

You probably already think we’re batty, but we are just getting started.

Boise Parks and Recreation is excited to announce the latest conservation

station: a bat roosting box. There are fourteen native bat species that call

Idaho home, and this station will help provide a safe roosting site for our

local bat population.

Throughout history, bats have gotten a bad rap. Often times they are

deemed creepy, feared for carrying the rabies virus or for wanting to suck

your blood. However, bats help us out in many different ways. A single

bat may consume up to 6,000 insects every night! This reduces the need

for pesticides and keeps pesky mosquito populations under control. Bats

are also great pollinators and have even contributed to sight and hearing

medical research.

Park visitors will initially discover these conservation stations outside the

Parks and Recreation Administration Office and Parkcenter Park.

Lend a hand and help Rake Our Parks!

See Page 4

Bat Conservation Station located at the Parks Administration building in Ann Morrison Park.

2

NATIONAL PUBLIC LANDS DAY After the record amount of

snowfall we received last winter,

it was no surprise we saw the

Boise River flood this spring.

The high flood waters forced the

majority of the Greenbelt to be

closed, and upon receding

revealed a fair amount of

damage. River banks were

eroded, entire sections of the

Greenbelt were washed out, and

we experienced a fair amount of

tree and vegetation loss.

Since that time, teams

throughout the city have been

working to bring the damaged

river corridor back to life.

Thankfully, we were able to

salvage at least a portion of the

float season. Which everyone

seemed to appreciate once

temperatures spiked..

That said, there are still a

number of closures on the

Greenbelt that require a lot of

work before being opened for

use. Repairs are being tackled

by City staff, local contractors,

and volunteers. This included a

recent volunteer project tied to

National Public Lands Day.

On September 30, Boise Parks

and Recreation partnered with

nearly 100 volunteers to help

address numerous areas of

need. The effort primarily

focused on the Bethine Church

River Trail, with volunteers

helping plant 100 willows to

revegetate and shore up the

river bank. Trees were also

wrapped with chicken wire to

protect them from beaver

damage, and trash was picked

up.

Thank you to everyone who

helped out!

The Bethine Church River Trail

is now open for public use.

Although the trail is still

damaged, it is navigable. Trail

repairs will most likely occur in

the spring of 2018.

BIRDS FOR ALL

SEASONS

Fall is a great time for birding,

and there is no better park to

explore and discover birds

than Marianne Williams Park.

Now in its second year, Birds

for All Seasons is a

partnership with the Golden

Eagle Audubon Society, where

knowledgeable bird

enthusiasts from Audubon

guide seasonal tours in Boise

parks highlighting the myriad

of birds that can be found in

and around Boise. If you have

your own binoculars, feel free

to bring them. If not, we will

have binoculars available for

you to borrow.

The Marianne Williams Park

birding tour will be on

Saturday, October 14 with

start times at 9:00 a.m. and

10:00 a.m. Space is limited

and Pre-registration is

required.

Interested in attending? Sign

up here.

Record setting flood waters exposed tree roots and eroded paths along the Bethine Church River Trail, forcing its closure since April.

3

SHARE YOUR

HISTORY

Know someone buried in

Morris Hill or Pioneer

Cemetery with an interesting

story? We want to hear about

them.

Boise Parks and Recreation is

collecting stories about

people who have helped

shape Boise’s history, for

possible inclusion in our

cemetery tours. All stories

will be fact checked and

verified. If possessed, backup

documentation should be

included to support the

person’s story.

Stories may be submitted via

e-mail to Jael at

jprin@cityofboise.org, or

delivered to our Parks

Administration Office. The

deadline for submittal is

October 31, 2017. Story

submittal does not guarantee

inclusion in our cemetery

tours.

Questions? Contact Jael at

jprin@cityofboise.org or 208-

608-7609.

Join Boise Parks and

Recreation and

cemetery symbolism

and customs expert

David Habben, for our

fourth annual

historical cemetery

tours of Morris Hill and

Pioneer Cemeteries.

Tours highlight many

of the people who

helped shape Boise’s

history, as well as numerous symbols and customs that are unique to final

resting places.

Tours are being offered on October 28th, at 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m.,

and each lasts approximately 90 minutes.

Pre-registration is required. If interested, you can sign up on-line.

Space is limited, so please only sign up if you’re absolutely certain you will

be attending. No shows take away the opportunity for others to attend.

Ready for round two of

our Table Rock

restoration effort?

In partnership with Idaho

Fish & Game, Boise Parks

and Recreation will be

hosting a series of

planting sessions this fall

to rehabilitate the area

impacted by the 2016 fire.

This is a continuation of

last year’s effort to

rehabilitate the 2,600

acres burned by the fire.

The goal is to establish native plant species, including sagebrush and

bitterbrush, in hopes of outcompeting invasive plant species that dominate

the landscape after disturbance. The worst offenders being cheat grass.

Planting sessions will be held the mornings of November 4, 11, and 18, with

an evening session on November 15. Volunteers must be capable of hiking

approximately 0.5 to 0.7 miles to planting locations, and navigate semi-

rough terrain.

For November 11th, sign up at http://bit.ly/2wiLXul. For all other dates,

sign up at http://bit.ly/2e95IfP.

Overlooking the Boise foothills shortly after the

Table Rock fire in July 2016.

TENDING OUR FOOTHILLS

HISTORIC CEMETERY TOURS

4

SIGN UP NOW TO

RAKE OUR PARKS

With the changing of the

season, the many leaves in

our city of trees begin to fall.

If you are looking for one

more reason to get outside

and enjoy the fall colors in the

Boise Parks, Rake Our Parks

might be just what you need!

You’re invited to join us on

Saturday, November 18, from

9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in our end-of-

season push to get Boise

parks buttoned up for the

winter.

Many hands get involved in

this fun project, so get ready

to meet new people and make

a difference at the same time.

Volunteers can form their

own team or jump on by

themselves and be teamed up

with others. Either way we

would be delighted to have

you join us for one of the last

outdoor volunteer events of

the year.

Bring a rake and a pair of

warm work gloves, and dress

for the weather. We supply

the leaf bags.

Sign up on-line, or email us

for more information.

It’s a can… it’s a man… it’s Can

Man! Standing at over six feet tall

and made up of over 1,500

aluminum cans collected along the

Boise River, Can Man is an

illustration of the amount of trash

littered every year along the Boise

River.

Thanks to the ongoing help of

volunteers, we have come a long

way in cleaning up the Boise River.

At one point, we were pulling

appliances and other large waste

from the river! Now, it is mostly

micro trash.

To view this unique giant in

person, guests can visit Can Man

at the Parks Administration

building in Ann Morrison Park.

Can Man is another great addition

to the Conservation Station series installed this summer. Stop by and

say hi!

Want to learn

about your natural

environment,

what local

organizations are

doing to conserve

it, and what you

can do to get

involved? Then

consider becoming

an Idaho Master

Naturalist.

The Sagebrush

Steppe Chapter of

the Idaho Master

Naturalist program, a partnership between the City of Boise, MK

Nature Center, and Idaho Botanical Garden, is now accepting

applications for the 2018 class. To access our application and learn

more, please visit our Idaho Master Naturalists web page.

Questions? Please contact Jerry Pugh at (208) 608-7617 or

jpugh@cityofboise.org.

Idaho Master Naturalists from the 2017 class learn about

trees from Boise Parks and Recreation arborist Matt

Perkins.

IDAHO MASTER NATURALISTS

CAN MAN

Can Man thanking volunteers for all their

help during the Boise RiverSweep.

5

It’s that time of year again! For our current volunteers, please update your online volunteer time logs by

Friday, October 13. We are currently compiling information for our fiscal year-end volunteer report,

and will be using the data you provide to demonstrate the effectiveness of our programs.

Last year volunteers contributed 57,477 hours to Boise Parks and Recreation’s operations, saving the

department over $1,186,572 in labor costs. Upon compilation, we fully anticipate another outstanding

year for FY 2017.

To log your report, log into your volunteer account, and give us a call at (208) 608-7617 if you need

assistance. Thank you for the time you have spent with us in Boise parks this season!

KESTRELS ARE WELCOME HERE The American kestrel is the smallest and

most widespread falcon in North

America, and can be seen in the Boise

area year round. Their beautiful

markings and small size make them easy

to identify, and can often be found

perched on power lines.

Although it is uncertain as to why, the

American kestrel population has been in

decline for the past 45 years, decreasing

by almost half. In some regions of North

America, the loss is even greater and

closer to eighty-five percent population

loss. The Peregrine Fund has

established the American Kestrel

Partnership in an effort to better

understand the threats to the small

falcon, and how to save them before it is

too late.

Boise Parks and Recreation worked with

Idaho Master Naturalists from the

Sagebrush Steppe Chapter to build and

install kestrel boxes. These boxes will

provide safe homes for the kestrels to

raise their young, with a reduced threat

of predators. These boxes have been

installed at Boise Hills and Stewart

Gulch Parks, as well as Warm Springs

Park.

If you are interested in building your

own kestrel box, email us for designs

and information.

American kestrel at Hyatt Hidden Lakes Reserve. Photo provided by Art Robinson.

TIME TO UPDATE YOUR VOLUNTEER HOURS

5

Idaho Master Naturalists Tom Neale (left) and Eric Guise (right) built and

installed kestrel boxes in Boise Hills and Stewart Gulch Parks.