Community science field guide
Explore the valley’s plants and wildlife, find public-road approaches, and learn how to visit without harming the wetlands.
Homestake Valley wetland mosaic. Campaign aerial footage.
Eagle River Coalition + Wilderness Workshop
Eagle River Coalition and Wilderness Workshop lead this community science campaign to document life in Homestake Valley’s forests, meadows and wetlands.
Wilderness Workshop launched the project in August 2022 with partners including Eagle River Watershed Council, now Eagle River Coalition. Volunteers and specialists have kept the public record growing ever since.
Campaign aerial footage of Homestake Valley.
The record grows with field visits, older photographs and remote-camera observations across seasons. See the latest on iNaturalist.
What a BioBlitz is
Volunteers and specialists photograph life in the valley and share their observations on iNaturalist. The project currently counts plants, insects, birds, mammals, frogs and toads. Homestake's project began in August 2022 and now spans years of field documentation.
When it happens
The annual field day is generally held in June or July. The iNaturalist project never closes, so anyone can contribute whenever they visit the valley.
Become a citizen scientist
Photograph what you find, upload it to the Homestake Valley BioBlitz, and let the iNaturalist community help identify it.
Use these three marked destinations along Homestake Road to reach the Whitney and Lone Rock fen areas. Observe and photograph from public roads and public National Forest land.
Use established roads, trailheads, and parking areas. Respect private property and all posted boundaries. Do not cross into City of Aurora-owned land or any other private property. Keep vehicles on open roads and protect the fens by staying on durable ground.
Know before you go
Pins 1–3 mark public-road approaches; pins 4–5 identify wetland areas of interest. Violet marks confirmed fens, teal hatching marks potential fens, and amber marks confirmed peat-accumulating wetlands. Other cool-color layers show wetlands, channels and ponds, while rust and coral mark private land. The outlines labeled A–D compare the modeled full water levels of four studied Whitney dam alignments. Each would place a different part of this living valley underwater.
Tap map to explore full screen
Open map app · 2D + 3D · GPS + offline
Boundary reference: Eagle County GIS parcels and Colorado land-management mapping. Potential fen shapes: CNHP White River National Forest potential fen mapping. Other wetland, channel, and pond shapes: CNHP Colorado Wetland Inventory / National Wetlands Inventory, mapped from 2011 imagery. Stream lines and names: USGS 3D Hydrography Program. Whitney A–D: modeled full-pool footprints from our valley explorer. Aerial: USDA / USGS 2019 NAIP. Use this map to plan, then follow current posted signs on site.
Field visit checklist
Weather changes quickly at high elevation, and the fen approaches do not have dependable visitor services. Bring what you need to stay warm, fed, hydrated, and prepared to pack out every item you carry in.
Bring waterproof boots with traction, warm non-cotton layers, a rain shell, sun hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, and spare dry socks.
For a half day, bring at least 2 liters of water per person, with more for heat or a longer visit. Pack lunch, high-energy snacks, and a little extra food in case the day runs long.
Do not count on restrooms at the fen approaches. Carry hand sanitizer, toilet paper, sealable waste bags, and a pack-out bag designed for human waste as a backup. Pack out all toilet paper, wipes, hygiene products, food scraps, and trash.
Carry a charged phone, offline map, power bank, first-aid kit, headlamp, insect repellent, personal medication, notebook, and camera or binoculars. Tell someone your route and return time.
Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance + Colorado Parks and Wildlife
Colorado's only alpine toad is State Endangered. Team Toad is a volunteer monitoring program that helps Colorado Parks and Wildlife track its populations and threats. One major threat is chytrid fungus, which causes a disease that has devastated boreal toads. Trained volunteers search high-elevation wetlands from May through August, record habitat conditions and swab amphibians to test for the fungus. Their findings help locate populations and guide recovery work.
Start with a staff-led field day covering identification, data collection, safe amphibian handling, and disinfection. Then join more field days or survey with a friend.
Surveys are most productive soon after a wetland melts out or roughly six to ten weeks later, when tadpoles are easier to see.
Be a better wetland steward
Chytrid fungus and other aquatic hitchhikers can travel on boots, waders, and wet equipment. A few deliberate habits help keep one wetland from exposing the next.
Scrub mud, plants, and organic material from boots and waders after every wetland visit.
Treat footwear and every piece of gear that entered the water before using it at another site.
Arrive at every new wetland with clean, disinfected, and fully dry gear whenever possible.
Research-grade project records include white bog orchid, queen's crown, American beaver, moose, elk, boreal chorus frog, and olive-sided flycatcher, revealing the valley's extraordinary variety of life.
By the time Wilderness Workshop published its launch account, the ongoing project had logged nearly 300 observations and identified 90 species.
Read the 2022 accountTeams documented fen plants and small water-dwelling animals, including insects, and added observations to iNaturalist. More than 120 species had been inventoried.
Read the 2023 reportWilderness Workshop's post-season update reported more than 900 observations documenting more than 187 species in the ongoing project.
Read the 2024 updateThe July field day logged plants, algae, and small water-dwelling animals including insects, and brought specialists back into the fens for another bilingual community event.
Read the 2026 reportCredit the record
Organized by: Wilderness Workshop and Eagle River Watershed Council, now Eagle River Coalition.
Credited contributors and participants across field seasons: Rocky Mountain Wild, Walking Mountains Science Center, Colorado Natural Heritage Program, Sierra Club, Audubon Rockies, Roaring Fork Audubon, and WildEarth Guardians.
2026 expertise and event support: Colorado Mountain College and Colorado Wild provided specialists, Walking Mountains provided transportation, and the Xcel Energy Foundation supported the bilingual event.
The project records life observed across Homestake Valley. Explore the observations to see what people have found.
As of , 104 contributors have recorded 1,542 observations. The 240 identified kinds of life include 199 identified at species level, and 749 observations have reached iNaturalist Research Grade. Each observation links to its date, photograph and current identification. Read the counting methods and September 2026 archive.
Clean first, then choose one proven method. Remove every trace of mud, plants, and organic material. For compatible gear, use 140°F / 60°C water for 10 minutes. As a separate alternative, let gear dry completely for at least 10 days, counting only after seams, felt, and foam are fully dry. Team Toad volunteers should follow the exact trained protocol.
QAC means quaternary ammonium compound, a type of disinfectant. Chemical options require the current product label and source guidance. Match the product and its percentage of active QAC to Table 1 of Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s October 2024 technical protocol, with the label-approved use for your gear. Different concentrates need different dilutions. CPW guidance includes 1% Virkon Aquatic for 5 minutes, 3% bleach for at least 5 minutes, or a QAC solution prepared to the product-specific dilution in that protocol for at least 10 minutes. Rinse treated gear with clean water. Keep disinfectant and dirty rinse water at least 150 feet from natural water, and never pour them into water, a drain, a septic system, or onto the ground. Never mix chemicals.
Read current Colorado Parks and Wildlife guidance . The interactive guide above provides the full method, cautions, and source list.
Observe the valley. Understand what keeps it alive.
Careful observations document the life supported by Homestake’s seasonal water and connected habitats. Photograph from public areas, keep sensitive locations general, and follow the access and cleaning guidance above.
