Colorado Parks and Wildlife needs your help saving birds and small animals when they get into trouble.
It’s called the Summit County wildlife transport team – and it’s never a dull moment.
Longtime volunteer Lisa Kendall tells us the story of a hitch-hiking marmot’s long journey back home:
“These folks had been hiking at McCullough Gulch (near Breckenridge) and they came back home to the Silverthorne area. They got out and they heard this chirping noise underneath their vehicle, and when they looked, they saw a young marmot. I responded, so five or six of them helped me while we chased it into a catch net. I got it back into a carrier and drove it back over to McCullough Gulch.” (Above photo NOT the actual marmot in question.)
Don’t worry: CPW gives volunteers all the training you need to be successful, whether it’s helping a lost marmot, an injured bird, or another small animal. “Small” is the limit for this team: You will never help anything bigger than a fox.
“The wildlife transport team really is an opportunity to handle some of those calls where we can’t be there because we’re covering something else,” CPW officer Alex Strausser says.
CPW needs volunteers for this coming summer. If you’re not interested in the wildlife transport team, you can volunteer for other wildlife programs.
Learn more about this team and other volunteer activities this Thursday, March 28, 6 p.m. at the senior center in Frisco.