• July 25-Aug. 20: Colorado/Japan month-long summer exchange (incoming)
• Aug. 16-Sept. 7: Colorado State Fair, Pueblo
• Sept. 5: University holiday, offices closed

New Leader Line

Leader Line is a publication designed to help volunteers in 4-H learn more about the program and work more effectively with members. Volunteers are a critical link in the delivery of 4-H educational programs. All Leader Line publications are posted on line at: 4hweb.ext.colostate.edu/leaderline/index.shtml. Volunteers may subscribe and un-subscribe to the reminder on this site. The latest edition is now posted and available for downloading and viewing. - Dale Leidheiser

4-H Update

4-H Update will not be published the week ending Aug. 26. You can look forward to receiving the next edition of Update the week of Sept. 5. Thanks! - Ellen Butler

Colorado 4-H Youth Work With State to Keep River Clear

This article was written in a special issue of Engaging Youth, Serving Community from National 4-H Council. Congratulations to Jay Whaley and the Routt County 4-H Community Mapping Team!

Six members of the Routt County 4-H Community Mapping Team wanted to prevent invasive weeds from closing the Yampa River, a favorite place to boat, fish and water-ski.

The 4-H youth learned how to use global positioning system receivers and geographic information software to map tamarisk and Russian olive plants prior to building a dam at Elkhead Reservoir State Park that raised the river 20 feet. The damaging weeds had to be eliminated before construction began, or they would spread downstream with the higher water.

After learning about plant life, the 4-H'ers surveyed the park, took notes on weed locations and created maps from the geo-spatial information, documenting aerial views and latitude/longitude coordinates so that Routt County and the Colorado Department of State Parks could find and eradicate the weeds.

Fifteen-year-old Emily Hellenbeck got interested in the Elkhead State Park 4-H Community Mapping Project because she enjoys computers and discovering new applications for them. "It was easy to make the points [with handheld GPS units]. But it was hard to put them into a map and design the map so it was attractive for people to read," Emily said.

The 4-H youth not only provided a useful service to this rural community, they also learned how to make wise decisions from information they gathered and how to overcome barriers and limitations of a project. They have begun similar work at another local park and are sharing what they learned about GPS, object identification and recording and map creation to other youth people. - Ellen Butler