New National Monuments Declared

Chalk Cliffs of Browns Canyon, Colorado. Photo by John Fielder / Friends of Browns Canyon

Last week, President Obama declared three new National Monuments under the 1906 Antiquities Act.  The three areas offer a range of of educational, historical and wilderness values.  This announcement will bring the creation of the Pullman National Monument in Chicago, Ill., a site where African-American railway workers won a historic labor agreement, and the Honoliuli National Monument, the largest internment camp for Japanese-Americans and prisoners of war in Hawaii during World War II.  Also included in this announcement is a 21,000 acre parcel of wild land along the Arkansas River in Colorado, Browns Canyon.

For outdoor recreationalists, the victory in the campaign for Monument status for Browns Canyon is the culmination of more than two decades of work to gain permanent protection for this area. Originally proposed as 35,000 acres, the proposal, which includes defined wilderness, was scaled back to ensure feasible management as a BLM National Monument. The Friends of Browns Canyon has been spearheading the effort since chartered in 2003.

This area is not only notable for its renowned whitewater rafting, but also the pristine forests, unspoiled wildlife habitat, excellent rock climbing, mountain biking, hunting and fishing that engage visitors year-round. The land has been managed as a BLM Wilderness Study Area and National Forest Roadless Area for many years.

What do you think about the new National Monuments? Any interest is helping the BLM steward this land on a service project in the coming years? Let us know in the comments section below.

And here's a way cool graphic of all the new National Monuments over the last few years.

Image courtesy of ThinkProgress

Peak Season for Volunteering

A new crop of leaders

It is one of those busy summer weeks for Wilderness Volunteers. We've got 4 projects out in the field right now, making a difference and giving back on a variety of wild lands.

There are two projects currently in Colorado and both are high-country backpack projects. There is a service project in the South San Juan Wilderness of the Rio Grande National Forest where participants are camped in a meadow adjacent to a creek at over 10,000'.  Just 10 miles from the New Mexico border on the eastern side of the Continental Divide in the Rockies, WV participants are reconstructing two bridges that have fallen into disrepair. The participants are rebuilding broken and rotted sections of the bridges and reinforcing with bolts and hand tools.

The other CO project is in the Holy Cross Wilderness of the White River National Forest. This project is a leader training trip, teaching WV participants all they need to know about how to lead WV projects on their own. And the participants are working on trail maintenance, building turnpikes and erosion controls in addition to learning how to ensure participants' safety, the proper ways to prepare and pack for a week's worth of meals for a dozen folks in the backcountry, how to practice and impart Leave No Trace ethics, how to ensure a safe and sanitary camp and much, much more. Quite a packed week and at high elevation in the Rocky Mountains no less.

WV leader trainees learn how to pack food for a weeklong service project in Minturn, CO

Also at significant elevation is the WV service project in the La Sal Mountains of Southeastern Utah.  A group of dedicated participants are currently out on the Moonlight Meadows trail working with a trail crew in the Manti-La Sal National Forest building erosion controls and water crossings before the late summer rains come on.  It's hard work at high elevation, but the view across wildflowered meadows down to the slickrock canyons below is quite nuturing.

WV participants and a Forest Service crew member pose by a reconstructed bridge in the La Sal Mountains

Perhaps if you squint hard enough, you can see the WV project underway up high in the La Sal Mountains

Augering while a deer scampers 

And up in Idaho, a WV group is working in the Mallard-Larkins Pioneer Area, helping the Nez-Perce Clearwater National Forest team maintain the Smith Ridge trail. Participants are cutting back overgrowth and clearing debris from the trail, while enjoying some breathtaking views.  Rumor has it a journalist may be stopping by the project, so we'll keep you posted on when that story appears.


Another busy week of giving something back.  We've got a few more weeks like this and we don't want you to miss out!  Check out the upcoming projects that still have availability on our website.

Praise from the Colorado National Monument

"...developing a relationship with Wilderness Volunteers has really paid off."

We received the following kind letter from S. Conrad Clements, Trails Work Leader for the Colorado National Monument.  We're extremely grateful for all the hard work our agencies put in protecting this special wild land and other unique areas just like it. We've had several successful service projects at the CNM and look forward to returning next year. You can see many photos of our most recent project within the Colorado National Monument at our gallery.

A Thanks to Wilderness Volunteers from the Colorado National Monument by Paul Goldberg

Project Spotlight: Weminuche Wilderness, San Juan National Forest

Signs of a WV project, Weminuche 2012, photo by Eric Hill

This week's project spotlight narrows in on a section of the Great Divide in the Weminuche Wilderness of Southwestern Colorado and the epic 3,100 mile Continental Divide Trail that takes hikers from Mexico to Canada. Colorado is a state rich with wild lands and the Weminuche is the state's largest with 488,340 acres of protected wilderness. Lying in both the San Juan and Rio Grande National Forests, the Weminuche is high country, averaging over 10,000' in elevation, with several peaks topping 14,000' and many more over 13,000'. The area has abundant wildlife and gorgeous alpine forests and meadows. The Weminuche is home to the headwaters of dozens of streams and rivers, including the critical Rio Grande and San Juan rivers.

Our project will focus on a section of the Continental Divide Trail north of Wolf Creek Pass in the San Juan Mountains. We will work to ensure the trail is passable with general trail maintenance and proper erosion controls. Our base camp will be at 11,400' after a several mile backpack, affording a great launching point for the work as well as free time adventures.WV project leader Jeff Moorehead had the following to say about the project:

Talk about the Spur-Throated Grasshopper

with Jeff, photo by diverdewan15

Being born and raised in Durango, I initially cut my teeth backpacking in the rugged Weminuche. I first entered it at the age of 13 and I have returned many, many times on various backpacking ventures since. I have not lost my love for this area and as I grow older, it is more important than ever to get back at least once a year. In addition to the normal rationale one might have for being in a wilderness area, the notable feature of the Weminuche is its expansiveness. One truly feels embedded in the wilds of the Rockies while traveling through this region. You don't have to use your imagination to believe you are really "away from it all".

I love WV trips because everyone attending shares a love for wild places and hard work.  Hard work in a wild place brings out the best in a personality and so a WV trip can be a very human experience as well. I endeavor to keep everyone well-fed with good tasting dishes and that is one luxury afforded by the pack train support. Many of my dishes were trail tested on the Pacific Crest Trail which I hiked in 2006. After dinner, I like to discuss hot-bed environmental issues or anything really. In general, I love science discussions. I am an evolutionary biologist that especially loves the world of insects-- specifically grasshoppers and other assorted acridids. People attending the Weminuche trip can expect to hear about the prolific endemic speciation of the alpine Melanoplinae grasshoppers. I'm not sure I buy the current explanation. If that doesn't get people excited, I've been known to sneak up my Martin backpacking guitar and entertain them with songs that are usually set at much lower elevations.

WV participants take a break for a look around on a free day in the Weminuche Wilderness, WV 2012, photo by Eric Hill

North American Divides by pfly

There are many large hydrological divides in the world (the line that separates neighboring drainage basins). None, however, can match that grandeur and prominence of the Continental Divide of the Americas or simply the Great Divide. Determining whether water flows into the Atlantic of Pacific Ocean, the Great Divide stretches from northern Alaska down to southern Patagonia, mostly following the highest peaks of the impressive ranges of the Rockies and the Andes.

The scenic San Juan Mountains in the Weminuche Wilderness, WV 2012, photo by Eric Hill

Learn more and join Jeff on the service project in the Weminuche Wilderness.