Project Videos: Pinnacles NP, Mojave NP, Pt. Reyes NS

Veteran Wilderness Volunteer Tom Coroneos has done more than 20 projects giving back all over the country! And beyond being an excellent volunteer, he's terrific at making movies, having put together many great videos, including several about his recent WV projects! Take a gander at Tom's excellent work below:

Pinnacles National Park 2015

Mojave National Preserve 2015

Pt. Reyes National Seashore 2014

Mojave National Preserve 2014

And Tom is currently out in the field at the Pt. Reyes National Seashore project, so we can likely count on another video coming our way soon. Thanks Tom!

Photos From the Field

Our 2014 photo contest had many wonderful submissions, such as the following great shots of the moon.

WV participant David Peters on two of his photos he took on the Continental Divide Trail building project in New Mexico's Gila National Forest:

I love taking photos of the moon, playing with exposures and focal distances and compositions. The photos are most special when I captured the moon juxtaposed against something distinctive in the place I’m visiting. On the Continental Divide trip, I had the advantage of a full moon and a clear sky at 8,600 feet above sea level. When the moon rose on the evening of the full moon, I thought I had missed the best opportunity because the divide ridge behind our camp obscured the moon until it was high in the sky. But I wandered around my tent site until I was able to place some ponderosa branches in front of the lunar image.

Then the next morning, as the moon was setting in the west, the rising sun illuminated the few clouds on the horizon, turning them a New Mexico pink and blue as ponderosa pines framed the image.

See more of these great photographer's works, as well as many more photos from our 2014 season at the gallery. And stay tuned for more information on the 2015 WV Photo Contest!

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

2014 Photo Contest Winners

We're pleased to announce the winning entries from the 2014 WV Photo Contest, sponsored by Mountainsmith, Sea to Summit, Crazy Creek and Ribz. We received more than 100 submissions, representing the majority of projects we had in the field in 2014. There were so many fantastic photos, picking a winner was very difficult for the sponsoring companies and WV staff.

The grand prize winner was Ulrich Boegli, who has won a place on a 2015 Wilderness Volunteers service project and a Mountainsmith Camera Bag. Ulrich took this photo on the Glacier National Park service project (we'll be back in 2015).

2014 Photo Contest Winner - Taken by Ulrich Boegli in Glacier National Park

Eric Mak was our first runner-up and he receives a prize pack from Sea to Summit and a Longback chair from Crazy Creek. Eric took this trip on his 2014 service project in the Superior National Forest's Boundary Waters Canoe Area.  While both BWCA projects are full this year, you can always join us in  2016.

Eric Mak's beautiful photo from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in 2014.

Our second runner-up, Randy Kahn, will receive a Ribz Front Pack thanks to his really lovely shot from the San Rafael Reef Wilderness Study Area. We'll be back to the San Rafael Swell area this spring with a a project within the Sids Mountain Wilderness Study Area. Spaces remain available, so come on out and bring your camera!

Randy Kahn's lovely photo from the 2014 San Rafael Reef WSA in Utah

You can see these photos and the other selected 2014 Photo Contest finalists on the WV gallery. There are also photo galleries for just about every service project we ran in 2014.  Take a look around and see what amazing wild lands you want to visit next. And take your camera - we will once again host a photo contest, featuring great prizes from terrific sponsors, in 2015.

Newest National Monument - Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks

Organ Mountains as seen from the east.

Nearly 500,000 acres of beautiful New Mexico wild land are now protected with the declaration of the new Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument. The work in managing the monument only begins once the land is designated. The agency will likely need volunteers in managing the area - let us know in the comments section if you'd like to go on a service project there next year!

If you want to be a part of setting the direction for a recently declared New Mexico National Monument, you don't have to wait for things to get rolling in the Organ Mountains. You can join WV for the service project at the Rio Grande del Norte NM this summer! Designated in March of last year, the RGDN is more than 240,000 acres in Taos County. Our project will be on the north side of Ute Mountain, helping to site and plan a single well-managed trail. Come join us and make an impact - more info on our website.

WV's 2014 RGDN project will be on Ute Mountain, seen behind the Rio Grande gorge in the photo above.

Interview with Brian Murdock of the Manti-La Sal National Forest

We recently caught up with Brian Murdock, the Recreation, Wilderness & Trails Manager for the Monticello/Moab ranger district of the Manti-La Sal National Forest to talk about our work in the Dark Canyon Wilderness; our next project there is May 11 - 14, 2014.

"The area that I am fortunate to manage is the Dark Canyon Wilderness. I have heard it referred to as the wild heart of the Colorado Plateau and I like that description. I believe one of its most unique qualities is the solitude it offers. As more and more of our wildlands are seeing increasing use, the logistics of getting into the area and the sheer remoteness of the canyon makes use relatively low in the Dark Canyon area. If you want a real wilderness experiences with a good chance of being completely alone and you are prepared, this is the place.

We are always in need of trail work. The wilderness is a dynamic system and keeping trails open and passable is a Herculean task that never ends. Wilderness Volunteers has put a lot of time into helping the US Forest Service remove tamarisk which we finished up in 2013.

Currently the recreation and wilderness staff on our district consists of two full time employees and 5-7 seasonal employees. The reality of our work is that we cannot meet all of the demands we have in managing developed and dispersed recreation, trails (non-motorized and motorized), outfitter and guides, and our winter recreation program on two different mountain ranges (the LA Sals and the Abajo/Elk Ridge) with the staff we have. Volunteers are a necessity if we want to fulfill our management responsibilities and Wilderness Volunteers has been one of our best partners in achieving our wilderness management goals. 

Our most recent projects with Wilderness Volunteers has included two annual trips each year for the past 8 years. In the spring we have conducted tamarisk inventories and removal and in the fall we do cultural inventories of the area. In 2013 we cleared the final tamarisk from the wilderness (that we know about). It was very satisfying to be able to clear all of the springs and wetlands of the invasive trees. I am sure there are still some lurking out there but  Wilderness Volunteers made the Dark Canyon Wilderness a much more natural and wild place with the work they did removing tamarisk. We also conducted a trail project this year in the La Sal mountains with Wilderness Volunteers that was very successful. The enthusiasm of the volunteers is always infectious. I love introducing people to new areas and watching them fall in love with Dark Canyon and the other areas we manage.

You can continue to give back when not on a WV project by educating everyone around you about the importance of public lands and in particular about wilderness. I think a lot of the American public have major misconceptions about wilderness. Having Wilderness Volunteers telling others about their volunteer trips and their accomplishments can go a long way in educating the public about wilderness and its management."

Join us on this spring's service project in Dark Canyon Wilderness May 11 - 17, 2013. 

Interview with Annette Smits, North Zone Trails Coordinator for the Gila National Forest

We checked in with Annette Smits, the North Zone Trails Coordinator for the Gila National Forest ahead of our returning service project there, June 8 - 14, 2014. We asked Annette about the area, her work and how to help, among a number of other topics.

Tell us about the most unique aspect of the wilderness area that you manage. What draws visitors here?

In my zone (I cover 3 districts of the Gila) we cover 2 wilderness areas-all of the Blue Range and the western half of the Gila Wilderness, as well as General Forest Areas (GFA) and Inventoried Roadless Areas (IRA).

For the Blue Range the most unique feature is likely solitude, I can think of few other areas that give the user a chance to truly get away from it all. We have amazing dark skies, great hunting, and opportunities to catch glimpses of wildlife of all sorts from elk to raccoons or hear wolves howling in the distance.

For the Gila, the biggest draw is that it is one of the original wilderness areas, where Aldo Leopold got some of his inspiration. Where the green fire died in the wolf’s eyes. The western half has extremely rugged terrain that draws people looking for a challenge.

Tell us about the most important types of projects a group of volunteers can do to help in your wild backcountry areas.

Trail work. In my opinion trails bring people into our great public lands and give them the opportunity to experience them and grow to love them. Trail work is hard work in that is very demanding in terms of resources. Trails serve as a means to concentrate use, and reduce impact to natural resources (for example we typically route our trails away from sensitive resources whether cultural or biological). I think if we provide a sound way for people to come out and enjoy our backcountry they will start to love them and want to protect them.

Why do you work with Wilderness Volunteers?

We partner with WV, because we need help. What makes WV such an ideal group to work with is the continuity of leadership, the ease of working with leaders who are already savvy about being out in the woods and leaving no trace, and the general professionalism of Wilderness Volunteers as an organization. 

About the WV service project:

Our projects have been on the Continental Divide Trail (CDT) construction. Currently much of our route of the CDT is on roadways, where non-motorized users are competing for space with trucks and ATVs. For the last few years we have been working on creating a new trail where people can enjoy the panoramic vistas, in the peace and quiet that the Gila is known for. In the still of the forest a user can catch glimpses of herds of elk, bobcats, deer, bears, various birds, coyotes, and other wildlife. It may be a personal bias here, but these things can make for an outstanding trip whether out for the day or on a longer trip. In partnering with WV we are giving more people the chance for these experiences. The way in which WV operates make them an extremely easy group to work with. There is always going to be set up time with any project, but due to good planning and working with the same leadership every time the amount of work that goes into a WV trip is much less than what is generally expected with volunteer groups in general. Working with WV, all that I really need to do is show up with tools, safety equipment, and water the rest of the in and out day-to-day logistical stuff is covered by WV. Any trip that is being coordinated by WV is one that as I can count on as being a productive week as a land manager, and an enjoyable week on a personal level.

How can folks continue to give back to your area when not on a WV project?

Being our eyes and ears out in the field. I cover about 1½  million acres in my zone, so needless to say there are a lot of things that I don’t know about as far as day to day stuff. Though we may or may not be able to deal

with the issue rapidly, the sort of things that are very helpful for us to know about are:

·        Water and spring conditions (or lack thereof)- this is the most common question I get asked, and being in the southwest water is almost always scarce. If at least I could say as an example- as of June 18^th there was water in spring x. At least it’s a bit more certain than a guess.

·        Noxious weeds- this is starting to become more of an issue in our areas. If we have the opportunity to find and remove these outcropping while they are still small we have a much better chance of removing them.

·        Trail conditions- not necessarily a single tree down, but if there are excessive numbers of them down, trail has extreme washouts, if the trail is very difficult to find, or anything that looks out of the ordinary out there. 

Join Annette and WV on the service project in the Gila National Forest, June 8 - 14, 2014, as we continue to build and improve the Continental Divide Trail.

Photo from the Field: King Range NCA by Eric Mak

Sharing photos from the field has been a regular feature from the WV facebook page and we'll now be sharing on the blog as well!  If you have a favorite photo that you'd like us to feature, please let us know by dropping a note to info@wildernessvolunteers.org.

This week's photo from the field is from WV's first service project on Northern California's coastal King Range Conservation Area, taken by Eric Mak.  The project, which ran from April 20-27, featured coastal hiking, trail maintenance and a day of beach cleanup as pictured below.

WV will return to King Range this spring and you can sign up for that project and more on the project page.

You can find more of Eric's terrific photographs and photos from many of WV's service project in our photo gallery.

A Transformational Trip To Escalante by Rebecca Glucklich

Yes, I am “that girl” who decided to go to Utah after reading Aron Ralston’s “Between a Rock and a Hard Place” and watching 127 Hours – I was mesmerized by the slot canyons, the vast expanses of empty desert, the hoodoos – it just looked other-worldly. I would occasionally pop online to see if there were any guided trips to Moab or the surrounding areas – I was smart enough to know that I really shouldn’t trek alone since I have quite a fondness for my limbs, but everything was out of my budget or just not at the right time. This past February, I was visiting my parents and going on about Utah when my dad pointed out that I’d been talking about taking a trip out west for years now and I just needed to “make it happen already!” On a whim, I Googled “Utah volunteer trek” and lo and behold, the WV site popped up in my search results. Little did I know that this Google search would change my life.

For the months leading up to my departure date, I got a ton of “You’re going WHERE? To do WHAT?” from friends, co-workers, really anyone who I told I was going to Utah to chop down Russian Olive trees. But I also got a lot of “wow – you’re brave!” I spent my lunch hours searching for gear online and around my office, and thankfully had friends to lend me a sleeping bag and one adventurous sister to lend me a tent. Yes, I was nervous and had no idea what to expect, but just knowing that I’d really wanted something and made it happen gave me the boost I needed to make the solo journey to Escalante.

Upon arriving after a 6 hour car trip with one of my fellow volunteers, I was pleasantly surprised to see that our camp site was complete with bathrooms and showers, a fresh water pump and a glorious, sparkling albeit freezing cold reservoir. Hardly what I’d call “roughing it” but it was a good way to ease back into outdoor life. After all, I hadn’t been on a real camping trip in over a decade. I was immediately welcomed into the group, who were also a bit astonished that I had just hopped on a plane and left Boston for a week in the desert without knowing a soul. These folks would soon become my dear friends and confidants for my week long adventure and I could tell by the first dinner that I was going to have the best week ever. 

The work is hard. Really hard. 6 or so hours a day in the desert heat sawing, loping, hauling and chopping these beasts of trees with thorns so sharp they’ll go right through your shirt (I have a few battle scars to prove it.) But after my first day, I felt more relaxed and at ease than I had been in years and apparently left some of my inner aggressions out by the banks of the Escalante River. I wasn’t thinking about my job or my personal life or Facebook (although, I was a little relieved to have wireless at night to post some stellar pics!). Every day, though the hike to and from the worksite got a little longer, the days seemed to fly by. I spent one whole morning in and by the river working on deconstructing a massive snarl of Russian Olive trees, river debris and probably a few other types of plants and trees. When the Russian Olive was finally cleared out enough for the sawyers to take down, it was the most exhilarating and satisfying feeling in the world. To quote one of my other favorite books, “I swear we were infinite.” (The Perks of Being a Wallflower)

After a week of sawing, chopping, exploring slot canyons, searching for pictograms, staring at the night sky and falling asleep to the LOUDEST frogs ever, it was time to go home. As I made my rounds of hugs and goodbyes to my new friends, including my fearless leaders Dudley and Chris, I couldn’t help but feel a little heaviness in my chest. I grew so close to this group of strangers in such a short amount of time and had a feeling that although we may be scattered around the country, we’d keep in touch and even see each other again on a future WV trip. Even now, as I write this, I must admit, my eyes are tearing up a bit remembering what an incredible time I had. 

Within a week of my return, not only was I offered a new job at a new organization, but many of my friends remarked that I seemed much more relaxed and happy. I came home with such a sense of accomplishment, a feeling that I really can do whatever I set my mind and heart to. I truly felt as if my life had been changed and I have WV to thank for that. I don’t know if any WV trip will top my first one, but I will certainly do my best to try!

***

The 2014 Wilderness Volunteers spring schedule is available now, including service projects in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and along the Escalante River in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. We invite you to join us in giving something back and experience the loudest frogs ever.

WV Honored as Yosemite Volunteer Group of the Year

Wilderness Volunteers has been selected as the Volunteer Group of the Year by Yosemite National Park!

With over 9,500 volunteers donating their time and energy in Yosemite this year, it is a great honor to be chosen as the best of the year. We're grateful for the hard work of all of our volunteer participants and especially the project's leaders, Dean and Laurie Twehues. Victoria Hartman, Yosemite's Wilderness Restoration Coordinator, recognizes the group by saying, "Your work is critical to the park’s ability to protect and preserve our rich natural and cultural heritage while providing meaningful and enjoyable experiences for our visitors." All participants will be receiving a thank you gift from the Park as part of the award.

The award-winning WV Yosemite volunteers, June 2013. Photo by Dean Twehues

We just completed the 6th project in the Rancheria Falls area, in the Hetch Hetchy section of the Park. Our work includes removing and ecologically restoring inappropriate campsites, as well as removing non-native invasive species such as salsify, mullein and bull thistle from the Tiltill meadow, a remote high sierra valley with an abundance of wetlands and wildlife. The project requires volunteers to backpack in approximately 6.5 miles to base camp and an additional daily 6 mile roundtrip hike to get to the work site. Sadly, the Hetch Hetchy area is still being impacted by the massive Rim Fire, so we're sure our volunteer stewardship work will be greatly needed in the coming years.

Photo of Hetch Hetchy taken on the WV service project in Yosemite, June 2013 by Lawrence Herko

Dave Pacheco and Paul Goldberg of the WV staff will be on hand in Yosemite to accept the award. The award ceremony will be held on National Public Lands Day - Saturday, September 28th at 4pm in front of the Valley Visitor Center, and will be followed by a raffle and live music as part of the Park's 5-day Yosemite Facelift event. You are welcome to come celebrate with us! The 10th annual Yosemite Facelift is an effort to help clean-up the Park at the end of the busy summer season and runs from September 24 - 29.

Volunteers working in Yosemite, June 2013. Photo by George Ralston

See more photos from this project and more via the WV photo gallery.

September is National Wilderness Month

The White House has recognized September as National Wilderness Month for the fifth year in a row! The proclamation by President Obama again sets September as the month to reflect on how important wilderness is for "our lives and our national character"and the timing is no coincidence.  The Wilderness Act was signed into law 49 years ago this month and the stage is being set for a grand national celebration of the 50th Anniversary next year. All of our service projects next season will be a celebration of this milestone legislation, as we continue our mission of giving something back.

An excerpt from the President's proclamation reads:

As natural habitats for diverse wildlife; as destinations for family camping trips; and as venues for hiking, hunting, and fishing, America's wilderness landscapes hold boundless opportunities to discover and explore. They provide immense value to our Nation -- in shared experiences and as an integral part of our economy. Our iconic wilderness areas draw tourists from across the country and around the world, bolstering local businesses and supporting American jobs.

During National Wilderness Month, we reflect on the profound influence of the great outdoors on our lives and our national character, and we recommit to preserving them for generations to come.

Read the full Presidential Proclamation here.

Photo by Jeff Cannon, taken on WV's service project in the John Muir Wilderness, Sierra NF, 8/11/13

Coming Back For More

We received this nice note from Glenn Thornton, a participant on WV's service project in Utah's Dark Canyon Wilderness of the Manti-La Sal National Forest, May 12 - 18, 2013.

Dave and Wilderness Volunteers,

Glenn conquering invasive tamarisk

Thanks for the fantastic opportunity to "give something back" on the 2013 service project in Dark Canyon. It truly was a rich and rewarding experience. This was my first WV trip and so I was not quite sure what to expect. Some volunteer/non-profit projects end up being a bit cobbled together logistics and communications wise. But with WV, I was very pleased to be able to have access to an up-to-date website with current info in the participants area, as well as the trip specific communications that were sent out to each participant. Then in the field you and Peyton had everything well planned and organized so that the hike in, and the camp-life was kept smooth and safe. And the food was quite good, varied and fresh, considering the remote location and all.

After all the hard work your crews have done in Dark Canyon and Woodenshoe Canyon, I felt honored to help WV and the USFS get one step closer to declaring victory over the evil tamarisk in Dark Canyon, at least in the wilderness portion of Dark Canyon. If all you guys offer is great volunteers, great leaders, great remote logistics, and seven days of hard and hot sandy work killing tamarisk while hiking in some of the most beautiful country around, then I'll definitely be back for more. Thanks again!

Glenn Thornton


While WV's next trip to Dark Canyon is already full, we'll likely be back in 2014. There are a just a few projects still in need of volunteers, such as a great project in the Moquith Mountain Wilderness Study Area by Kanab, UT and a neat one in the San Gabriel Mountains within the Angeles National Forest. Take a peek over on the WV project page for all the info on the service projects remaining in 2013.

Report From The Field: Sawtooth National Recreation Area

Report From The Field by Dave Pacheco

This past week, I co-led a group of intrepid Wilderness Volunteers into the rugged Sawtooth Wilderness to help the agency managing the Sawtooth National Recreation Area with some much-needed trail maintenance. We're proud to say this was WV's 15th project giving something back in the Sawtooths since 1999!

Under the long-time supervision of Liese Dean, Wilderness Program Coordinator, and Deb Peters, Assistant Trails Supervisor and expert packer, we backpacked in five miles to a campsite in the Stanley Creek area of the wilderness and immediately got familiar with our home for the week. Our first impressions were how incredibly clean the water flowed through this magnificent granite-based, Lodgepole pine forest -- some of the clearest water we had ever seen. And we couldn't help but be starkly reminded that the entire location, camp and work sites, were in a burned area from a 2007 fire.

For the next five days we made daily forays of up to eight miles round trip performing an assortment of

trail tasks. Volunteers took turns sawing out 55 downed trees across trails with a six-foot cross-cut saw, we lopped and brushed back overgrown vegetation from 5 miles of trail, and mostly we cleaned out debris and rocks from 244 water bars over that same distance. The water bar work was particularly important because of the unusual level of erosion from the past fire, and they are necessary to divert the water from gouging through trails.

Over the course of the week, we were thrilled with late night visits through camp by Mule deer and elk, and on the smaller scale we were entertained by pika, Clark's nutcracker, bluebird, and some very colorful Western tanagers. Thankfully, Thursday's storms that touched off wildfires across Idaho were well away from the immediate area, but they did make for some incredible evening red skies. The Sawtooth NRA is a place of many streams, deep glacial lakes, craggy peaks, and it's a place many of us will return to as we constantly explore wild America. If you're looking for a spectacular wilderness adventure, join us next year for another week in the Sawtooths!

See more pictures from this project and others via WV's online photo gallery.

Last Opportunities to Give Back with WV in 2013

Last week, we crossed the halfway mark for our 16th season of giving something back through weeklong service projects.  While there's still a large amount of work to be done, there aren't many spots available in the latter half of our season.  However, spaces are still available for these three neat places:

Mt. Rainier National Park, Sept. 8 - 14

Often referred to simply as "the mountain" by locals, Mt. Rainier is the most prominent topographical mountain in the contiguous United States. At 14,411' the massive stratovolcano can be seen from as far away as Portland, OR and Victoria, BC. Just under 60 miles from Seattle, the mountain and surrounding area offer tons of wilderness land to explore. Our service project in this very popular National Park is lending much needed restoration support to the Park Service. We will assist the restoration crew by transplanting native plant seedlings in subalpine meadows near the toe of Emmons Glacier. We will be car and tent camping down the road at White River Campground for the week, a developed site with amenities that is often noted for having breathtaking scenery. This is an active service trip appropriate for newcomers to backcountry volunteering and does not involve backpacking. Join us on the mountain in September.

San Gabriel Mountains Proposed Wilderness, Sept. 29 - Oct. 5

The San Gabriel Mountains are more than a scenic backdrop for the bustling city life of LA and the inland empire. These mountains support an interesting array of wildlife, many native species of plants benefiting from the range of microclimate and elevation variation, and also provide a much needed watershed for Southern California. Our service project in this proposed wilderness  is the removal of invasive Spanish Broom, which thrived following 2009's wildfires. We'll work with the Angeles National Forest's biology team to eradicate these invasives and also collect native seed for replanting.  Join us on the first WV project in the San Gabriels.

Big Bend National Park, Oct. 20-26

Big Bend National Park is unique as the largest protected area of Chihuahuan desert in the United States with more than 120,000 species of plants within its boundary. Lying on the Mexico border, the area offers an exceptional range of biodiversity with elevations ranging from 1,800' to more than 7,800'. The area offers much in the way of human history with archaeologists uncovering items dating back more than 9,000 years! Our service project will focus on trail maintenance and erosion controls on several key passages throughout the Park.  We'll stay in an established Park Service campground in the center of the Park, offering a great base to explore.  Learn more and join us on the last WV project of 2013, in Big Bend.

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.

WV Receives Presidential Volunteer Service Award

We were happy to receive this award and accompanying letter from President Obama in the mail this week.  This recognition was prompted by our agency partners at the Sierra National Forest, due to our continuing service project in the John Muir Wilderness.  Space is still available to join this project in California's Sierra National Forest, applauded by the White House, which runs August 11-17.

Sierra NF's Partnership Coordinator, Chor Yang, thanked WV for our "untiring commitment and unyielding dedication." We are grateful to all WV trip participants for joining in the effort to give something back as we celebrate and sustainably steward our country's wild lands.

WV Visits King Range NCA on California's Lost Coast

California's Lost Coast, photo courtesy of Eric Mak

In late April, a Wilderness Volunteers group trekked on an 8 mile backpack to a beachside campsite deep into the rugged Lost Coast of Northern California.  The Lost Coast is the longest stretch of undeveloped coastline in California. 68,000 acres are managed as the King Range Conservation Area by the Bureau of Land Management. The terrain is extremely rugged and the area experiences relatively frequent earthquakes due to the nearby Mendocino Triple Junction - the meeting of three tectonic plates just offshore.  Home to lush forests of Douglas-fir, Coastal Redwoods and Tanoaks, the area supports abundant wildlife including endangered coho and chinook salmon, steelhead trout and spotted owls.

Not a bad place for a hike, photo courtesy of Eric Mak

This was WV's inaugural service project with the King Range National Conservation Area. Participants worked on trail maintenance, including building new sections of trail and water crossings, as well as removing beach debris.

WV participants repair a major section of trail and build a water crossing, photo by Eric Mak

By all accounts the trip was successful! We received these kind words last week from Gary Pritchard-Peterson, the manager at King Range NCA.

We're very grateful for all the participants' hard work and are really looking forward to returning to the area next year!

My First WV Project

While I’ve come to get the know Wilderness Volunteers very well over the last half year as the organization’s first Development Coordinator, it wasn’t until the recent service project in America's newest national park, Pinnacles, that I got to experience WV in the field. It was a truly wonderful experience getting out into the wild to give something back as well as meeting a terrific group of dedicated volunteers and park personnel.

The WV group at Machete Ridge in Pinnacles NP

We arrived to the Pinnacles campground on the east side of Pinnacles on a warm Sunday afternoon after a lovely drive down highway 25, known as Airline Highway supposedly because pilots used the highway as a marker on the route from LA to San Francisco. The highway has beautiful rolling hills as it parallels the San Andreas Fault, which figures into how Pinnacles came to be. The exposed rocks of Pinnacles' peaks differ from these surrounding foothills, as it is part of the remains of a massive ancient volcano that was active 23 million years ago. As part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, the volcano was 15 miles long and nearly 8,000 feet high.  Surprisingly, the volcano was located nearly 200 miles to the southeast, just north of where LA is today. Due to the earth's tectonic plates colliding and shifting, the volcano was split and two-thirds of the remains have been pushed north to where it lies now.  As the plates moved, the mass sank and erosion has carved the impressive spires that are the Park's most recognizable feature. Surprisingly, the rocks continue to move towards San Francisco at the rate of a quarter of an inch per year.

Hard to believe these rocks made a 200 mile journey to get here.

After we all arrived and set up camp, the group began to get to know each other over our first fabulous meal prepared by Carleton Sheppard. Wonderful meals would become a regular occurrence during our week at Pinnacles thanks to Carleton.  The other half of our leader team, Bill Sheppard, then gave us a brief intro on what to expect for our first workday the following morning, when we would meet with the NPS staff.

On the hunt for thistle, Photo by Ulrich Boegli

After a hearty breakfast, we were introduced to the park by NPS staff Brent, Lucy and Esperanza, who gave a great overview of the Park's features, history, conservation management goals and potential hazards to be aware of during our time in the backcountry. We were then given leather work gloves, counters, hiking poles and snake chaps as we set out to begin our week hunting for invasive plants throughout the park. Lucy and Esperanza would be our guides for the week and we began by searching from the Bear Gulch area back to campground for invasive Italian Thistle.  We scoured hillsides and walked along a wide seasonal creek bed filled with native poppies. After lunch we spread out to scour through a section of forest until one of our volunteers, John, found the mother load of thistle. We all joined together in an approx. 40' x 40' area to pull thousands of this invasive weed that has been choking out native species.

Tuesday was our free day, since there was a meeting that required attention from NPS staff and we split into groups to climb into the heart of the park via the High Peaks Trail, sadly leaving behind one of our compatriots at camp who was feeling under the weather. Despite leaving at different times and taking slightly different routes, our group met up at the Scouts Peak lookout that offered views to the west of the Salinas Valley and the Santa Lucia Mountains that lie run along the coast. We then climbed the steep and narrow section of the trail, which was exhilarating!  Yet another fabulous lunch was followed by nice views of the Balconies section of the park and then venturing down Condor Gulch trail, which gave terrific views of the rocky crags and spires. Tuesday also was the first time for confirmed sightings of one of the park's other claims to fame - home to the endangered California Condor.

   

Wednesday morning was the coldest of the week, reaching just above freezing.  While the cool nights

There's invasive mustard under there.

generally offered a nice respite to the hot and dry 90 degree days, this was a very chilly morning. We warmed ourselves by a nice morning fire before taking off on one of the longer hikes of our time in the park. Departing from the Old Pinnacles trailhead, we walked north of the high peaks we had climbed the day before, along the relatively level Chalone Creek - named after the indigenous people who lived in the area. All week long we saw many beautiful birds and butterflies, and this day was no exception. After reaching the entrance for the West side of the park, we went off-trail to attack the other invasive plant we would hunt during our time at Pinnacles - invasive mustard.  We found many mustard plants, some right as they were flowering, preventing the plants from reaching the bolting stage. All the while, we had terrific views of Machete Ridge. After successfully removing several thousand mustard plants, we trekked back to the eastside of the park, passing through Balconies Cave. The caves in Pinnacles are another fun feature of the Park.  They are above-ground Talus caves, formed by falling boulders and rocks trapped in steep canyons.  The caves are partially closed to protect the bat populations that make their home there and are fully closed to the public during breeding season.

Thursday was a fascinating day as we were introduced to Alacia Welch, one of the Park's Condor Biologists. Alacia led us to areas of the Park normally closed to the public.  We ventured up a steep road to a ridge where we would continue our hunt for invasive plants. Working along steep terrain, we were treated to views that few visitors to Pinnacles see.  We also watched a young condor perch in a tree nearby the NPS facility and then watched as it took flight over our heads. Their wingspan is seriously impressive. We asked Alacia every question we could think of, and weren't able to stump her. We toured the condor facility and saw how they trap and release birds, and monitor the birds through one-way mirrors.

Alacia answered every question we could think of.

The California Condor was very nearly extinct due to poaching, lead poisoning and habitat destruction - with only a population of 22 in the wild in the 80s. A controversial captive breeding program began in 1987 by the government and continues to this day. Pinnacles is an important site for monitoring the health of the population, with other important sites in Southern California, Baja and Arizona.  Those original 22 birds were given numbers #1-22 and tagged with monitors. The population has now reached more than 400, with more than 200 living in the wild.  

We also assisted Alacia by moving brush to cover exposed water lines that had recently been installed by the facility. We then continued to hunt for invasive plants and took an adventurous off-trail route down the mountain and back to the campsite.

Our group covered the line behind this way neat condor facility

Friday was our last work day, but it proved to have some of the most impressive scenery of our time at Pinnacles.  We began by traveling through the Bear Gulch caves and reaching the bear Gulch Reservoir - a man-made reservoir to be used in case of fire protection. We then ventured off-trail into backcountry canyons, searching for more invasive plants, finding both thistle and mustard, as well as hundreds of butterflies, birds and a snake or two.

My first WV service project was an absolute blast. By my estimates we pulled more than 10,000 invasive plants, covered over 30 miles of hiking and saw a terrific array of flora and fauna. My biggest takeaway, however, was how wonderful all the participants were! Our leaders, Bill and Carleton, were fantastic and kept us safe and well fed. All the volunteers were lovely folks, had a wonderful attitude and really embodied the spirit of giving something back.  I can't wait for my next WV trip!

See more photos from the WV service project in Pinnacles NP