Canyon Country Adventures Await

In just a few short weeks, the 2015 Wilderness Volunteers project season will kick off with a full trip to the Mojave. Get out of the cold and into the wilderness with projects across the southwest (and Hawaii), such as these projects on the Colorado Plateau:

Moab Arches and Towers, Moab BLM, Utah
Moab is a paradise for hikers, with many landforms unparalleled in the world.  Our project there runs the week of April 19th - 25th whre we'll work on the trails to arches and views of the Colorado River and Fisher Towers.

San Rafael Swell, Sids Mountain WSA, Price BLM, Utah
The San Rafael Swell is one of most striking areas in all of the wild western United States.  With slot canyons, gorges, mesas, desert streams and so much more. This is an area all wilderness lovers should explore, at least once. Read more about the April 19-25th trip in this blog post and sign up for the adventure on the website.

Escalante River, Glen Canyon NRA, Utah
This project is the continuation of a fourteen year project removing invasive Russian olive trees from the Escalante River watershed. The work is needed and this rugged landscape must be experienced. Join us April 26 - May 2.

Hammond Canyon, Manti-La Sal National Forest, Utah

Join WV out in Canyon Country from May 10-16th for a trail maintenance project amongst fascinating ancient history and scenic beauty. This extremely underrated area promises to impress you and reward your stewardship efforts.

North Rim, Kaibab National Forest, Arizona

When you think of canyons, there is one in particular that stands out - the Grand Canyon. Join us in northern Arizona in an area outside of the National Park and spend the week working from the Kaibab Plateau brushing trails that lead to the North Canyon. Read more and signup up for the WV service project on the North Rim, Kaibab National Forest, May 24 - 30, 2015.


And more! If you need help deciding which project is right for you, send us an email or give us a call at (928) 255-1128 - we'd love to hear from you.

Update on 2010 Hawksbill Nesting Season guest post by Ashely Northcutt

In March of 2010, I was lucky enough to co-lead a Wilderness Volunteers trip to Halape beach in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. We backpacked about 8 miles in over some fantastic lava down to the coast line and spent a week removing invasive vines and trees. These trees/vines have been creeping in further every year and are significantly reducing the available real estate on the beach for the mother turtles to nest (not to mention keeping the tiny babies from reaching the ocean after they hatch).

The Hawaii Island Hawksbill Turtle Recovery Project reports that the last nest of the 2010 season hatched in mid-January 2011. Between April and January, 40 nests from 13 turtles at six different beaches (including Halape!) were documented on the southern coast of Hawaii.


They are estimating that 4000 baby turtles made it to the ocean.

Hooray!!!! :)

I'm proud to have been a part of this fantastic work project and greatful that Wilderness Volunteers made it possible.

Ashely Northcutt

Nesting Sea Turtle Rehab, Hawaiian Style

I just returned from the Hawaiian Volcanoes National Park service project where we backpacked 8 miles losing 2700-feet to get to a remote beach at Halape where we set up camp for a week of making the beach a more friendly place for rare hawksbill turtles, a critically endangered sea turtle, to nest. We started the hike in a mist, hiking through rainbows over a lava flow from the 1970s, and descending to a beautiful sunny oasis on the southeast side of the Big Island of Hawaii.As this sign below describes, these sea turtles are very rare and face continuing threats. One threat not listed on the sign is the invasive plants taking over the beaches making it hard for the mother turtles to reach a safe sandy place to make a nest, and all but impossible for the tiny hatchling turtles to negotiate on their way to the ocean. The prime offender is haole koa, leucaena leucocephala which grows in large thickets over beach sand making it difficult not only for the sea turtles, but for everyone visiting the beaches. We spent the days sawing, lopping and pulling these trees, clearing the forward beach areas along Halape and Halape-iki. We also removed an invasive passiflora vine and many large rocks from these beach areas just above the high tide line where the turtles look for nesting spots.Camping on the beach was wonderful, with the incredible ocean vistas, the views up and down the coast line, the nearby swimming lagoon and a brackish water plunge in a nearby crack for washing off at the end of the day. One afternoon we hiked to the nearby Keahou Beach where there is a more protected lagoon and spent several hours snorkeling amid the brightly colored corals and fishes.
The picture above shows our group posed under a carved coconut trunk (there were many standing sentinels along the campsite trail). Michal, Ashely, Igor, Randy and Lee joined me for this wonderful experience under the volcano. We will all have dreams of the baby turtles growing strong and being able to make it to the ocean this summer and fall due to our efforts.Mahalo to the Park Service for their organization and support, and their continuing efforts to protect these special places!