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.

Katy Goes North

We're pretty fortunate at Wilderness Volunteers to work with and interact with an excellent group of dedicated volunteers.  We're grateful for all the hard work our participants put in, giving something back in precious wild spaces.

One such volunteer that we adore is Katy Giorgio. A longtime participant and WV leader since 2011, Katy takes amazing photos, gets a ton of work done and always is a joy to be around.  Not only that, she's a great writer and has a blog!  Her latest post is all about the weeklong service project on Admiralty Island in Alaska's Tongass National Forest. Check it out: Katy Goes North.

And you can see more of Katy's photos (and more) in our photo gallery as well.

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.

Wild raven allows women to pull porcupine quills from its neck

"A wild raven perched himself on our fence and squawked for over an hour. I went to see what was up with him and saw that he had four porcupine quills stuck in him, three in the side of his face and one in his wing. This video shows my Mom taking out the ones in his face. Very bizarre he let us get that close and even more bizzare he let my Mom pull the quills out. He hung around for the day and was gone the next. Best of luck Wilfred (yeah, I named him) lol"

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