Act NOW to protect wilderness! We need your help to support new wilderness for Nevada. Our Nevada Senators Reid and Heller have recently released the second draft version of the Nevada Sagebrush Landscape Conservation and Economic Development Act. While this is a good start, several critically important wilderness areas with high quality sage-grouse habitat are currently not included.
With climate change, it is critical to protect some of the higher elevation National Forest and BLM areas as wilderness for the sage-grouse. Some of these areas include the Toiyabe Crest, Copper & Elk Mountains, McAffee, the Tobin Crest and the Granite Range. These areas are deserving of protection and should be included in the final sage-grouse legislation.
Support wilderness by taking action NOW and sign the petition.
To read the second discussion draft and to learn more about the sage-grouse campaign, click here.
Thank you for your continued support for our sage-grouse wilderness campaign!
New Wilderness for Nevada? Wovoka and Pine Forest: A Wilderness Legacy for the Future
As many of you know, September 3rd is the 50th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act and the entire month is National Wilderness Month. Well, Nevada may just receive one of the greatest Anniversary gifts of all - new wilderness! Recently, HR5202 was unanimously voted through the House Natural Resources Committee - this package of bills would protect both Wovoka and the Pine Forest Range as wilderness. This vote paves the way for the legislation to move through the House after their August break and then through the Senate.
Please take a moment to thank both Congressman Amodei and Congressman Horsford for championing these areas and urge them to continue to work on this bill.
Fence Free Sheldon!
At the end of June, about thirty volunteers removed the last three remaining miles of fence in the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge making a fence-free refuge a reality! This has been a huge concerted effort of volunteers and partnering organizations throughout the years in removing over 200 miles of barbed wire fence. That's more than half a million acres of fence-free habitat for herds of pronghorn antelope to roam free.
Spirits were high among these enthusiastic volunteers as they wrestled with the last miles of tangled barbed wire fence and shared jokes, stories, and laughter. Near the end of the day as exhaustion and the heat of the day wore in, an ice cream delivery truck was passing by on the highway and actually stopped as volunteers waved it down. Everyone was treated to a cold ice cream bar which gave them the last bites of energy to finish the day!
Thank you to everyone who has participated in this extensive project over the years, our agency partner the U.S. Fish and Wildlife, and our partnering organizations!
Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act
Join the Celebration
2014 has already been quite the year for wilderness in Nevada and the second half of 2014 will be just as exciting with plenty of celebratory events planned! Here's a sneak peak of upcoming events:
Sparks - 50th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act Exhibit at the Heritage Museum: Aug. 8-Oct. 4
Mike Rowan, former Forest Service Recreation and Wilderness Program Manager and now our current Grants Manager, has curated a fantastic exhibit at the Sparks Heritage Museum for everyone to enjoy! Stop by the museum in Victorian Square, Sparks to learn more about Nevada's wilderness areas, the history of the Wilderness Act, fire suppression, safety, and the ten essentials!
Exhibit Open Tuesday - Friday, 11am-4pm, Saturday 1:00pm-4pm.
For directions, visit: http://sparksmuseum.org/contact-us/
Las Vegas - 50th Celebration in Mt. Charleston Wilderness: Sept. 6
The Forest Service has granted Friends of Nevada Wilderness and our volunteers exclusive entry to the South Loop trail head for our celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act in order to maintain the trail and restore the surrounding area. Trail maintenance will be done within the first mile of the trail. If you would like to join us, please RSVP by clicking here or e-mailing Jesy at [email protected].
To follow the stewardship project, we have a very special potluck celebration planned with delicious food, cake, and a guest speaker. Join the fun! RSVP for the potluck here!
Reno - 50th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act Wilderness Walk and Picnic: Sept. 13
We're starting off the day with a fun guided hike in our backyard wilderness, Mt. Rose! We'll be on the trail at 8am and be back in time for some delicious food and cake! For more information, visit our event page here.
Join Friends of Nevada Wilderness, the Sierra Club, the Forest Service, Backcountry Horsemen, Great Old Broads for Wilderness, and Backcountry Hunters and Anglers for a celebratory picnic in Galena Regional Park. We'll provide the burgers, hot dogs, desserts, and refreshments! Bring the family for delicious food, fun games, guest speakers, and much more. You will need to RSVP in advance for this event - to do so and for more information, click here.
Save the Date! November 13: Wild and Scenic Film Festival in Las Vegas December 5: Wilderness Wingding in Reno
Updates in Wild Nevada
News from the Trail Muse
Our Bonanza trail crew is almost finished with their work in the Mt. Charleston Wilderness and although we'll be sad to see them go, we couldn't be more thrilled to have this amazing group of folks make lasting improvements to this long-neglected trail. From reinforcing switchbacks, clearing rocks from the trail, and improving and widening the tread, this tenacious four person crew has really made great strides for making this popular trail more accessible and safe for public use. They've even cleared the entire trail of downed trees that were obstructing the trail - that's 32 trees logged out in all! Thank you Ben, Liz, Chaz, and Ryan for all of your hard work this summer! A very special thank you goes out to Dolly Chapman (our very own Trail Muse) from Dolly's Crosscut Saws who trained our crew in traditional cross-cut saw and wilderness trail building skills. She even wrote up a wonderful story about her experience with the crew which you can read here! We'd also like to thank Jim Sage and the rest of the crew from Cowboy Trail Rides for going above and beyond to help pack tools, food, and other supplies up the trail.
Southern Nevada Volunteers Beatin' the Heat
Despite the high temperatures in the Las Vegas valley floor, Southern Nevada volunteers have been busy outside making our public lands better. In order to beat the grueling heat, most of our projects have been in Mt. Charleston Wilderness - cleaning up trash, improving trails, and having fun! Way to go!
Two of our favorite business supporters have even joined the fun! LUSH employees protected a sensitive cultural site from further damage by vandals and SH Architecture employees helped clean the beautiful Pinyon-Juniper forest in and around Sawmill Picnic Area in Mt. Charleston. Their efforts are sincerely appreciated - thank you!
As the summer is dwindling down and fall temperatures approach, we have a busy stewardship season back on the valley floor in some of your favorite wilderness areas. Check out our upcoming events and get ready to join the fun!
Volunteers Making a Difference in Northern Nevada
We can't believe it's August already! What a whirlwind of a summer it's been for keeping Nevada wild out on the ground. Our volunteers have made incredible inroads in protecting our public lands - since early June, committed volunteers have:
Removed over 8,000 invasive weeds Built a protective barrier around a sensitive riparian area Improved 7 ATV friendly cattle guard structures in order to help lower the impact on natural resources Removed over 3 miles of fence Installed 8 wilderness boundary signs to prevent vehicle incursions Improved and cleaned up a popular campground Removed old development removals
What an amazing group of volunteers! Our wild lands thank you!
Of course, we're only mid-way through the season and there are still plenty of opportunities to get involved in stewardship projects - keep scrolling down to check out upcoming events or go to our calendar page here!
Upcoming Events
South
September 13: Trail Canyon Stewardship Project Escape the valley heat and join Friends of Nevada Wilderness in Mt. Charleston Wilderness! We will be installing new wilderness signs in replacement of the existing signs that have been vandalized with graffiti and carvings. We will also be building two rows of steps using dry stone masonry techniques. This project will be a great opportunity to learn a new skill and grow a better understanding of the efforts that go into the trails we so love to travel. For more information and to RSVP, click here or e-mail Minas as [email protected]. September 27: National Public Lands Day Let's show some love for our public lands: join us in the beautiful Mountain Springs Area of Rainbow Mountain Wilderness for some wilderness restoration! We will be doing some habitat restoration work and volunteers will spend the morning learning effective restoration techniques through hands-on practice. Protecting Wilderness character with friends and other like-minded community members is a wonderful way to celebrate National Public Lands Day! More information here or e-mail Minas at [email protected]. North
August 22-24: Santa Rosa Sage-Grouse Fence Marking Join Friends of Nevada Wilderness and the U.S. Forest Service as we work to help protect sage-grouse. We will be placing markers on fence to help prevent sage-grouse from flying into it and injuring themselves. The markers will placed on fenceline in areas where sage-grouse strikes have been known to happen or in areas near active lek sites. For more information, visit our website by clicking here or e-mail Renee at [email protected]. Sept. 5-6: Santa Rosa Sage-Grouse Fence Marking #2 Help us continue our work in the Santa Rosa Range to help protect sage-grouse. Studies have shown that marking fences greatly reduces bird collisions. Sage-grouse, especially in lek sites, travel before dawn when visibility is poor and barbed wire fences prove to be a deadly obstacle. Attaching visible markers to the fences make them more visible to the sage-grouse, helping them detect the obstacle and avoid it. For more information on this project, visit our website here or e-mail Renee at [email protected]. September 12: Divine Springs Project Join us for our second project in the beautiful Hays Canyon Range where we will continue our work to clean up the Divine Springs area. We will focus on route restoration and a non-repairable development removal. For more information, please visit our website here or contact Renee at [email protected] for updates. Save the Date: National Public Lands Day Events September 19 - Black Rock Desert with the BLM and partnering organizations September 26 - Santa Rosa Range with the U.S. Forest Service For a complete list of upcoming events, click here.
Become a Member Today
"Philanthropy is the rent we pay for the joy and privilege we have for our space on this earth" - Jerold Panas
Become a member of Friends of Nevada Wilderness and support clean air and water, wildlife habitat, and opportunities for people to get out and enjoy the wonders of nature. Your generous donation will go towards getting volunteers on the ground in wilderness areas and providing critical protection for Nevada's wilderness areas. Membership levels begin at $25 per year.
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