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Contents Gold Butte beats back the naysayers! How about this job? (Central Nevada) Upcoming events and volunteer projects Your online donation is secure and helps protect wild lands all across Nevada. |
April 26, 2012 Healing a burned basin Last year, wildfire scorched more than 5,000 acres of important mule deer winter range and sage grouse habitat in Tom Basin, on the east side of the Santa Rosa Range. Without active efforts to re-establish native plants like bitterbrush, sagebrush and willow, invasive plants like cheatgrass could sweep in and make this area useless for wildlife. This spring, community members of Winnemucca are volunteering to help Tom Basin become the valuable wildlife habitat it once was.
Eighteen volunteers joined Friends of Nevada Wilderness and the US Forest Service on April 21. They planted 700 bitterbrush, 160 sagebrush and 450 willow shoots. Nevada Outdoor School provided a Kids Camp for the youngest volunteers on the project. More work needs to be done. Please join Friends, the Forest Service and Nevada Outdoor School for another weekend of family-friendly planting in Tom Basin on May 11-13. Take it from Wes, our Forest Project Coordinator. Paradise Valley in northern Nevada is one of the most verdant, beautiful places I have seen in this state. It has something for everyonefrom birdwatchers to hunters to hikers seeking the solitude of the Santa Rosa Range. I can't wait to meet people out there who have never had the opportunity to experience this awesome place. Find more project details at www.nevadawilderness.org, OR email Brenna Archibald to RSVP for a volunteer trip in the Santa Rosa Range. La Madre of all Earth Days! By Jose Witt, Stewardship Coordinator What better way to celebrate Earth Day than to get boots on the ground and do some restoration work? Thats what our southern Nevada crew did with the help of six volunteers over Earth Day weekend.
On Saturday, they worked in the La Madre Wilderness naturalizing an illegal road by decompacting the soil and planting vertical mulch. With some rain and help from mother nature, the areas black-brush plant community should recover nicely. We then spent the afternoon picking up nearly 500 pounds of trash that mostly consisted of glass, shell casings and long-left targets. After dinner and ice cream for dessert (a well-deserved treat after working in 90-degree heat), the volunteers and crew turned in . . . to their sleeping bags. The next morning, we set to work erasing an 872-foot set of illegal vehicle tracks. By preventing future trespass and putting some of natures pieces back in place, we hope this spot, too, will return to nature on its own. Thank you to those who spent the weekend helping the La Madre Wilderness become even wilder.
Welcome (back) Renee!
Friends is lucky and proud to have Renee Aldrich back on our crew. Renee joined us a few years back as a seasonal Wilderness Monitor in the Mt. Rose Wilderness, collecting data on noxious weeds and visitor use. Last year, she helped us collect the same information in the Santa Rosa Range. Renee is now Friends Reno Stewardship Technician, helping us with all the exciting behind-the-scenes planning and filing for our stewardship work, and getting out on the ground to help with BLM and Forest Service projects. Feel free to stop by or call and say hi.
Gold Butte beats back the naysayers!
Thank you to all of our members and supporters who contacted the Mesquite City Council and Mayor Weir. On Tuesday night, the City Council voted to keep their support for Gold Butte intact. This hurdle passed, Friends and other Gold Butte supporters are looking forward to taking the next step toward a Gold Butte NCA with wilderness.
Want a job? (On the Sheldon) Friends of Nevada Wilderness is still looking for someone whos fit, enjoys working outdoors, and wants to be part of history, as we remove the last of the barbed-wire fence from inside the wildly beautiful Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge. Were seeking someone to round out our full-time, seasonal crew removing fence and performing other restoration projects. This is a seasonal job. If youre interested, please email Pat Bruce or call him at (775) 815-5598. How about this job? (Central Nevada) Friends of Nevada Wilderness is hiring fit folk to maintain trails on the Austin/Tonopah Ranger District (Forest Service). A few openings remain for trail crew members (read the job description and "how to apply"). Students (18 years or older) are encouraged to apply.
Work term: end-of-May through end-of-August 2012 |
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You are invited: events and wilderness volunteer projects Friends of Nevada Wilderness offers up lots of fun opportunities to help your Nevada wildlands heal and prosper. May 4 - 6 Repair the Mustang Springs catchment dam (Northern Black Rock Desert. STRENUOUS) - email Pat to RSVP or call (775) 324-7667. May 5 Trash Rodeo at McClanahan Springs (Southern NV - half-hour south of Las Vegas) - email Jose to RSVP or call (702) 839-5569. May 11 - 13 Tom Basin burn area restoration project (1 hour north of Winnemucca. FAMILY FRIENDLY) - email Brenna to RSVP or call (775) 623-5656. May 25 - 28 Black Rock Rendezvous (Black Rock Desert. FAMILY FRIENDLY) - email Brian to RSVP or call (775) 324-7667. June 15 - 17 ISA Fence/Exclosure Project (Four hours north of Reno. FAMILY FRIENDLY) - email Pat to RSVP or call (775) 815-5598. June 22 - 24 Trail restoration and maintenance in the Santa Rosa Range (1 hr north of Winnemucca. FAMILY FRIENDLY) - email Brenna to RSVP or call (775) 623-5656. New projects will be announced in later emails. See also the stewardship events page. |
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