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Contents South McCullough Rubbish Rodeo Upcoming events and volunteer projects Your online donation is secure and helps protect wild lands all across Nevada. |
May 10, 2012 Buy shoes — save wilderness!
Patagonia, that great conservation-and-environment-oriented retailer, once again has selected Friends of Nevada Wilderness as beneficiary of their Patagonia Footwear Advocate Weeks event. Between May 3 and May 16, 2012, for every pair of Patagonia shoes purchased on Zappos.com, Patagonia will donate $10 to Friends of Nevada Wilderness. As of this posting, quite a few Patagonia shoes are on sale at Zappos.com — so you can get a great deal AND help Nevada's wild places. All the money received by Friends will go directly into wilderness programs to make Nevada an even better place for us all. Just think — by buying Patagonia shoes at Zappos.com by May 16, you will help assure there will still be a great outdoors to wear them in! South McCullough Rubbish Rodeo
For far too long, the old corral near McClanahan Spring in the South McCullough Wilderness has been mired in shooting trash, beer cans, broken glass, old TVs and other garbage. Last Saturday, a group of Southern Nevadans decided it was time for a change. These hard-working volunteers picked up more than 85 cubic yards of trash, not to mention 20 old tires that someone dumped in the desert.
Longtime Friends of Nevada Wilderness supporter, Crystal Dipietro, said she wanted to make a difference on her day off and, clean up the big mess left by folks who obviously don't care. Wilderness provides the opportunity for me to get away from a busy modern world and return to a simpler time, Crystal added, one without trash." Not only did these volunteers clear up a popular wilderness portal, this was also the first volunteer project with the Bureau of Land Management in southern Nevada in many years (and we plan many more soon). Perhaps most important, we served notice to those who do not care about wild places: We have returned to the South McCulloughs, and we are here to put the "wild" back into wilderness. Water for horses and wildlife Horses need to drink 8 to 10 gallons of water each day. If a stream or spring has enough water, the horses will come, drink their fill, then leave an activity that does little damage to the area. But if the spring doesnt have enough water, horses will stay in the area, drinking what they can, then digging at the mud and destroying the fragile soils and plants in the area trying to get more. If this continues, springs and streams can quickly be damaged.
A dedicated team of volunteers teamed up with the BLM in the East Fork High Rock Wilderness on Saturday to repair a small, earthen catchment at Mustang Springs. The goal is to catch enough water to provide for horses, bighorn, pronghorn and other wildlife, while allowing the soils and plants around the spring to recover.
Rita Smyth brought her kids, Levi and Alyson, to help with the project. It think caring for the Earth is something thats really important, but they dont learn it in school, she said. My daughter is in Earth Sciences class at school, and most of the kids have no clue about the Earth, and thats what sustains us. Camping and volunteering in the wilderness is good for our hearts and minds. Were happier when were out here. This was a great project for horses and for wildlife, said Sandi Gracia, the BLMs project coordinator. We never would have been able to do this work without volunteers. Thank you. Do you care about Nevadas wild places? Want to help? If so please visit www.nevadawilderness.org for information on how you can get involved.
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. |
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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 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 - north of Reno. FAMILY FRIENDLY) - email Brian to RSVP or call (775) 324-7667. June 1 - 2 Backcountry Trails Training (Central Nevada - four hours southeast of Reno) - email Wes to RSVP or call (775) 762-6730. June 2 National Trails Day (Spring Mountains - west of Las Vegas) - email Jose to RSVP or call (702) 203-1720. June 9 Hunter Creek day trip (Mount Rose - just west of Reno) - email Wes to RSVP or call (775) 762-6730. June 15 - 17 Black Rock 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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