Join Friends of Nevada Wilderness and the BLM in the ReQuailification, aka a fun overnight project restoring Quail Spring in Gold Butte National Monument! Quail Spring provides some of the last habitat for the Relict Leopard Frog, a species on the verge of extinction. Some research suggests that there are only a couple thousand Relict Leopard Frogs left, and more than 200 of them are at this spring! We'll do some restoration and upkeep of the spring to maintain good frog habitat and keep their population healthy. If you want to do some meaningful restoration work to help our wildlife, learn more about springs, or camp out in a unique corner of wild Nevada, this is the trip for you!

We'll meet at the Forest Service office (address below) at 7am on Thursday, December 2nd, load into vans, and make our way to southern Gold Butte (about a 3 hour drive through remote and wild country). Once we hit the end of the road, we'll hike about a mile down into the canyon of Quail Spring. The terrain is steep and loose, so this can be challenging. At the spring, we will work for a few hours to deepen the pools and remove overgrown vegetation to keep the frogs happy. Afterwards, we'll hike back out, enjoy some home-cooked camp food, and spend a night under the stars (sure to be excellent--Gold Butte has very dark night skies!). After breakfast on Friday, we'll do a few more hours of restoration work at Quail and then return to town by 6pm Friday night.

What you need: For the restoration work, wear clothing that you don't mind getting wet or muddy and sturdy footwear suitable for hiking. You may want a towel and change of clothes. You'll also want a daypack with at least 3 liters of water and lunch or snacks for both days. Also, don't forget sun protection (hat, sunscreen, sunglasses). For the night, you’ll need your regular camping gear (tent, sleeping bag, toiletries, cup and bowl, etc.).

What we’ll bring: We’ll provide dinner and breakfast. Both meals will have vegan and gluten free options available, but if you have other dietary restrictions you may want to bring your own food to supplement the meals (or email us to ask for more details!). We will also bring extra water and lots of snacks for the workday. We’ll have all the necessary tools for restoration work, including some waders.

Quail Spring is deep in the heart of the beautiful and wild Gold Butte. The roads are long and rough, so we will be providing a limited amount of transportation to and from our office on North Torrey Pines--RSVP to secure your spot in a BLM van. Those with a suitable personal vehicle (a jeep or truck) who are comfortable offroading on challenging terrain and willing to drive themselves, please email [email protected] for details and directions.

More details will be sent out to RSVPs in advance of the event, but please send questions to [email protected].