Wednesday, November 07, 2007

National Public Lands Day

Each year on the last weekend in September, thousands of Americans across the country come together to volunteer to give back to their public lands. Here in Nevada, Friends of Nevada Wilderness brought volunteers to two different NPLD projects- one in the High Rock Canyon country north of the Black Rock Desert, and one in the Boundary Peak Wilderness.

The Boundary Peak Wilderness is home to Nevada's highest peak, which sits at 13,141 ft. in the White Mountains near the California border. This fall, 25 Friends volunteers came out to help restore the Trail Canyon trail, the most popular trail visitors use to climb to the peak. The trail was in need of maintenance and a trailhead sign at the parking area outside of the wilderness. Volunteers also helped post barriers around the parking area at the trailhead to keep vehicles off a sensitive riparian meadow area.

After spending Saturday completing the trailwork along Trail Canyon, about half the group set out through the Wilderness to climb to the peak on Sunday. The group reached the top through 40 mph winds, experiencing an amazing view from the highest point in our state, and made it down safely.
*There were a total of 313 volunteer hours recorded for this project.
*There was a total of $4,695 saved through the use of volunteers that the U.S. Forest Service would otherwise have had to spend on in-kind labor. (Based on government protocol $15.00/hr)