This Is Nevada...

Camouflaged namesake in the Sheep Range of the Desert National Wildlife Refuge (photo by Kurt Kuznicki)

Where the Wild Places Are: Tent Trio in the Desert Refuge

All photos by Kurt Kuznicki

This Is Nevada...

Spring Monitoring in the Black Rock-High Rock National Conservation Area (photo by Brian Beffort)

Celebrate Women and Wilderness with a Glass of Wine on August 26

The free, informal social gathering is being held to learn about state and regional wilderness protection opportunities and reach out to members and friends.

Starting at 3pm with libations and light appetizers, Broads’ and Friends’ Board of Directors, staff, members and supporters will be on hand to discuss how to help protect wild public lands. At 3:30 pm, the all-women band QUIRKY, featuring Cindy Grey, will perform bluegrass music. At 4pm, Veronica Egan and Shaaron Netherton, Executive Directors of Great Old Broads for Wilderness and Friends of Nevada Wilderness, respectively, will talk about current programs and activities.

The event is free and all are welcome. Younger generations – our future stewards – are especially encouraged to attend. Sponsors include Patagonia, Great Basin Brewery and Total Wine. For more information and directions visit greatoldbroads.org. To RSVP, please call (970) 385-9577 or email Ellen Stein at ellen@greatoldbroads.org. A similar gathering will be held Tuesday, August 28th, at Alpine Meadows in partnership with the California Wilderness Coalition. Visit www.greatoldbroads.org for more information on this event.

This Is Nevada...

A snowy morning in Gold Butte (photo by Kurt Kuznicki)

This Is Nevada...

Smiles in Bridge Canyon Wilderness (photo by Brian Beffort)

Journey to the Center of the Wild: Quantifying Wilderness Quality in Central Nevada

By Shaaron Netherton, Executive Director
Photos by the Inventory Crew

Five hardy souls are spending their summer out exploring some of Nevada’s best kept wild secret places looking for BLM areas with wilderness character. The wilderness inventory crew will be providing timely and quality data about lands that have wilderness character to the Battle Mountain and Carson City BLM Districts. Both of these districts are in the process of creating new land use plans that will guide how these public lands are managed into the future. The Battle Mountain District encompasses about four counties in central Nevada (Lander, Eureka, Nye and Esmeralda). The Carson City District includes several counties as well (southern Washoe, Douglas, Carson City, Mineral and Lyon). The BLM is required by law to keep up-to-date inventories on all of the resources they manage including wilderness.

Funding for this effort is coming from a grant and is being coordinated in partnership with Friends of Nevada Wilderness and the Nevada Wilderness Project. The data is being collected using the BLM’s Wilderness Inventory Manual 6310. This includes providing individual route evaluations, photo logs, and details about each of the wilderness characteristics: size, naturalness, outstanding opportunities for solitude and/or primitive and unconfined recreation.

At the end of the season, the data collected by the crew will be turned into formal reports that will be given to the BLM along with briefing presentations to the BLM district’s management team and planners. The bottom line of this effort is to help identify lands with special wilderness character and protect them for recreationists and wildlife and for future generations to enjoy unspoiled Nevada’s beauty and solitude.

Cutting Torch Work in the Black Rock-High Rock National Conservation Area

Team Stewardship from Friends of Nevada Wilderness headed out to the East Fork-High Rock Canyon Wilderness to put their torching skills to work! 

Their cutting torch skills, that is! Stewardship Director Pat Bruce and Stewardship Technician Renee Aldrich trained on safety and use in early July to do work with a cutting torch safely in wilderness areas, and finally got a chance to apply their skills during the last week of July. Bureau of Land Management staff had pinpointed old development items like windmills and troughs that needed to be removed from the Black Rock-High Rock National Conservation Area, one of the 16 National Conservation Areas in America.

The team gathered nonreusable development items, mostly consisting of old wind mills, and cut the metal into smaller pieces with the torch before removing it from the area.

Karen Dallett from Friends of Black Rock-High Rock joined in the fun, and helped haul 6.5 cubic yards of cut nonreusable debris for transportation out of wilderness.

Safety first! The work area was cleared of brush and wet down to avoid sparking a wildland fire. Torchers also wore welding gloves and coats, and face shields - all required Personal Protective Equipment for the project.

You can volunteer to improve the wildland quality of the Black Rock-High Rock NCA, part of the BLM's Conservation Lands - contact Pat Bruce for dates and projects at pbruce@nevadawilderness.org today! Southern Nevadans can help their local National Conservation Areas as well - Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area and petroglyph-rich Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area are home to some of Clark County's wildest landscapes! Contact Jose Witt for details on volunteering in southern Nevada at jose@nevadawilderness.org.


All photos courtesy of Renee Aldrich

Coming This August: 2013 Wild Nevada Calendar

The Red Rock National Conservation Area in southern Nevada is our 2013 cover girl!

This Is Nevada...

Morning Light on Massacre Rim Wilderness Study Area (photo by Brian Beffort)

Celebrating a Fence-Free Sheldon

This Is Nevada...

Snowy storm over the Sheep Range in the Desert National Wildlife Refuge (photo by Kurt Kuznicki)

Stewardship on the Sheldon Refuge: A Weekend of Smiles and Sunshine

A team of hard workers! The volunteers joined the Sheldon 2012 Fence Crew to remove barbed wire from pronghorn and sage grouse habitat in the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge in northwestern Nevada.

Volunteer Chuck Thomas and Friends' Executive Director Shaaron Netherton clip wire in preparation for the rolling team.

Giving wildlife room to roam. Removing the barbed wire fence will open up migratory routes and water access for pronghorn. Rather than leap over the fence, pronghorn shimmy under, and can get entangled and injured in the old fence.

Getting out old fence posts...

...and making new friends!

Thanks to all the hardworking volunteers that came out - the pronghorn and sage grouse that call the Sheldon home thank you too!! But if you didn't get to join us this time, there's still opportunities to volunteer on the Sheldon this summer - contact Pat Bruce at pbruce@nevadawilderness.org for trip dates and details!


All photos by Graham Stafford

Lye Creek Campground - Clean and Ready for Visitors!

Twenty wilderness warriors - including 11 youth stewards! - joined Friends of Nevada Wilderness and Nevada Outdoor School to re-paint picnic furniture and clean up the popular Lye Creek Campground in the Santa Rosa Range.

Toiyabe Crest Trail Crew Update One

Triumphant trail workers get ready for a day of work at the head of the Toiyabe Crest National Recreation Trail. The crew will be working and camping along the trail until the snow falls.

Measuring over 70 miles long and taking hikers over 11,000 feet above sea level, the Toiyabe Crest Trail is Nevada's longest non-motorized trail. It provides access to grazing allotments for ranchers, and is popular among western hunters in the fall. The trail also receives hundreds of recreational visitors each season. The two-year program to improve the trail is sponsored by the White Pine/Nye County Secure Rural Schools Act and the Recreational Trails Program, which is administered through Nevada State Parks.

Join the talented crew and experience life on the trail - click here for details on upcoming volunteer opportunities in central Nevada and beyond!

All photos by Wes Hoskins.

This Is Nevada...

Orange and Blue at the North Bowl of Fire in the Muddy Mountains Wilderness (photo by Kurt Kuznicki)

KEEN-Zappos Day Photo Contest Winners!

First Place
"Dutch Oven Delight" by Maritza Lewis

Second Place
"Jump for Wild Joy" by Kiersten Sedlar

Third Place
"Litter Patrol" by Marie Martin

Honorable Mention
"Stewardship Smiles" by Linda Ta

KEEN-Zappos Day Photo Contest Entries

Photo by Kar Tse

Photo by Kar Tse

Photo by Kar Tse

Photo by Linda Ta

Photo by Linda Ta

Photo by Marie Martin

Photo by Marie Martin

 

Photo by Maritza Lewis

Photo by Maritza Lewis

Photo by Danielle Cotte

Photo by Kiersten Sedlar

Photo by Kiersten Sedlar

Battle Two Against Mt. Rose Musk Thistle

The team takes a break in front of the Hunter Creek Drainage waterfall.

Stewardship Technician Renee Aldrich led four volunteers into the Mt. Rose Wilderness to wage war against musk thistle for the second time this June. The team headed up the Hunter Creek Drainage to the area around the waterfall to remove the invasive weed. 8,000 plants were removed - making a total of 16,000 weeds removed from the Mt. Rose Wilderness in June alone!

Read about the first battle here!

Renee will be continuing combat through the season - email her at renee@nevadawilderness.org to find out how you can join the anti-thistle army!

This Is Nevada...

In the belly of Mummy Mountain (photo by Kurt Kuznicki)