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)

Arc Dome Wilderness- September 8, 2007

Friends of Nevada Wilderness worked on restoring an illegal vehicular trespass along the beginning of the North Twin trail in the Arc Dome Wilderness. There were eight Friends of Nevada Wilderness volunteers and staff along with a Forest Service employee working on the project.

The volunteers camped at Spencer Hot Springs Friday night and met up with the District Ranger and seasonal employee of the Austin-Tonopah Ranger District Saturday morning at the project site. The crew scattered rocks and transplanted sagebrush and native plants from the surrounding environment along half of the two-track, leaving a single tread path open for hikers and stock. The rocks and vertical mulching helped to disguise the trespass, while also helping to speed up natural reveggetation and allow for seed collection. The volunteers were careful to totally avoid the archaeological sites, where there are old stone structures from many years ago. The volunteers worked transplanting native plants onto the route and scattering and placing rocks in a manner that would discourage motorized vehicles from trespassing, then placed a couple of carsonite signs. One sign was placed at the beginning of the trail where there is now an established turnaround and parking area for vehicles, indicating that from that point in the area is closed to motorized vehicles, and the other sign was installed further in to indicate the wilderness boundary.
After the route restoration work was completed, the volunteers hiked up the South Twin River trail to an old abandoned barbed-wire fence and removed the wiring and some of the posts. The wire and materials were left in a pile to be carried out safely at a later date.

*There were a total of 138 volunteer hours recorded for this project.
*There was a total of $2,070 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)

Quinn Canyon Wilderness- August 4, 2007

Over the weekend of August 4th-5th, Friends of Nevada Wilderness performed a volunteer monitoring and restoration project in the Quinn Canyon Wilderness. The project involved assisting in monitoring efforts for invasive weeds and campsites in the wilderness along with trail maintenance along the Cherry Creek trail, which had not been maintained in years and had become inaccessible to visitors. There were six Friends of Nevada Wilderness volunteers and staff along with three Forest Service seasonal employees helping out on the project.
The volunteers arrived to the Cherry Creek campground Friday night and met up with the Forest Service Saturday morning. The volunteers split into three groups and accompanied the three Forest Service employees on different projects. One group went with April Johnson, the Forest Service Wilderness Ranger, to complete some monitoring work along the Hooper Canyon trail and along the boundary. The group documented and dismantled four different campsites, documented an invasive weed, and placed a couple wilderness boundary signs in needed locations. Another group went to find out if the Pine Creek trail existed and flagged and GPS’d the trail, which was in rough shape. The remaining volunteers joined Jim Proctor, Forest Service Trails Technician, to help clear the Cherry Creek trail of brush, excessive vegetation and downed logs. The trail work entailed pruning and lopping where the vegetation had crowded in the trail and also filling in some severely eroded and washed out sections of the trail where the creek had taken over. The Friends volunteers cleared the trail about 1/2 mile in to the wilderness, making it accessible for hikers and stock so that the wilderness resources can be protected from the creation of social paths and other negative impacts.

Volunteers worked to stop erosion of the trail along Cherry Creek.

The Friends of Nevada Wilderness volunteers and Forest Service employees enjoyed dinner and campfire that night, and the following morning a couple Friends volunteers continued with the trail work along Cherry Creek while the others were able to go for a hike through the Quinn Canyon Wilderness and enjoy the scenic views. There is still a large section of the Cherry Creek trail further into the wilderness that will need more maintenance work, but the Friends volunteers got a good start on the first section of the trail and will be back again to finish it off.


*There were a total of 156 volunteer hours recorded for this project.
*There was a total of $2,340.00 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)

Alta Toquima Wilderness- July 28, 2007

On July 28th, Friends of Nevada Wilderness organized a volunteer restoration project in the Alta Toquima Wilderness. The project involved restoring the Pasco Canyon trail, which had not been maintained in years and had become inaccessible to visitors. There were six Friends of Nevada Wilderness volunteers and staff along with two Forest Service employees helping out on the project.

The volunteers arrived to the trailhead Saturday morning and worked along the trail filling in severely washed out areas with rocks, brush and dirt, and pruning and lopping where the vegetation had crowded in the trail. The trail was completely grown over with wild rose and other vegetation in some places and the tread was barely visible. The Friends volunteers cleared the trail about ¾ of a mile in to the wilderness, making it accessible for hikers and stock so that the wilderness resources can be protected from the creation of social paths and other negative impacts. There is still a large section of the Pasco Canyon trail further in that will need some work, but the Friends volunteers got a good start on clearing the first section of the trail.

After a long day of hard work, half of the volunteers headed to the Spencer Hot Springs to relax and soak in the hot springs and camp for the night. The following morning, Friends provided transportation to visit the Toquima Caves and view some archaeological sites before the ride back to Reno. Thanks to the hard-working volunteers of Friends of Nevada Wilderness and the U.S. Forest Service, visitors will again be able to access the Pasco Canyon trail and enjoy the Alta Toquima Wilderness.

*There were a total of 104 volunteer hours recorded for this project.

*There was a total of $1,560.00 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)

High Schells Wilderness Restoration Project

On July 14th, Friends of Nevada Wilderness organized a volunteer restoration project in the newly designated High Schells Wilderness. The project involved restoring an old two-track down to a single tread path along the South fork of Berry Creek. There were eight Friends of Nevada Wilderness volunteers and staff along with two Forest Service employees helping out on the project.

The crew arrived to the site and after a safety talk and sign-in, hiked up to the wilderness boundary and began the work. The volunteers collected logs and branches to use for slash, and scattered them across the route to help disguise the scar and define the trail. Using rock bars and manpower, the volunteers moved large rocks and boulders that had been placed in piles by the Forest Service for use on the project to block access by off-road vehicles while still allowing room for hikers and stock. A couple of water bars were also built in order to guide runoff away from the trail and prevent erosion. After the finishing touches were made, wilderness boundary signs and foot-travel only signs were pounded into the ground on Forest Service carsonites.

After a long day’s work, the Friends’ volunteers and Forest Service enjoyed dinner provided by Friends of Nevada Wilderness back at the campsite and relaxed while taking in the scenic views of the High Schells Wilderness. The volunteers enjoyed the chance to get out and experience this new Wilderness on a beautiful day in eastern Nevada while also working to restore the natural character of the land.


*There were a total of 147 volunteer hours recorded for this project.
*There was a total of $2,205.00 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)

High Schells Wilderness-

Timber Creek restoration project

On June 9th, Friends of Nevada Wilderness organized a volunteer restoration project in the newly designated High Schells Wilderness. The project involved restoring an old jeep route along the North and South Forks of Timber Creek from a two-track down to a single tread trail. Friends of Nevada Wilderness partnered with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation to complete this project, and was also able to get a crew from the Nevada Conservation Corps, Great Basin Institute, to join in the efforts for the day. There were a total of 13 volunteers present for the project, including six Americorps volunteers with the NCC, five Friends of Nevada Wilderness volunteers and staff, and two Forest Service officers.

The crew arrived to the site and after a safety talk and sign-in, split into two to work on both the North Fork and the South Fork. Each group decided which tread to erase and which to keep as the hiking/horse trail, then set to work “pitting” the route (using pulaskis and pick mattocks) in order to decompact the soil to allow for seed collection and future growth of native plants. Dead and dying pine saplings (affected by beetle kill) were utilized for vertical mulching and to help delineate the trail. The volunteers also collected logs and branches to use for slash, and scattered it across the route to help disguise the scar and define the path. Using rock bars and manpower, the volunteers moved large rocks and boulders into the route to help block access by off-road vehicles while still allowing for hikers and horse travel. A couple of water bars were also built in order to guide runoff off of the trail and prevent erosion.

After a long day’s work, the Friends’ volunteers enjoyed dinner provided by Friends of Nevada Wilderness back at the campsite and relaxed while taking in the scenic views of the new wilderness area. The next morning a few of the volunteers went for a hike along the South Fork of Timber Creek up through Bristlecone Pines and a beautiful aspen grove, along the ridge, and joined up with the North Fork of Timber Creek where half of the volunteers had worked the day before. The volunteers enjoyed the chance to get out and enjoy this new Wilderness on a beautiful day in eastern Nevada while also working to restore the natural character of the land.

*There were a total of 169 volunteer hours recorded for this project.
*There was a total of $2,535.00 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)

On June 2nd, Friends of Nevada Wilderness organized a volunteer restoration project with the Ely Ranger District of the U.S. Forest Service. The project involved restoring an old jeep route along the North Fork of Berry Creek in the High Schells Wilderness from a two-track down to a single tread trail. There were a total of 8 volunteers present with Friends of Nevada Wilderness and the Natural Resources Officer, Joshua Simpson, with the Forest Service.

The crew arrived to the site and decided which track to erase and which to keep as the hiking/horse trail, then set to work “pitting” the route (using pulaskis and pick mattocks) in order to decompact the soil to allow for seed collection and future growth of native plants. Dead and dying pine saplings (affected by beetle kill) were utilized for vertical mulching and to help delineate the trail. The volunteers also collected logs and branches to use for slash, and scattered it across the route to help disguise the scar and define the path. Using rock bars and manpower, the volunteers moved large rocks and boulders into the road to help block access by off-road vehicles while still allowing for hikers and horse travel. A couple of water bars were also built in order to guide runoff off of the trail and prevent erosion.

Along with rehabbing the two-track to a single tread path, the crew also hauled out two abandoned rusty culverts that had been sitting in Berry Creek for years. The first culvert was about 5 feet long, and the volunteers were able to remove it by clearing the debris out from inside it and simply lifting it out. The second culvert was about 15 feet long, and after assessing the situation, the volunteers figured out a way to haul it out using rope and branches to help as a ramp.

After successfully finishing the restoration work, the group also removed two unnecessary fire pits near the trailhead and located too close to the stream by dispersing the rings and removing the ashes and trash. They naturalized the area using surrounding plant materials so that it will recover and revegetate.

After a long day’s work, the volunteers enjoyed dinner provided by Friends of Nevada Wilderness back at the campsite and relaxed while taking in the scenic views of the newly designated High Schells Wilderness. The next morning the group went for a hike along the South Fork of Berry Creek, which leads through a beautiful aspen grove and up to another site where Friends will establish a trailhead in place of a two-track next weekend. The volunteers enjoyed the chance to get out and enjoy this new Wilderness on a beautiful day in eastern Nevada while also working to restore the natural character of the land.


*There were a total of 128 volunteer hours recorded for this project.
*There was a total of $1,920.00 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)

Contact Us!

For more information on Friends of Nevada Wilderness, visit our website at:www.nevadawilderness.orgor call us at: (775) 324-7667

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Rainbow Mountain Wilderness

On February 21st and 22nd, Friends of Nevada Wilderness organized a volunteer restoration project with the Spring Mtn. District of the U.S. Forest Service. The project involved restoring an illegal route in the Mountain Springs area of the Rainbow Mtn. Wilderness. There were a total of 9 volunteers present with Friends of Nevada Wilderness, 3 Great Basin Institute Restoration Techs, and 5 employees from the Forest Service.

The crew began the day with a safety talk and sign-in, followed by a visit to a previous site completed by the Great Basin Institute to observe proper restoration techniques. The group then drove up to the Wilderness boundary and set to work at the first site. Boulders from the surrounding area had already been put in place behind the Wilderness boundary sign to help create a natural barrier. The volunteers went to work “pitting” the route (using pulaskis and pick mattocks) in order to decompact the soil to allow for seed collection and future growth. The volunteers also collected dead and downed plant materials to use for slash, and scattered it across the route to help disguise the scar. Because the site was located in a sensitive archaeological area, there was no vertical mulching or uprooting of live plants. The Forest Service provided mulch to distribute onto the site in order to help in seed collection and restoration.

The first day was spent entirely on one site; the next day was spent completing the first site and a second intrusion further down along the boundary. By the end of the second day, both sites were finished. The volunteers enjoyed the chance to get out and enjoy the Wilderness on a beautiful winter day in Southern Nevada while also working to restore the natural character of the land.


*There was a total of 180 volunteer hours recorded for this project.
*There was a total of $2,700.00 saved that the U.S. Forest Service would otherwise have had to spend on in-kind labor.