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