Jay Walker Lodge volunteers repairing the aspen log fence at Kings Pasture near Boulder, UT
The summer is alive with volunteer adventures from Grand Canyon’s North Rim, across the Paria Plateau, all the way to the Aquarius Plateau in Utah.
The Volunteer Program continues to expand its efforts to protect and restore Utah Forests. We have already reached tremendous milestones with both new and returning volunteers and groups to implement a long list of important projects.
So far this year Utah volunteers have:
- Repaired two miles of aspen log fence and built one-third mile of barbed wire fence surrounding 160 acres of wet meadow at Kings Pasture to protect a beaver restoration site from grazing impacts
- Assessed over five miles of riparian habitat and creekside vegetation for beaver reintroduction, including dozens of active and historic beaver dams and lodges
- Closed ten miles of roads and travel routes to help implement the Dixie National Forest’s Travel Management Plan, including soil cultivation, seeding, mulching, and placement of rock and vegetative barriers
- Placed signage on over a mile of the Box-Death Hollow Wilderness boundary near Escalante
- Established sixty-two vegetation transects at seventeen different creeks, riparian areas and wet meadows on Boulder Mountain, and recorded photographs and observations at nine others. Some sites will receive immediate restoration efforts from the Escalante River Watershed Partnership, and others will serve as reference sites for future restoration efforts
We started a new and promising partnership with Jay Walker Lodge, an innovative alcohol and drug addiction rehabilitation center in Colorado. These folks contribute incredible energy to our projects and, in return, their engagement with conservation service offers a positive outlet to change their lives. This is just the beginning for Utah volunteer projects. We still have more beaver habitat to document, another important fence to build, and many acres of cottonwood, aspen and willow habitat to assess.
The 8th annual Paatuwaqatsi “Water is Life” Run is on September 10. Runners from across the region and the country participate in celebrating the importance of water and its spiritual value in Hopi society. This year, Grand Canyon Trust volunteers will partner with Hopi coordinator and runner Bucky Preston, and the regional Sierra Club chapter to maintain the traditional Hopi running trails to springs in preparation for the run. Volunteers will also be needed the day of the event to organize and provide support for participants.
Please visit our trip schedule to learn more about volunteer opportunities where you can roll up your sleeves and make a difference for the Colorado Plateau!
Our Community Education Series lecture will highlight Bison Research on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon at 7:00 pm on Wednesday, September 28 at Du Bois Center at Northern Arizona University. Click here for more information.
Volunteers are the backbone of our organization. The Trust is fortunate to have a community of dedicated individuals who donate their time and expertise to fulfill our mission every year. Now you can sponsor our volunteers and support Colorado Plateau preservation through citizen-driven science. Any size donation will help us continue to provide our volunteers the best experience possible at NO COST. Your donation will not only help transform the lives of volunteers who participate, but will also make it possible to build a community of dedicated stewards for the public lands on the Colorado Plateau. Gifts are 100% tax deductable. Visit our website to make a donation – and thank you!
We are collecting narratives that highlight our volunteer community to post on our blog and our YouTube channel for potential volunteers, our community and our sponsors. Do you have a story to tell about your volunteer experience with Grand Canyon Trust? What are you doing now and did your volunteer experience change your life significantly? Email us with the juicy details.
Lauren is changing pastures
On a more somber note, Lauren Berutich, an all-star volunteer coordinator with the Trust for the past four years, is leaving us. She completed her Master’s Degree with the Sustainable Communities Program at Northern Arizona University and will be a full-time instructor in the Freshman Seminar Program facilitating youth civic engagement, environment, and student democracy projects. We will miss Lauren’s tremendous positive energy and wish her all the best.
Kate Watters
