How To Pack

One of the hardest preparations before leaving on any journey is figuring out how to fit most of the things you will need in as few of bags as possible. I spent days as I always do in my organized prepared state of mind trying to fill every possible crevice of my bins and bags that I would take with me as I began my 6 month adventure in Nevada with the NCC. I packed, unpacked and repacked multiple times, ate a few tubs of ice cream out of frustrations and then started the whole process over again. Maybe it was my paranoia that I didn't want to be the girl who showed up with everything she owns and doesn't need, but then again, showing up with only the shirt on your back probably isn’t the best approach either.

But the reality was that all my fears, excitement, and anxiety and uncertainty about the future that lie ahead of me weren't as concrete as the items I was packing. Most of the stress about leaving for a new state and a new experience revolved around questions like how many pairs of socks should I pack, do I need eating utensils,  what will I need for my apartment which I had yet to find? Will I be prepared? Will I have everything that I need?

When I got to Nevada, the items I had packed in my bags started to lose their importance, Because being part of the Nevada Conservation Corps is much more than anything I can pack in my bags but rather it is a series of constant change, adjustments, successes,  even failures at times and of course….work!

This month has been filled with some great hitches, a few which tested my gag reflexes and one that brought  a whole new insight to picking Brassica. I didn’t even know what Brassica was when I first arrived in Nevada. But I soon became an expert as the first three weeks of my new life in the NCC was filled with nothing but Brassica. At first it was exciting. It was new, and challenging as I tried to identify what Brassica was and what the native species that looked very similar to it was and trying not to pull the wrong one. But soon the Brassica plant was forever welded to my brain and we picked plant after plant. I can certainly say that there were moments in those first three weeks where it seemed like no matter how much Brassica we picked as a crew it wasn’t ever going to make a dent in the amount of Brassica which was out there. I remember working out at Flat Top Mesa, where we picked 3000 lbs of brassica that hitch.  It was insane! And there were those moments during the last hours of that last day of hitch where I had no more energy and had no more motivation to pick another Brassica Plant. But looking back on it now, only a few weeks later I realize that every single thing we do has a significant purpose and the smallest act of picking a single Brassica plant can matter even if your mind is telling you otherwise.

Our second hitch of the month brought us to Pahrump for BLM desert cleanup. It’s exactly what you think it is. We are picking up people's trash in the desert. It’s not glamorous by any means. To put in bluntly it was gross, disappointing but eye-opening at the same time. I experienced pride, wonder, mystery and a lot of trash! When you look out at the area behind Pahrump, it might not seem like much to someone just passing through. It’s a dessert covered in Mesquite groves, but it has a beauty to it which cannot be described.  And the beauty doesn’t necessarily come from the landscape but rather from the people. There was one site we went to covered in many household goods, clothing, toys and more things than I will ever be able to describe. As we were putting what once was someone’s life into all these bags, a ranger pulls up to our work site. Being part of an NCC crew, you do a lot of work that often times goes unnoticed. You don’t get glorification or thanks you’s for it. But every once in awhile someone comes along who does notice what you are doing and thanks you for it. And that is exactly what this gentleman did. And he wasn’t the only one. There were many other community members who came out to thank us for our work, after of course they realized that we were picking up the trash instead of dumping it. Sometimes a small thank you is all you need to keep you moving and motivated when picking up trash.  You also find ways to occupy your mind on hitches such as this one. I found myself in investigative mode as I picked up dump site after dump site. Who where these people? What is their story? My mind would wander to crazy places making up stories in my mind all from the trash on the ground. It’s such a mystery to me as why people would dump in the middle of this land when there is a free dump just down the road. But it also fulfilling to know, as people in the community come out to walk their dogs, ride their bikes and enjoy the dessert, the land will be that much cleaner due to the work we accomplished that week.

I look back on the past month and it’s easy to list the bigger achievements. The project sites we enjoyed, the boat rides and the hike to the hot springs. The new friends I have made within my crew. The classic service experience that people might think of when they hear about a conservation corps. But I hope to hold onto some of those smaller moments. The days spent building trail in what feels like 40 mph winds. The knowledge I gain from the failures and the endless hours lost in conversation with my crew surrounded by the majestic beauty of the desert which I have grown to appreciate in a whole new way.

The memories, friendships, laughter, hard work and unique experiences can never be measured. Even after a short month of being in the NCC I realize how ridiculous it was to worry about what to pack. Because serving in AmeriCorps and the Nevada Conservation Corps is much more than anything you can ever fit into a bag.

Gold Butte Road Decommissioning

Road decommissioning can often be a daunting task, even for the most seasoned and enthusiastic conservation worker. Breaking through the hard, dusty ground of the Mojave Desert with steel tools for the duration of a day requires a determined mental and physical effort from the whole crew.

Gold Butte is a large region of primarily BLM designated land to the northeast of Las Vegas. The rock formations here are large and vast; the towering aggregates of sandstone and granite are quite a unique display amidst the rolling creosote dominated hills of a typical Nevadan intervalley landscape.

On our first day here we worked and camped at high elevation, where the thermocline allows for the growth of Pinyon Pine and Mountain Juniper, as well as other large woody plants, a refreshing sight when one has been working in the low desert for some time. Because of our high elevation, the first road we decommissioned showed a deep layer of top soil that was rather pleasant to work in. The soil made digging and planting vertical mulch (dead plant material used to disguise a roadway) much easier, and the process quite enjoyable. The surrounding trees made gathering mulch easier as branches were plentiful.

On the second day we descended to a much lower elevation where Creosote Bush became the dominant flora, and the sun much hotter and exhausting. The roads we decommissioned here were those made by negligent ATV riders who repeatedly drive their vehicles off of designated path, hardening the desert floor and killing off vegetation. We moved numerous rocks onto the road to prevent them from being used again, as well as planting Creosote bush cuttings in convincing density throughout the roadway.

Our second campsite was a designated camp at the foot of a large sandstone formation. Climbing around this structure after work hours was a pleasant experience for all the crew members. A few of us were fortunate to observe a Ring-tailed Cat; a rare and impressive mammal native to arid regions of North America.

Conservation Corps Cuisine

Every crew member has a favorite recipe to make after a long day on the trail. Cutting tread and hauling
rocks brings out different tastes in everyone. Some want a hefty load of meat, grease, and fat. Others
crave a more healthy alternative - veggies, rice, and spices. Most want some mix of both. And everyone
loves dessert.

Vegetarian Chili, by Cal

3 Large Sweet Potatoes, 3 Large Yellow Onions, 2 Jalapenos, 10 Cloves of Garlic, 3x29 oz. Cans of Black
Beans, 3 tbsp. Chili Powder, Quinoa [Lots], 16 oz. Tomato Paste, 3 tbsp. Cumin, 2 tbsp. Oregano, and salt
and pepper to taste.

Naan Bread, by Kevin

Mix whole wheat flour with baking powder. Add spices [turmeric, red pepper flakes, salt]. Add water
and mix until a doughy consistency is reached, then knead and flatten into discs. Press minced garlic into
each disc, then fry in oil [olive is preferred]. Hot sauce is highly recommended.

Long Trail Privy Pies, by Kevin

Melt one stick of butter into a large pot with one bag of mini marshmallows. Keep heat low and add
ingredients gradually: if cooked too hot or fast, ingredients may not mix and marshmallow may burn.
Too slowly, and the marshmallow will solidify. Add cocoa or Reese’s puffs, coconut shreds, and solid
mint leaves. Pack into a greased pan and let cool into logs. For an extra treat, cover in Nutella.

Veggie Delight, by Michelle

Fry onions, add to cooked spinach and garbanzo beans. Then place this atop yogurt with quinoa. Cilantro
and Lime can be added as well.

Hobo Stew, by KV

Dice potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, and sausage. Mix in a bowl with seasonings, salt and pepper, and
butter. Then, empty bowl into pouches of aluminum foil, and cook over camp fire coals. Note: must have
camp fire.

CLT Saw Training

This week marks the first hands-on training event for the 2013 crew leaders. Camp and
work was based out of Corn Creek at Desert National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) just north of Las
Vegas. Trainees were tasked with the removal of non-native plants, such as Russian olive.
Russian olive is a very thorny tree, and at times seems to fight back. A combination of excellent
teachers such a Nick Brancato, Ray Curry, and Pete Dunham mixed with an awesome ratio of
new sawyer to experienced sawyer ratio, allowing for lots of education on proper use, technique,
maintenance, and trouble shooting from our chainsaws.

Some felling demonstrations took place, as well. The new sawyers got to experience their
first week on a saw; bucking and limbing trees to clear an area for ecological restoration.
Recently, an ADA trail was installed at Desert NWR to cater to all levels of accessibility.
Birdwatchers frequently visit the area to check out migrating birds that stop over at the refuge. It
is amazing how many springs there are hidden in the desert.

Overall it was a great week in the field, teaching and learning about chainsaws. At night
the weekly cook-off between veggies and meat eaters continued as usual. I’d have to say the
garbanzo bean/spinach curry was the most memorable for the veggies.

Moapa Valley

The second trip to Moapa Valley with the Southern Nevada Water Authority was highly unlike our first hitch. Our first go around involved removing snags, standing dead trees, which in this particular case were twenty to forty foot tall ash trees which had been killed in a fire several years ago. This was fairly standard saw work, although perhaps on a slightly larger scale. The following week’s assignment proved to be of a very different nature. We were tasked with clearing the creek channels of vegetation, making surveying of the protected Moapa Speckled Dace at a later date possible. Within this small section of the valley there are a number of warm springs, bubbling up from the earth at around ninety degrees and cooling to the mid-seventies where the water flows off the property. The warm springs make the ideal habitat for the dace, which are one of a number of species that are endemic (found only in a specific geographic region) to the area. Due to their limited geographic range, the dace are low in number, which lead to their assignment as a protected species. As part of this protection, regular population counts are done, which is where the NCC’s Crew 3 and MACC crew came in. Equipped with an arsenal of cordless hedge trimmers, hand saws and loppers as well as a consignment of porous waders, we walked, waded and swam the length of the channels, clearing them of vegetation. The challenges and frustrations of this assignment merit a blog entry of their own, but these myriad annoyances are not what most struck the volunteers that week.

Day three of any hitch is a strain; the work has begun to take its toll, the work begins to get repetitive and the end is at a tantalizing, but not quite palpable distance. Sufficed to say, when both crews entered the North Fork, a relatively short, straight segment of stream flowing through a depression and shaded its entire length by large, oppressive palms. Starting from opposite ends the two crews went to work clearing the vegetation occluding the waterway. Within minutes of entering the stream, we made note of the fact that it was populated by domineering invasives; towering palms above us, thick clumps to our left of arundo, a thick-stalked grass that grows above twenty feet as well as enveloping thickets of bamboo. The environmentalists in all of us were screaming, calling for a trigger happy finger on the trimmers, “kill it all!”. Despite this well-bred instinct, we all took time to look around and marvel at our surroundings. Around every meander of the creek a new wonder awaited us, revealed by a soft, patchy light filtering down from the palms, illuminating the water as if there were accent lights beneath our feet. The water was peaceful and simultaneously dynamic, sometimes playing over a fallen log, and at others opening into a shallow pool. The thick canopy provided by the palms provided for a sparse under story, making the work light which perhaps explains in part our calmed state. Despite this, there was no denying the fact that these invaders fashioned a striking environment. Internally conflicted, we wondered out loud how we could reconcile this picture worthy image with our ingrained negativity surrounding these species. I don’t have an answer as of writing this. It gives  me hope that maybe not all is lost if invasives take hold in some areas. If we can adapt to a new sense of beauty, maybe the environments they take hold of can adapt to the stress of their presence. Resilience then must be a trait of both humans and ecosystems.

Getting Weird in Pigeon Cove

 Crew 7

Lake Mead Invasive Species Removal

It all started on a warm morning preparing for an eight day adventure at the Great Basin Las Vegas headquarters.  We were all bright eyed and ready to go by seven in the morning for our long driving excursion to meet our project partner D-Wayne.  Our bodies and minds were prepared for the long journey ahead.   With heavy metal blaring, crew seven finally reached our destination.  We arrived to a valley of desolation, one which had not seen a human touch in many months.  Camp was erected in a short time and soon resembled a small shanty town.  Soon we would embark on a mission of pure destruction; the eradication of tamarisk.

Our expectations had been high from the start.  This was going to be the first time many of us would be felling the dreaded tamarisk.  We soon learned how slow and aggravating this process could be.  Working in small groups, we were able to successfully finish a single canyon as night fell.  Our march back brought us great pleasure as the day had come to an end but also gave light to a beautiful sight.  While the sun slowly sank behind the mountain range, a fire seemed to ignite the ridge behind us.  Shades of red, grey and finally purple soon dominated the landscape.  This sight soon became a highlight of the hitch.    

As the days wore on, so did our bodies.  The frigid cold soon gave birth to blistering heat as the day wore on.  The nauseating smell of the herbicides we used to finish off tamarisk stumps filled the air.  These chemicals were sprayed on and had a dark red coloring; almost the color of blood.  Had it not been for the vigilances and strength, many may have succumbed to the smell of these chemicals mixed with our unwashed bodies.  

Soon the days blended with each other as dreams meld together upon waking.  After breaking our fast on the last day our small congregation of tents and gear were soon gone from the landscape.  As we drove away from our temporary home we reflected on what we had accomplished during our eight days in pigeon cove.  What we remember most was the cacophony of timber created by downed tamarisk and the enjoyable camp side conversations.  We now find ourselves driving into the GBI office.  Exhausted and tired, we begin the slow process of cleaning the trucks and gathering equipment for the next outing.  We end just as we began, ready for another adventure back into the wilderness.

The Water Logged Boys

Crew # 7

SNWA stream clearing 1/14/13-1/17/13

We started out on Monday morning excited to start a new project that none of us have ever done before, stream restoration and clearing.  A crew member short, it was the all-male crew at it again for another week.  At the shop Monday morning, our eyes still weary from lack of sleep the night before, we gathered our tools and all the gear needed for the next four days and nights.  As we left the shop at approximately six thirty in the morning, spirits were high.  When arriving at the Southern Nevada Water Authority headquarters, we met our project partner for the week, Biologist Dave.  He started out with a riveting presentation about the endangered Moapa Dace, a small fish that only habitats the narrow warm streams in the 1200 acre Moapa Valley area.  Our endeavor was to clear a stream corridor both for the ease of the annual fish count and to improve Dace habitat. 

From there we continued to our work site, steam rolling off the stream, 50 degrees warmer than the surrounding air.  Reluctant at first to enter, we soon found sanctuary from the frigid morning air in the warm, murky water.  In our very tight and stylish chest high waders, armed only with hedgers and loppers, we attacked the cattails as thick as a racoons hide in April, clearing a five foot wide path down the stream channel.  As the day persisted, two of us found out that our waders were less than adequate, filling up with the briny liquids that they were supposed to keep out.  We exited the relative warmth of the water for lunch, the air still frigid in the afternoon sun.  Huddle together in the truck to keep warm, we ate in silence, waiting for the water in our waders to freeze and bind us to them forever.  After lunch, finally back into the sanctuary of the warm stream, we were at it again, slaying the cattails.  As the day proceeds spirits get better; the sun warms our hearts and faces.  Our waders still filled, but we get used to the moist, prune feeling in our feet and legs. The stream channel only holds around a foot of water, but in certain areas we sink down to our hips in mud, forcing the shallow water to our necks.

The day wears on. We spend the time cutting cattails and dragging them to bank. Our leather gloves are filled with stream water, we will find out just how bad they are the next morning as we try to insert our cold fingers into frozen gloves. We resort to dipping them into the water to thaw them out before putting them on. The leaking waders get the same treatment. We start to form a routine of being cold but dry followed by periods of warm and wet; no rest or relief until we finally take off our waders for the last time of the week.