Utah is home to fascinating natural habitat. Our students were lucky enough to join in a project with the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) and the Bureau of Land Management on National Public Lands Day! The goal of our project was to assist in building cairns on a newly established trail near Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The exact trail we were working on is in a biological study area just outside the monument. Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument boasts red cliffs of sandstone, cryptobiotic soils and historical sites like Hole in the Rock Road.
Our hosts, Jack Hanley of SUWA, and Ranger Bob of the BLM, were incredibly passionate about their work and very informative to the youth. SUWA is a grassroots organization that actually has open lawsuits with the BLM, but the two agencies work together anyway in the best interest of the Monument. That information in and of itself is worth appreciating in a time where there is such polarization on so many fronts. There are always opportunities to work together and synergize efforts for common goals.
Ranger Bob told us all about the history of the monument. He also told us about how the landscape has changed; the pieces that need restoration, conservation, and respect, like the cryptobiotic soils. Most of the students who attended Wilderness Therapy in the deserts of Utah already knew about the soils. "Tiptoe through the crypto" was one catch phrase from a program here.
Building cairns on a trail over slick rock assists visitors in finding their way in this landscape. The more traffic that is spread out, the more damage is done to the ecosystem. Our students worked with Jack and Bob to intuitively direct visitors, which was trickier than we thought at first. First, we got to hike part of the trail ourselves through this beautiful desert landscape filled with black bush, sage brush, prickly pear cactus, lizards, and birds of prey circling over head.
Next, we collected rocks from the area to build the cairns. Rock selection is also important. Ranger Bob showed us when rocks were protecting other elements of the ecosystem, providing shade or moisture for lichens or soils, or were too far off the beaten path. Our goal was to do no harm to the ecosystem in the process of preventing long term foot traffic harm.
In addition to building the cairns, we raked out footprints along the paths we were looking to deter visitors from. We spent time finding fallen pieces of Juniper trees, cow bones, rocks, even cow pies to place on the paths we were covering to deter people. This process also came with an education, for me particularly. I chose to grab a bunch of branches from under a rock that were apparently put there by pack rats and sealed together through their excretory processes. Yikes! Knowledge is power.
We were lucky enough to spend our off time at the coveted Calf Creek Campground. Calf Creek ran alongside our tents over slick rock. There's even a natural slide! One of our students spent quite a bit of his time in the creek itself, working on crafting a fishing pole and cooling off after the days' work. Luckily Utah's fire restrictions were lifted enough that we were able to have fires in the ring provided by the Forest Service. There was much time spent busting fire with bow drills, teaching Jack how to use a bow drill, and reminiscing and reflecting about Wilderness experiences.
On our last day, we stopped at the Kiva Koffeehouse that overlooks the valley of Grand Staircase-Escalante's river channel. The work of wind, water, and time has created awe inspiring landscapes in Utah's southern recreation areas.
These images, while beautiful, do not begin to showcase the depth of the canyons of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
Cairns were our focus on our environmental stewardship project and our purpose was to assist others in finding their way through challenging terrain. Isn't it a beautiful metaphor for what these youth are doing in their lives? What we're all doing? We plan to go back and see Jack and, hopefully if timing is right, Ranger Bob again soon. There are a plethora of projects and grassroots organizations that need volunteers.
"Cairns represent a trail marker that guide one through uncertain areas of life.
They provide guidance, hope, balance, continuity, and confidence on the journey down the path of life."
-John P. Kraemer