General Info

Sponsors: Grand Canyon National Park, Vegetation Program
Dates: September 27, 28 2008
Leader: Kassy Theobald
Difficulty: Moderate

Accommodations

A site at Mather Campground will be provided for the entire group starting on the evening of September 26th to the morning of the 28th. Park Staff will meet you at 8 AM on September 27 at the campsite.

Gear

You provide your own camping gear, daypack, water bottles, lunch container, close toed shoes, hat, and sunscreen. Come prepared for rain or sun.

We provide a kitchen, all meals and snacks (From breakfast Saturday through dinner Sunday). You will need to be prepared to help in food preparation for the entire group. We also provide gloves, eye protection, and other tools for you to work with. Transportation to the daily worksite will be provided by Park Staff. Limited camping gear is available for use.

Comments

We’ll be outside most of the day. You must be comfortable standing and/or hiking for long periods in the sun or in windy, cold conditions. A beautiful area with great sunrises and sunsets; bring a camera!

National Public Lands Day — South Rim
September 27 & 28, 2008

Overview

Come out and celebrate National Public Lands Day with Grand Canyon National Park’s Vegetation Program. We will be treating invasive species on the South Rim. In addition to working side by side with you, Vegetation Program Staff will present an orientation to the Park and the area’s natural vegetation.

Invasive species removal is an important part of work for the Vegetation Program. These plants thrive on the disturbances that are constant in this busy park, and they can even invade the pristine habitats found here on the South Rim. These species are very strong competitors for the resources needed by native plants such as sunlight, water, and soil nutrients. They invade areas by choking out native plants, and creating lots of shade which prevents native seeds from sprouting.

Each year, volunteers remove hundreds of thousands of invasive plants from the park. The invasive species that will be the focus of this trip include Scotch thistle, bull thistle, musk thistle, Mediterranean sage, jointed goatgrass, and foxtail barley. Foxtail barley, Scotch and musk thistles have recently arrived on the South Rim of the park, resulting in several small populations scattered in the area. This is the perfect time to target invasives species! This project will also involve surveying and removing more scattered invasive species such as Mediterranean sage and jointed goatgrass. We will be removing these plants by hand, digging and pulling them out by the roots using hand tools.

Itinerary

Day 1: Saturday September 27	Meet at Mather Campground at 8am for orientation. Then we will begin projects and work until 4pm.
Day 2: Sunday September 28	Project work from 8am-4pm.