General Info

Sponsor: Grand Canyon Trust
Dates: October 4-11, 2008
Leader:Travis Wiggins and Steve Inzalaco
Difficulty: Strenuous

Accommodations

Car camping at the trailhead and backpacking for one week.

Gear

You provide camping and hiking gear.

We provide transportation and meals.

Comments

The Paria Canyon is a challenging environment to live and work for a week and involves surrendering to wet feet, dryness, sand and temperature extremes. However, it is also one of the premier wilderness canyons in the West and an incredibly beautiful place to be. So bring a camera and contact us if you have any gear needs.

Volunteer trips at Kane and Two Mile Ranches

Paria River tamarisk and Russian olive removal
October 4–11, 2008

Overview

Riparian streams in the southwest are at risk and we need your help! Tamarisk and Russian olive were introduced into the southwestern U.S. in the late nineteenth century to help control streambank erosion. Since then, these highly invasive species have spread throughout the West and caused major changes to rivers and streams. Tamarisk outcompetes native vegetation and alters the chemistry of the soil, making it unsuitable for native species.

The Grand Canyon Trust and the BLM have formed a partnership to remove tamarisk and Russian olive trees from 18 miles of the beautiful Paria Canyon wilderness and restore this amazing river ecosystem. The project also involves scientific research to monitor the recovery of native vegetation. During this trip you will assist Trust field staff with the baseline monitoring research for this project to investigate how vegetation recovers following exotic removal and how exotic removal affects channel form and breeding bird populations. Researchers and volunteers will measure vegetation cover, structure, and soil characteristics in each transect. We will also examine channel morphology, form and stability and conduct bird surveys.

Itinerary

Pretrip: Saturday	Meet at Trust at 1:30 pm and depart by 2 pm for White House trailhead. Dinner and project orientation.
Day 1: Sunday	Bright and early hike to the confluence with Buckskin Gulch and set up camp — 7 miles.
Day 2: Monday	Cut tamarisk near camp and enjoy Buckskin.
Day 3: Tuesday	Day hike downstream to cut tamarisk and return to camp-5 miles round trip.
Day 4: Wednesday	Move camp 3 miles downstream and then work cutting trees near camp.
Day 5:Thursday	Day hike downstream to cut tamarisk and return to camp-5 miles round trip.
Day 6:Friday	Finish work in the area and move camp toward the trailhead.
Day 7:Saturday	Hike out to White House trailhead — 7 miles. Back in Flagstaff by 5 pm!