Rangers of the Wilderness

Educate the public about the value of wilderness areas and engage volunteers in wilderness stewardship. So you see, Atieno accomplished two of these goals in meeting us on the Santa Barbara Trail. She counted us and courteously treated us to a bit of education in the value of federally designated wilderness areas. We appreciated it enough to want to know more. Since the Santa Fe National Forest was closed due to forest fire risk at the time, she was sent to work in the northern end of the Pecos on the Santa Barbara Trail, which is in the Carson National Fores and was still open at the time.

Working on wilderness near Taos. I mention these trails because the rangers have even fixed that uber-steep pitch up the last stretch of the Yerba Trail to the ridge. They said that the steep son-of-a-pitch scramble was a huge off-trail mistake, due to trees blowing down and closing off the trail's last switchback route in that section. Add to that the Columbine-Twining Recreational Trail across Gold Hill, and that's just one of the four wilderness areas. Sounds like a huge job for two rangers. But they have a lot of extra help. They're attracting dozens of hikers to volunteer for the project, already 83 volunteers this summer.

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Not all volunteers, though, need do such heavy lifting. You can volunteer for instance, to take your own wilderness hike to count encounters with other hikers. Or choose to participate with rangers and volunteers giving talks to groups: And here's the one I like. Go for a hike with a ranger.

You can be with a ranger for a day.

Supporting rangers in the Wilderness

The New Mexico Wild Partnership. Bjorn Frederikson, of the U. In its trial run last year, they put six rangers into the field with such success that they've increased their efforts this year. And rangers are already 50 percent more productive than last year's test run. Key measures of their effectiveness are listed in the By the Numbers box.

Volunteer – Wilderness Rangers

Both the Forest Service and Wilderness Alliance each pick up half of the funding for the wilderness ranger program. But when rangers recruit volunteers, the dollar value of the volunteers' hours count toward the contribution from New Mexico Wild. Spencer and Mortensen boasted of having raised over 1, hours of volunteer time for their wilderness work. And that exceeded their requirement to raise volunteer hours.

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What Is a Designated Wilderness? The Wilderness Act describes a wilderness as an area where the earth and community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.

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It is an area of undeveloped federal land retaining its primeval character and influence without permanent improvements or human habitation, which is protected and managed so as to preserve its natural conditions. All motorized vehicles and tools are banned from these lands. Even bicycles are not allowed.

Only foot and horse travel are permitted. But hikers and horses are having their impact. It took time and effort to set aside wilderness areas. I am an old enough geezer to recall returning home from navy combat in World War II to the frantic economic boom trying to catch up after the wartime constraints.

Our transportation system began booming in the s. Eisenhower launched the Interstate Highway System meant to tie all 48 lower states together in a network of limited-access highways that we have today. The boom created concerns for conservationists, particularly federal lands forest rangers. They became increasingly concerned about preserving roadless areas of pristine federal lands. One of our artists was Ruslan Gleb , a senior scientific specialist for the Carpathian Biosphere Reserve.

World Ranger Day His artwork is mostly focused on serenities in the Carpathian landscapes. However whilst at our event he proved invaluable, helping to translate, and also imparting his knowledge of Ukrainian Wilderness, fauna and flora to the European Wilderness Society team and artists. Here again he confirmed his commitment towards wilderness. To thank Ruslan, the European Wilderness Society gifted him with a small, outdoor campstove made by BioLite , which can simultaneously cook for four people and charge electronic devices via a USB cable.

It also charges a battery which can provide strong LED light for a whole evening. The campstove does not depend on an energy source such as propane or gas and so it is perfect for the Wilderness and extend trips through nature. The team used the campstove throughout their time in Ukraine and particularly during the three days of field work in Maramarosh Wilderness. He can now charge his electrical devices and cook his meals totally independent from any fossil fuel for an extended period of time.