DatesSep 27th - Oct 3rd 2009 Service ProjectRemoving invasive species Free DaysSpectacular day hiking, slot canyons, waterfalls AccommodationsBackpack camping Trip RatingActive : ~7 miles backpack, cutting & hauling trees, walking in river. LeadersJen Jackson Equipment |
The Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument was established in September 1996. This magnificent and vast area, managed on behalf of the public by the Bureau of Land Managment, encompasses 1.9 million acres of multicolored cliffs, plateaus, mesas, buttes, pinnacles, and canyons. This is a high, rugged and remote region, where bold plateaus and multi-hued cliffs run for distances that defy human perspective. It fully emcompases three distinct regions: Escalante River, Kaiparowits Plateau, and Grand Staircase. Due to the remoteness of the area, the Escalante River was the last major river in the lower 48 states to be explored and named. It was the last place in the continental United States to be mapped. Even today, this unspoiled natural area remains a frontier, a quality that greatly enhances the monument's value for scientific study. It contains more than 300 species of amphibians, mammals, reptiles, and birds, and is rich in ancestral puebloan ruins and artifacts. Working with the Escalante Office of the Monument, our project will be eradicating Russian olive along the Escalante River corridor above the bridge crossing at Highway 12. We'll backpack approximately seven miles and set up a base camp from which we'll work. Russian olive wasn't found in the river corridor until the mid-eighties, but this non-native tree is quickly choking out willows and other native plants. To clear the river of this invasive tree we'll use saws and loppers and apply an herbicide to the stumps. This project will extend the work being done down river in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, where 38 miles of river have been cleared of the trees.
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