In This Issue:

WV Names New Program Manager
Successful 2008 Project Season
Spread the Word!
2009 Spring Projects
Photo Contest on WV Blog

WV Names New Program Manager

After 11 years of operating with only one paid staff member, Wilderness Volunteers (WV) has hired a Program Manager. We received many resumes for the position, and appreciate all the interest. We hired Dave Pacheco, a past project leader for WV. Dave is uniquely qualified for this position. He will work closely with Debbie Northcutt, WV’s Executive Director, focusing on identifying worthwhile projects, developing the project schedule, and dealing with many of the day-to-day details of running a non-profit.

Dave is a fourth-generation Utahan from Salt Lake City. After receiving a B.S. in Sociology from the University of Utah in 1991, Dave began his career in the environmental movement as a community organizer and canvasser. Dave has worked for Citizen Action, Clean Water Action, Alliance for the Wild Rockies, and the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. In a decade of work at SUWA, from 1994-2004, Dave served as the canvass director, local outreach coordinator, and the national outreach director for two years in Washington, D.C.

While working for change through organizing, legislation, and litigation, Dave began volunteering with Wilderness Volunteers leading on-the-ground service projects that protect the environment through direct manual labor. Jumping in with both feet, Dave founded Utah Backcountry Volunteers in early 2006, based in large part on the Wilderness Volunteers model. In its two field seasons, 2007-2008, the organization, with Dave leading all trips, conducted 17 projects in service of Utah’s public lands. 

Dave brings his wealth of experience to our program and believes that the best way to get folks involved in wild places is to get them to experience these beautiful places first-hand and feel the satisfaction of their labor. Join us in welcoming Dave and the Utah Backcountry Volunteers to WV!

A Successful 2008 Project Season

From Alaska to Florida to Maine to Hawaii, in 2008 Wilderness Volunteers of all ages, backgrounds and political persuasions built and repaired trails and bridges, removed invasive plants and planted native ones, made new friends and explored spectacular landscapes. Here are a few highlights of the 2008 season as described by trip leaders and participants.

Natural beauty aside, what makes a WV trip to Caladesi Island special is a week of camping with people while laughing, learning, supporting, laughing some more, and all the while working to improve this lovely place. Participants enjoyed gourmet dinners, evening strolls along the beach to gaze at unforgettable sunsets, beachcombing among numerous seashells and sand dollars, kayaking along the quiet, still waters beneath the canopy of mangrove trees, building turtle cages in an effort to give sea turtles a better chance of survival, working on the construction of a more environmentally-friendly boardwalk, pulling invasive rosemary pea down at the old homestead site, bodysurfing in the cool waters of the Gulf after a hard day’s work, and relaxing on the beach and allowing the senses to take it all in to recall at a later time.
Tammy Bernardi

"I want to experience it all," brave words spoken by a first time volunteer in the Eagle’s Nest Wilderness. By the time the week was over, we had experienced much, from work to weather to laughter. There is something quite special about bringing together a group of 10 people from all walks of life ranging in ages from 20 to 68 to complete a bridge building project. We moved enormous rocks and stripped two massive trees of their limbs and bark to build the bridge. The work was a challenge. Making a flat surface on a round log using only hand tools in the wilderness can be a daunting task. However, our newly trained expert volunteers created the perfect surface for the bridge using a crosscut saw, adzes, and slickers. The logs were dropped into place on the rock foundation with the guidance of the Forest Service. At the end of the week we walked safely across our new bridge much to the joy of all of us who had experienced the old scary bridge on our hike to camp one week earlier.
Linda Hermann

Watching the splendor of nature, and getting to know the other participants was a highlight of our project in Idaho's Bighorn Crags. I've backpacked Idaho and the Northwest for 25 years, but hiking and bushwhacking with friends is nothing compared to learning how to use the necessary tools and appreciating the hard work it takes to maintain trails.

Yes, I worked hard, and yes, I got blisters, but I made new friends who believe in giving back to the wilderness as I do. I learned a little bit more about how we humans need to respect what nature has bestowed upon us. Since my trip, I have encouraged at least 50 of my friends to look into Wilderness Volunteers, and I don't think I'll be backpacking unless I'm on a group project. Thank you for making this unique experience possible.
Pat Olsson

On August 10, a crew of six Wilderness Volunteers backpacked seven miles into the spectacular Alaska Basin in the Jedediah Smith Wilderness near the crest of the Teton Range in western Wyoming. For the next week, we lived and worked alongside six professional trail crew members from the Teton Basin district of the Caribou-Targhee National Forest.

By backcountry standards, our camp was luxurious. Forest Service mules had transported a canvas wall tent, our food, and our cooking gear to our home in the wilderness.   Thanks to our equine friends, we enjoyed fruit and other fresh food (protected in bear-proof panniers), everyday. The wall tent sheltered us from gusty winds and our dining room was a smooth granite slab overlooking the Teton Canyon Shelf.

The worksite, a steep section of trail rising from Alaska Basin to Sunset Lake, featured sweeping views across the south fork of Teton canyon toward Mt. Meek Pass and a dramatic pyramid of sedimentary rock known as the Wedge. Our Forest Service crew chief emphasized quality of work over quantity. As we constructed check steps, check dams, and water bars, he stressed the importance of rock selection. We examined many and often tried several before finding the right ones. We learned to move large stones up, down, and across the slope and to pin stone against stone, eliminating all movement. The standards were high but that’s what is required when the objective is work that will last eighty years!

On our day off, we climbed to Hurricane Pass in Grand Teton national Park and looked across the south fork of Cascade Canyon to the South, Middle, and Grand Tetons. We dropped down from the pass and traversed beneath Schoolroom Glacier to Avalanche Divide above Snowdrift Lake.

As gratifying as the spectacular scenery were the thanks expressed by the many hikers who passed through our worksite. Their sincere appreciation of our hard work reinforced for us the value of giving something back.
Robin and Carter Bland

We found waist-high fields of wildflowers and snow-capped peaks along our drive to the trailhead in the Maroon Bells Snowmass Wilderness. This was my first WV trip in the Rockies. Having led several trips in the Sierra, I found it interesting to work in a different landscape, where there is so much “dig-able” dirt to dig, the lupine taller, and elk grazing on nearby mountain slopes. The Forest Service crew was great, providing us with stoves, support, instruction, and good humor. And of course the people who had signed up for the trip were fabulous, ready to laugh, always willing to share their skills and their strength while going the extra mile and giving something back.
Kathleen Worley

Spread the Word!

Conventional wisdom dictates that in a down economy, people are more likely to stay at home than to take an expensive vacation. A new word has been coined to describe this phenomenon - “staycation.” But what if people knew there was an inexpensive, enjoyable way to enjoy the great beauty of our national parks and forests while giving something back to Planet Earth? We are hoping that you will help spread the message that Wilderness Volunteers offers exactly that opportunity. As a friend of WV, you can tell friends, neighbors, and co-workers about our program. Word-of-mouth endorsements are always the best way to recruit new volunteers.

The complete 2009 project list is posted to the WV website in early December. As you’ll see, we are keeping the same low price, adding a few more trip options, and preparing for the future with another leader training trip. For details see www.WildernessVolunteers.org.

We hope to capture a part of the new optimism and enthusiasm that is evident in America since the November election. There is a sense that many people are ready and eager to move our country forward by giving something back. Let’s help make that happen by spreading the word about WV. An attractive full-color tri-fold brochure is available from the WV office if you have an outdoor equipment store in your town that is willing to help promote our cause.

Thanks for helping Spread the Word.

Bill Sheppard, President, Wilderness Volunteers

2009 Project Schedule Online

The 2009 Project Schedule is now on the Wilderness Volunteers website. Remember, December is set aside for Supporters of Wilderness Volunteers to sign up for projects. You can become a Supporter at this link.

Don't forget to check out our FEATURED TRIP:

Mar 22nd - Mar 28th Buffalo National River National Park, AR    

To give a different kind of gift this year, one that will be long remembered, give a Gift Certificate for a Wilderness Volunteers project. Better yet, sign up for a trip and give a Gift Certificate to the person you would most like to spend a week doing meaningful work in a beautiful place. To look at the complete schedule, please visit the website! Come join us in Giving Something Back in 2009!

Photo Contest on WV Blog

Wilderness Volunteers launched a Blog last month at this link (you can also find a link on the main WV webpage). We are going to blog about topics of interest to the WV community including happenings, gear reviews, book reviews, and news. Right now we have posted a photo contest and we urge all Wilderness Volunteers to submit pictures from their trips this year -- details are on the blog. Prizes include a 27 oz. stainless steel Klean Kanteen co-branded with the WV logo. The pictures will all be posted to a Contest Album on the WV Photo Gallery, and the winning pictures will be posted on the blog in February.