Public Lands Day: 200 Plus Volunteers Help Prepare Land for Recreational Use Near Ukiah
By motorcycle and truck, on foot and by horseback, more than 200 outdoor enthusiasts fanned out across Eight Mile Valley east of Ukiah Saturday, Sept. 26, donating their labor to improve an area of public land.
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Melvin Swofford and Matthew Thompson of the California Conservation Corps join forces to move a boulder into place, part of an erosion prevention project
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Volunteers joined the Bureau of Land Management, completing hundreds of hours of work on projects ranging from demolition of dilapidated cabins, to erosion control. The improvements, completed as part of National Public Lands Day, will help clear the way for public use of the 427-acre Eight Mile Valley Ranch within the BLM’s South Cow Mountain Off Highway Vehicle Recreation Area.
“The volunteers completed an incre- dible amount of work that will benefit the land and everyone who uses it,” said Rich Burns, manager of BLM’s Ukiah Field Office. “It would have taken the BLM months to undertake these projects on our own. We are fortunate to have the support of these very capable volunteers.”
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BLM realty specialist Alice Vigil helps tear down rusted wire fencing. New fencing was built to protect meadows and stream areas
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BLM Director Pat Shea traveled from Washington, D. C. to attend the event, and praised the volunteers for their spirit of cooperation and the demonstration of concern for their public lands. He asked them to continue their involvement and to urge others to care for public land as well, “leaving the land better than we found it” for future generations.
Don Amador of the California Off Highway Vehicle Commission and Don Klusman of the California Association of Four Wheel Drive Clubs said the work of off highway vehicle enthusiasts and the support of BLM have established South Cow Mountain as a model off- highway vehicle area. Bill Dart and Dana Bell of the American Motorcyclist Association said the cooperation between the BLM and off highway vehicle users has created outstanding riding and driving opportunities on the mountain.
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Blm Director Pat Shea(L), BLM CA State Director Ed Hastey (middle) and CA OHV Commissioner Don Amador talk about the great volunteer turnout for Public Lands Day at South Cow Mountain OHV/recreation Area
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When the dust settled the volunteers’ list of accomplishments was impressive. Eight old cabins were dismantled, along with two deteriorated camping trailers. Rusted fencing was removed in several areas and new fences were built to keep vehicles out of meadows and stream areas. Structures were built in a stream channel to slow erosion, and cages were installed around young streamside trees to protect them from foraging wildlife.
Cow Mountain, which rises between Ukiah and the Clear Lake Basin, provides
60,000 acres for recreation. BLM man- ages the north half of the mountain for “non-motorized” uses including hiking, horseback riding, hunting, and camping. The south half of the mountain provides more than 100 miles of roads and trails for motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles and four-wheel drives. Mountain bikers and horseback riders also use the area.
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A volunteer form the California Association of 4 Wheel Drive Clubs takes a sledge hammer to the remains of an old hunting cabin.
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Saturday’s volunteer project was one of about 80 National Public Lands Days projects involving more than 30,000 volunteers across the United States. Public Lands Day began four years ago with just four projects and about 1,500 volunteers.
The annual event is sponsored by the National Environmental Education Training Foundation, a partnership involving the BLM, Forest Service, National Park Service, Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency. It provides opportunities for volunteers to help improve public land sites, and to learn more about public lands and natural resource management.
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