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Contact: Linda Slater, 760-221-0227
Volunteers to Repair Trails at Mojave National Preserve
A Student Conservation Association (SCA) High School Crew, funded by a generous grant from Nature Valley and the National Park Foundation, will spend four weeks in June and July repairing the eight mile Mid Hills to Hole-in-the-Wall Trail. With an elevation change of 1,200 feet, the trail connects the park’s two campgrounds, passing from a pinyon-juniper woodland at the north end to cactus and yucca gardens at the south. The trail was heavily damaged by the 2005 Hackberry Fire and flash flooding later that summer.
The SCA High School Conservation Crew Program provides opportunities for students to volunteer as part of a work crew, camping out while working on public lands projects. Two paid leaders, Justin Poehneit and Dominique Tamburrino will lead the Mojave program.
“My girlfriend and I hiked the trail several months ago. It definitely got me excited about this project,” Justin explained. “I’m gaining experience and hope to work for a federal agency such as the National Park Service in the future,” he added. The student volunteers leave with lasting memories of the connections they made to both the land and their fellow volunteers.
The SCA program is just one component of Mojave National Preserve’s volunteer program. To find out about volunteering at Mojave and other national parks, visit www.nps.gov/volunteer.
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Last updated: February 28, 2015