Spring into 2014!

Surveying the landscape in the East Fork High Rock Wilderness in the Black Rock NCA (photo by Brian Beffort)

The Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area may look barren and dry, but thousands of springs dot the landscape, providing water sources for bighorn sheep, pronghorn, mule deer, and other Nevada wildlife. Learn how to spot springs, and gather valuable information about water quality for the Bureau of Land Management as a Citizen Spring Investigator! Stay tuned for training details, coming later this month!

Volunteers of the Year - Spring Monitors Dorothy and Mike!

Dorothy and Mike spent an immense amount of time monitoring springs in the Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, part of the Conservation Lands System. The duo collected data on spring characteristics, including temperature, GPS location of spring source, and electro-conductivity.

National Public Lands Day - Spring Monitoring in the Lava Beds

Volunteers celebrated National Public Lands Day with Friends of Nevada Wilderness and Nevada Outdoor School in the Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon National Conservation Area in September with a weekend of clean-up, construction, and, of course, spring monitoring! (photo by Brian Beffort)

Three teams of volunteers headed up to the Lava Beds to learn how to gather spring data for the Bureau of Land Management, which will be used in management plans. (photo by Brian Beffort)

The Wild Waters of Pahute Peak

By Brian Beffort, Associate Director, Friends of Nevada Wilderness


This last Fourth of July weekend, (the 5th through the 8th), five volunteers joined me for a backpack trip to explore the nooks, crannies, high reaches and wild waters of the Pahute Peak Wilderness, in the Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area.

Rugged and colorful geology on the west slope of Pahute Peak Wilderness

Our official goal was to monitor springs in the wilderness by collecting snapshot-in-time data about water quality and the overall health of springs on the mountain. In these sere lands, springs are essential sources of life for the region’s plants and animals, from bighorn to horse, pronghorn to owl and prairie falcon. Unofficially, Pahute (prounced “pie-yute” in honor of the native people in this region) has been teasing me for more than a decade; every time I have driven by on my way to somewhere else, or seen it from the playa to the south, it teases me, tempting and inviting with its slopes, crags, canyons and ridgelines. A spring monitoring expedition provided a perfect opportunity to explore what some maps name Big Mountain. Standing tall at 8,556, Pahute Peak is the centerpiece of the Black Rock-High Rock NCA and an exemplar of our National Landscape Conservation System—a place where we can all explore and discover the remote backcountry and history of our American West, where wildlife can find refuge from their myriad challenges.

Intrepid explorers at the beginning of our hike

After leaving one car at Copper Canyon, on the Pahute Peak Wilderness’ northwest boundary, Ann Kuhn, Devon Snyder, Scott Hall, Ann and Dylan Kuhn, BLM hydrologist John McCann and I began our hike to the south, at the Lassen-Clapper Murder Site. (In 1848, Peter Lassen led Pioneers across the Black Rock Desert, through Soldier Meadows and High Rock Canyon, and on into California. In 1852, an unknown gunman hiding in the rocks killed Lassen and Edward Clapper while they were camped here). Over three days, we hiked 4,500 feet to the summit, then descended back to our first car, monitoring springs along the way. The heat and steep were mighty challenges, and I swear the mountain kept getting bigger, its summit farther away the higher we climbed. But the crew persisted, enjoying the sweeping views across thousands of square miles of vastness, watching wildlife and napping the aspen shade one afternoon.

John and Devon approach the summit of Pahute Peak

Ann and Dylan enjoy refreshing aspen shade.

The health of water on Pahute concerns me. Water is life, and in the Black Rock Desert, scarce springs provide scant water to sustain the region’s life. At least a third of the springs indicated on my map did not exist on the ground. And most we found trickled barely, often impacted by horses, cattle and wildlife. But I guess that’s to be expected in the desert, especially during dry times like these—nothing that rest and precipitation won’t cure.

Ann and Dylan collecting data on a spring above Copper Canyon

The Black Rock Citizen Spring Inventory program has given me and volunteers a wonderful lens through we to explore and learn about life in this unique desert. Thanks to incredible volunteers, and our partners at the BLM and Friends of the Black Rock-High Rock, we are closing in on 200 springs monitored. We’re still ironing out a few wrinkles in collecting and sharing the data in order to make it most helpful to the BLM. Later this fall, we will be crunching this data, teasing out trends and presenting a report with recommendations to help the BLM ensure the continued health of these essential sources of life in the Black Rock.


All photos by Brian Beffort.

Become a CSI Investigator!!

Friends of Nevada Wilderness is seeking volunteers to conduct Citizen Spring Inventories in the Black Rock Desert. Citizen-scientist volunteers collect information on the health of springs in the desert. The data helps the Bureau of Land Management make sound management decisions, and it will help the BLM, the USGS and Desert Research Institute keep the springs healthy in the face of climate change and other challenges.

The Citizen-Spring Inventory program is a great way for people
to explore the Black Rock Desert and contribute information
that helps keep your public lands in Nevada healthy.

Learn more at Friends' CSI skills training in Reno, April 21, from 9am to 2pm, with a pot-luck BBQ at 2pm.

Contact Brian Beffort at (775) 324-7667 or brian@nevadawilderness for more information.

As a CSI volunteer, you will:
·         Hike and camp in remote and beautiful corners of the Black Rock Desert;
·         Become an expert with maps, compass, GPS and electro-conductivity meters;
·         Learn job skills important to natural sciences and public lands management;
·         Gain outdoor skills and confidence to explore backcountry settings;
·         Meet funny-looking bugs and shrimp in places you never expected;
·         Join a group trip with Friends, or seek your own desert solitude.

 Citizen Spring Inventories are great opportunities for families to spend time together in nature, where children can immerse themselves and learn about the natural world, while learning scientific skills that will prove valuable in school and future careers.

Become a CSI Investigator today. Call Brian at (775) 324-7667.

Training Session 2012: April 21 at Idlewild Park

Delightful discovery of fossilized sand dollars
in the Calico Mountains (photograph by Brian Beffort)

Become a citizen scientist! Join Friends of Nevada Wilderness at Idlewild Park on April 21 to learn how to use the equipment in Spring Monitoring Kits and fill out the forms. After that, you will be ready to start planning your own trip out to the Black Rock-High Rock National Conservation. Perfect for individuals, families, and small groups, these trips are customized by you, on your schedule.
Please contact Brian@NevadaWilderness.org for information and to RSVP.

Spring Speak: Riparian

Riparian: on or relating to the banks of a natural course of water