by Matthew Ebert, Executive Director

Every year, volunteers across the nation participate in National Public Lands Day right around the autumnal equinox. In the Black Rock Desert we somehow seem to have it a week earlier than the rest of the country, and so it was again this year. We held our event on September 19 & 20, while elsewhere it was held the next weekend. We camped just a short way from the twelve-mile playa entrance off Rte. 34, in an area with gumdrop-shaped dunes that are spaced wide enough apart for vehicles to intersperse themselves among them without driving over vegetated areas. Spots like this are ideal for camping and can be found along the edges of the playa, and by employing proper leave no trace principles like using firepans, staying on durable surfaces, and packing out all trash, campers and their vehicles leave minimal impacts.

There were three main groups involved in the projects this year. The Tahoe Montesorri School brought 25 kids and their parents, and they participated in several educational activities. While some of the smaller kids did arts and crafts, making "playa creatures" out of pipe cleaners, older kids built and launched gunpowder rockets. All the kids attended a lesson about solar energy, including a demonstration with thin mylar bags that float when they soak up energy from sunlight, and learned about desert ecology on an exploratory hike through the sage along the edges of the playa. It was too windy for another planned activity-- planting of greasewood seed on the dunes along the Nobles Route of the Emigrant Trail.

Those dunes, commonly called the Coyote Dunes, were again the site for continued protection and restoration work, mostly conducted by the Friends of Nevada Wilderness. The Friends of Nevada Wilderness can always be counted on for hardy workers, and they brought a sizable crew of about 40 people. We built a buck and pole fence around these spring-fed dunes in previous projects to prohibit vehicle traffic and attempt to allow vegetation and habitat to re-establish itself there. Originally, fence was put up in sections and did not completely encircle the most sensitive of these dunes, Despite warning signs, vehicles continued to trespass, causing erosion and destruction of habitat. The volunteers completed the fence around this dune, and larger signs explaining the reason for the fence were placed on the fence around this and another dune. Workers also used rakes to naturalize and erase vehicle tracks on the dunes. Although having a fence at this site is an imposition on the original pristine condition, it was deemed necessary since the tracks are so destructive. We hope that the fence and signs will serve to educate people about prohibitions on vehicle traffic, and that eventually the fence can be removed when habitat is restored and responsible behavior is adopted by respectful visitors.

There was also a good-sized group of about 40 Burning Man crew members involved in the public lands projects this year. The DPW Playa Restoration Crew is usually working at the site of the Burning Man event around this time, picking up any leftover litter and naturalizing burn marks from art and so forth. This proved to be valuable experience for our clean up projects at Frog Pond and the microplayas above Black Rock. Although Frog Pond is on private land, it is adjacent to the Black Rock NCA and draws much traffic because of the hot springs there. The crew started the day cleaning up trash here, and then caravanned past the Black Rock to the "mini hi-dry" playas. There we found a considerable amount of campsite detritus such as burnt plastic buckets, campfires dug into the playa, broken glass, clay pigeons, and shell casings. About 6 bags of garbage in total were removed, and we also took notice of an illegal trespass road that has been created off the northern edge of the top playa. A future project will have to be undertaken to erase this road and to put in more signs explaining that such behavior is destructive and therefore prohibitive. The proliferation of such roads could quickly turn the wild Black Rock into an eyesore criss-crossed with truck tracks and trash.

All in all, the event was a success, projects were completed as we hoped, and a good time was had by all. Saturday night we had our potluck with Dutch oven cook-off, with many different dishes available for everyone, and various personal favorite beverages augmented the keg of beer. Kids ran around with sparklers and guitar music played into the night by firelight. Around 100 people contributed altogether, and the Friends of Black Rock High Rock would like to thank them all for their contributions to public lands and the Black Rock Desert. We trust that the experience was rewarding for everyone involved, and hope you will join us for more projects in the future.