Los Valles Mink Crew finishes strong!

The fall season for the Mink Crew #013 of the Los Valles region was diverse both in project type  and work locations.  The crew was also an eclectic mix of folks from every corner of the country with various levels of experience.

            Our first hitch was a continuation of a project that was started this summer with the Rio Grande National Forest improving a heavily used and enjoyed ATV/OHV trail.  The majority of our work on  trail 700 was focused on correcting  drainage issues that were contributing to the severe degradation of the trail.  The section of the trail we were on was very high in elevation, some of it above tree line.  This can sometimes be a challenging element for folks, especially those recently arriving from sea level, but even with bad weather the crew’s first hitch was very successful.

            We spent a large amount of time in the middle of the fall season working in Great Sand Dunes National Park.  GSDNP has a lot more to offer than just the dune field and we got to experience a lot of the stuff that the majority of its visitors do not.  While in the park we were fortunate enough to work with an amazing sponsor, Bill Stalker, who kept the entire crew entertained and educated, helping to further instill the values of conservation work.  Bill set up a geology and park history lesson for us with the head of resource management as well as several impromptu lessons of his own.  The work itself was varied including but not limited to trail maintenance (most of which was in the back country), invasive species removal,  barbed wire fence deconstruction and clean up, and camp site improvement. 

We spent several nights in an old cowboy camp on the North West side of the park that is not yet open to automobiles so sees few visitors.  This site had some of the most spectacular views any of us had ever seen. Located on the floor of the San Luis Valley we had 360 degree views of several of Colorado’s most  beautiful mountain ranges.  We were lucky enough to be here during the elk rut, so we heard and saw them every day around sunset.  We deconstructed and rolled up several miles of aged rusty barbed wire fence, hopefully this made the valley easier for the elk to navigate.

After spending several hitches in the dunes we worked a shorter hitch on the other side of the valley doing habitat improvement for deer and elk.  Our goal was to improve winter forage for the animals of the area to keep them up in the hills instead of curiously wandering dangerously down valley.

Our last two hitches were in Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico.  Talk about a change of scenery.  We worked on a trail in Slaughter Canyon leading to a less well known but sought after cavern.  The work was hard and dirty but the crew was buoyed by warm nights and plenty of room around camp for tossing the Frisbee.  Our two hitches in the park were punctuated by tremendous thunderstorms, desert bighorn sheep sightings, and learning about endangered flora that surrounded our work area.  With the help of Park Service Resource managers we learned how to find materials for improving the trail without disturbing those rare cacti in the drainage.

At the end of our last hitch folks were ready for regular showers and the comforts of home, but several of our crew members are hoping to start up again this January at the Sonoran Desert Region.  Way to go Mink!

Brink Messick-Crew Leader SCC Los Valles