In the heart of Arizona’s Superstition Wilderness, a dedicated group of volunteers gathered on Saturday, December 2, 2023, for the first part of a three-part event aimed at restoring (naturalizing) and surveying/monitoring user developed trails-also known as “social trails”. The event was organized by our Wild AZ coordinator Nizhoni Baldwin, and kicked off at 9 am at the First Water Trailhead with an enthusiastic team ready to make some positive strides!

The morning began with a warm welcome as Nizhoni set the tone for the day by providing coffee, muffins, banana bread, and fruit for the volunteers to ensure their bellies were full and energy was high for a long day outside. Among the participants was Dave Kaubisch, a volunteer Wilderness Ranger, who briefly joined the group before heading out to assist fellow rangers in providing information and guidance to hikers along other trails.

Following a comprehensive safety meeting, nine volunteers embarked on the trail leading towards Garden Valley. Equipped with instructions, the team worked diligently to survey and monitor trails with minimal supervision. Unfortunately, two volunteers fell ill after covering a mile and had to turn back, reminding us of the challenges of the rugged terrain and the sometimes overwhelming intensity of sun.

The undeterred remaining seven volunteers pressed on, documenting 2.5 miles of the user-developed trails. The journey led them to Garden Valley by 1pm, where a unanimous decision was made to extend the effort by tackling the Hackberry loop to return to the trailhead. This loop had already been surveyed during a prior Wild Arizona hitch, providing an opportunity for the group to reflect on the significance of wilderness preservation through this type of public land agency led wilderness trail work and scoring, known formally as Wilderness Stewardship Performance.

Throughout the day, discussions among volunteers and coordinator Nizhoni centered around the importance of monitoring trails and preserving the natural beauty of the Superstition Wilderness. The passion for wilderness conservation fueled conversations, making the return hike an educational and inspiring experience.

Upon reaching the trailhead/parking lot at 3pm, the volunteers had successfully surveyed 2.5 miles of trails, meticulously inputting the collected data into the Field Map app. The dedication of the nine volunteers amounted to a collective contribution of 10 hours, making strides toward WSP goals and marking the first steps of a larger mission to restore and preserve the trails of the Superstition Wilderness—testament to the positive impact that community-driven initiatives can have on their public lands. Stay tuned for the next chapters in this three-part volunteer event as Wild AZ continues its commitment to the conservation of Arizona’s unique and precious wilderness.

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Yellow aspens and joyful faces. That’s what stuck in my mind as I trailed behind a line of volunteers making their slow way down the crest trail in the Chiricahuas. Overloaded backpacks shifted back and forth as calves flexed and glistened in the afternoon sun. Not much was said as we approached Round Park, over half way in our journey to Cima Cabin. All attention was on the aspens that covered the mountain side in a blaze of yellow. All logistics and stresses for that evening dropped from my mind as I silently contemplated both the bright colors and happy hikers in front of me.

_{Volunteers working hard clearing logs. Photograph by: Samuel Baggenstos}

From October 12th to 16th, two groups of volunteers put in over two hundred hours of work on the Greenhouse Trail in the middle of the Chiricahua Wilderness. Over the course of two separate volunteer events, we cleared 3.1 miles of trail, built or serviced 9 drains, and cut or removed 19 logs. 

The first event (October 12th) was a day outing that focused on the lower end of the Greenhouse Trail. The majority of the volunteers were from the Portal Hiking Club, a group that has been hiking once a week in the Chiricahuas for many, many years. The trail surface (also called “tread”) was in decent shape so we focused mainly on cutting back the vegetation that had begun to grow across the trail. It was lovely to see water flowing in various places in Greenhouse Creek. The Chiricahuas still boast abundant life even after a somewhat disappointing monsoon. After clearing 0.7 miles of trail, we back towards Cave Creek and ultimately to Sky Islands Grill and Grocery, where one of the volunteers treated some of us to dinner.

_{Cima Cabin was built in the 1930’s by the Civilian Conservation Corp. Photograph by: Samuel Baggenstos}

The second event (October 13th to 16th) was a four day, three night event that focused on the upper end of the Greenhouse Trail. The six of us met up at Rustler Park on Friday and caravanned up the rough road that ends near Long Park. From there we hiked up the Long Park Trail, along the crest to Cima Park/Saddle and down to Cima Cabin. The outhouse, cabin, hunting stove, and large cast iron stove provided a luxury experience atypical of many backcountry trips. 

Over the next three days, we did a variety of trail maintenance activities, primarily focusing on re-benching thin or eroding tread, cutting back overhanging vegetation, and clearing logs that had fallen across the trail. The group of volunteers represented a variety of skills and experience levels. I greatly enjoyed both teaching re-treading fundamentals to the group and learning some tips and tricks about cross cutting from a particularly seasoned volunteer. 

_{Teamwork makes it all work. Photograph by: Samuel Baggenstos}

Highlights of the backcountry trip included clearing dense vegetation around creek crossings, tackling some more challenging cross cut situations, and eating/making crunch wraps for dinner. Each volunteer crew member offered unique perspectives and opinions which made evenings around the campfire especially enjoyable. By the end of the trip we had cleared 1.4 miles of trail, some of which was a dense thicket of underbrush and logs.

I am looking forward to the next volunteer trip and all the fun and challenges it will bring.

Until next time, happy trails!

Samuel Baggenstos

The post wild stew volunteers: Back in the Backcountry of the Chiricahua Wilderness. appeared first on Wild Arizona.

Contributing Photographers: Nizhoni Baldwin, Luke Koppas, Volunteers: Robin Longacre, Robert Dayton, Linnea Cordts

Embarking on a journey of ecological stewardship, Wild Arizona’s intrepid Volunteer Coordinators Nizhoni and Luke came together to coordinate three wonderful volunteer events this fall. Our Coordinators and volunteers came together in fostering a shared love for Nature and a commitment to preserve Arizona’s native and wild flora. Let us delve into the warming experiences of these events where Wild Arizona volunteers connected with the land, and each other in the spirit of conservation.

Sonoran Insider Collaboration (October 20-21)

Under the scorching Arizona sun, volunteers from Sonoran Insiders converged at Boyce Thompson Arboretum to help the team retrieve trees and grasses for planting. Unfortunately, trees weren’t yet ready and the soaring temperatures made for truly unpleasant planting conditions. Thermometers were already reading 98 degrees by noon—making outside planting a little unbearable for the team and the plants. Despite a few minor setbacks the camaraderie was there to make the best out of the situation as Nizhoni and Luke led the volunteer group through a cooler option at the Arboretum, immersing themselves in the beauty of learning about native Cacti and other plants.

2. Empowering Women in Nature (Nov 3-5)

For this three-day event, Wild Arizona teamed up with BOW and B2B founder, Trica Hawkins and the Arizona Wildlife Federation. Nizhoni arrived at Oak Flat Campground for native planting in Arnett Creek on the evening of November 3rd. Upon her arrival and to her surprise, Apache Stronghold tribes were holding a sacred prayer ceremony. Traditionally, non-tribal members would be asked to leave, but graciously Trica gave Nizhoni and other volunteers the welcoming option to stay the night and join them for the prayer circle in the morning.

Nizhoni made everyone breakfast with B2B volunteers to ensure full bellies for a day of work! After breakfast, she and 3 other volunteers headed back to Boyce Thompson Arboretum to collect grasses. When they arrived back to camp, they were thrilled to see 2 more volunteers had shown up for the event. Everyone regathered and enjoyed lunch together followed by an archery lesson, instructed by a B2B instructor. After their lesson, the group headed to Picketpost Trailhead to do some planting along Arnett Creek. A total of five volunteers, Nizhoni and Trica collectively were able to plant 25 plots of grass in the burn scar area. After a very fun filled day everyone went back to camp to enjoy a nacho dinner provided by B2B volunteers followed by s’mores and shared stories around the campfire.

On the morning of the last day, everyone woke up early and enjoyed one more meal together, once again provided by B2B volunteers. The weekend culminated in sharing a love for restoring nature, yummy meals together, and campfire stories. Volunteers all said their goodbyes and exchanged numbers. What an amazing turn out they had and in total the 5 volunteers contributed over 150 hours in 3 days of hard work and restoration.

3. Grand Finale (Nov17-18)

The grand finale for planting at Arnett Creek brought forth an impressive turnout of 17 volunteers (including John Wotten and Sheila Shattuck from EVBCH) and Volunteer Coordinators Nizhoni Baldwin and Dexter Kopas were ready to transform the landscape. After a night of camping under the vast Arizona sky, the group planted 100 plots of grass, 9 native cacti, and 2 velvet mesquite trees. An unexpected rain shower helped nourish the new plantings. Luckily the showers didn’t dampen the spirits of our dedicated volunteers as water in the desert is always a blessing. The day ended with a warm spaghetti dinner and tales of the day well-spent, marking the culmination of a series of successful plantings.

Arnett Creek’s native planting events weren’t just about putting plants in the ground; they were about creating community, shared experiences, and a deep appreciation for the Arizona desert. Through the collaboration of passionate volunteers, these events not only contributed to the restoration of the Arnett Creek area but also cultivated a sense of harmony, friendship, and shared commitment to preserving the natural beauty of this area.

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Written by Nizhoni Baldwin, Wild Stew Field Crew Member.

Top 8 movies of all time. That question would rattle in my brain each morning for the next week, as we walked up the reroute of the Highline National Recreation Trail, just outside the quaint community of Whispering Pines. A reel of favorite films played in my head I trudged along the old Highline, pulling my feet out of fresh mud. I didn’t know it at the time, but this was going to be my life for the next few days. 

Our mission this week was to renaturalize sections of the old Highline trail, which included transplanting grasses, manzanita, and other vegetation, dispersing of rocks and other natural debris, and building of rock dams to stop erosion along the old trail and capture sediment instead. The Highline has been going through extensive construction of new trail along a more sustainable layout as part of the Highline Trail Restoration Initiative in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, National Forest Foundation, and others. Wild Arizona was there to help make the old trail sections disappear with time.

Our first day there, we encountered morning snow. It made for a cold morning, but it didn’t stop us from stabbing at the frozen ground to create foundations for rock dams. Much of the old trail was deeply eroded, so in order to slow down this process, we built a variety of rock structures, including one rock dams/media lunas, and Zuni bowls. The hunt for the best rocks was never-ending. Never-ending. Neverending Story. Would it make top 8? Probably not. Never seen it.

When we weren’t creating rock masterpieces, we were renaturalizing sections of the old trail that could be seen from the new trail. The crew would carefully transplant native grasses and yuccas to discourage users from treading further. Every time a cactus was transplanted, it was accompanied with an “Aww” or “Ooh!” I personally was convinced each plant I placed into the ground had a bond with me like no other. Bond. James Bond. Nope. Doesn’t make Top 8. 

Each day blended in with the previous, but with different surroundings each time. First in the snow, then in the mud, then in the sun, by the creek, away from the creek, in the mud again, by trees… but each day ended the same—surrounded by friends, passing around crew chocolate, asking what your top 8 movies were. Robocop, for sure.

We’ll be returning to the Highline in a few weeks to continue our efforts further to the west, working out of the Geronimo Trailhead next time. If you’re interested in participating in work here or elsewhere, check out our Volunteer page for upcoming opportunities.

The post wild stew field crew: Renaturalizing the Highline appeared first on Wild Arizona.

Written by Luke Koenig, Wild Arizona’s Volunteer Coordinator.

Early signs of spring are showing in the Sonoran Desert and Wild Arizona volunteers are hard at work stewarding trails ahead of the summer heat. What have we been up to lately? Wild Arizona took advantage of the long Presidents’ Day weekend to host a backcountry wilderness trails event on the Pima Canyon Trail—an idea proposed to us by local volunteer and trail aficionado, Mark Flint. With a chance of rain in the forecast, intrepid volunteers met at the Pima Canyon Trailhead on Friday Afternoon. After going over gear and distributing tools, we hit the trail and embarked on a three day backpacking volunteer adventure. 

After hiking several miles into the Pusch Ridge Wilderness, we made camp in a nice secluded spot near the trail. Remember folks—always practice your best Leave No Trace when camping in the wilderness!

The next day we began our work: reopening an abandoned section of trail to replace the established, though less sustainable, unofficial bypass. The original alignment (where the trail is supposed to be) in this section has likely been abandoned for decades, so it was heavily grassed over and veiled by fully grown mesquite and yucca in places. It was a fun challenge identifying where the trail was supposed to be, which luckily was mostly marked out ahead of time by another local trail aficionado, Eric Ruljancich, whose group Outslope Trail Solutions is also partnering in the Pima Canyon Trail restoration effort.

The following day, we resumed work on the old alignment, continuing to open up the overgrown corridor farther up trail. We didn’t quite get to the end, and we didn’t see any bighorn sheep, but we were stoked with all the progress we made! After a hard day’s work, we broke camp and headed back down the trail.

On the way down, we ran into Eric, on his way up, and chatted about the project—Eric’s crew came in just after us to finish up the job. (So enjoy the new/old section of trail up on Pima, now officially open!). Farther down the trail, we ran into Patrick and Tori of the new group Friends of Santa Catalina Trails, also volunteering with some brushing and stonework on the lower section. So great to see so many smiling faces coming together to steward this incredible trail. I’m looking forward to coming back to Pima, whenever that may be…

We’re back! With Mt. Lemmon Highway closed from recent snow, a planned stewardship event on the Babad Do’ag Trail was abandoned for a return to Pima instead. For this event, we partnered with folks from the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, who reached out some weeks prior to schedule a volunteer opportunity. (Thanks for reaching out, Makenna!). 

This time was just a day trip, so we focused on a lower section of trail, below the now reopened section from the previous stewardship trip.

After building a quick cairn to mark a creek crossing, we spent the day brushing back the overgrowing trail corridor. With the recent snow and rains, the creeks are high, the ocotillo leafing, and the trail green and lush, and in need of a little trimming. Alongside the brushing, we enjoyed identifying Sonoran Desert plants, and even snacked on a few barrel cactus fruits. All in all it was a fun day in beautiful weather—we’re looking forward to our next project with Davis-Monthan, whenever that may be!

The post wild stew volunteers: Adventures in Pima Canyon appeared first on Wild Arizona.

Even in early February the sun was shining bright in the Sonoran Desert as Wild Arizona volunteers installed new Wilderness Boundary signs in the Pusch Ridge Wilderness. On February 4th, 2023, seven volunteers met at the Gordon Hirabayashi campground to join Wild AZ for the second in this spring’s Sign Install Saturdays. 

After our morning safety meeting we hiked down Sycamore Trail, which overlaps with the AZT, to its intersection with the Wilderness boundary for our first install location. Wilderness is the highest form of protection granted to public lands, and special regulations apply within its boundaries. This is why it’s so important that Wilderness Stewards, like Wild AZ Volunteers, make sure these boundaries are known to the public!

Following the one on Sycamore, we rallied back to the trailhead, and caravanned on down to the next two install locations: on Babad Do’ag and Soldier Trail. If it was pleasant up on the north side of the hill for the Sycamore sign, it was downright hot on the sunny southern side where the second two were located. We were glad we didn’t wait until Summer!

As some of you know, the Santa Catalina range, and the Pusch Ridge Wilderness it contains, is one of the region’s “Sky Islands”—so named because they’re like islands in reverse: cool, wet refuges from the hot, dry desert below. Their dramatic changes in elevation, and diversity in aspect, help make them some of the most biodiverse places in the world. From Saguaros to Douglas Firs. In fact, while we were burning up down low in the sun, there was still plenty of snow up top! In our own small way, Wild AZ volunteers help protect these wild places.

The following day, Wild Arizona hosted a “private day” of volunteering for a National Civilian Conservation Corps (NCCC) crew that was spiked out in the area. NCCC Independent Service Coordinator, Devanté Spencer reached out to Wild AZ to see how they could get involved on the weekend while in town working with Tucson’s Mission Garden.

Devanté brought along six other NCCCers and met Luke at the Sutherland Trailhead, near Oro Valley. It was another warm one, and the group hiked about a mile in to the first install location on Romero Trail. While taking breaks in the shade (if we could find it), we talked a little about Wilderness and the work Wild AZ does to protect it. Did you know Arizona has the second most Wilderness areas of any state, with a whopping total of 90?! Some, like the Pusch Ridge, are close to urban areas, and highly visited, so it’s extra important folks know where the boundaries are.

After hiking back down to the trailhead for lunch, we caravanned over to the access road for the next sign, located on lower Sutherland trail. Or, at least we tried to. As the 4×4 access road to the trailhead got rough, we decided to split into a couple groups and take turns piling into Luke’s Tacoma, and leave the NCCC van behind. As the road grew even rougher however, we finally decided for the sake of Luke’s truck, job, and the safety of the general public, that it would be best to turn back and leave that sign for another day. Next time, we’ll hike in the long way from the Sutherland trailhead. If there’s another group out there that wants to schedule a “private” day, wink wink, this could be a great activity!

The post wild stew volunteers: Going Wild with Wilderness Boundary Signs in Pusch Ridge appeared first on Wild Arizona.

meet the people of Wild Arizona. interview series by WildAZ media associate Phoebe Stevens.

When Winnie Liang, recent Director of Scientific Operations at the Translational Genomics Institute, wasn’t busy working on one of many personalized medicine research projects, you might find her up in central Arizona’s Superstition Mountains. The mountains are just one of Liang’s favorite hiking spots due to their proximity and accessibility, but she has often found herself in awe of Arizona’s many wilderness areas since moving here from the east coast over 17 years ago.

As an avid hiker with an appreciation for Arizona’s unique beauty, it’s no wonder Liang has a running 12-year volunteer history with the Arizona Wilderness Coalition (AWC)–which predates the merger of AWC and the Grand Canyon Wildlands Council that launched Wild Arizona as we know it today. In 2008 she attended AWC’s annual film festival and discovered an organization whose conservation mission aligned with her intent to give back to the wilderness. AWC was there to answer her questions: who made these trails, and what efforts go into establishing trails and designating wilderness areas and parks?

After Liang’s initial exposure to the Arizona Wilderness Coalition, she participated in her first volunteer project–collecting trash in Fossil Creek in 2009– and has since been involved in many invasive species and solitude monitoring projects, which are now run by Wild Arizona’s Wilderness Stewardship (Wild Stew) volunteer program. Most recently, Liang attended Wild Stew’s tamarisk and oleander eradication volunteer weekend trip in Arnett Creek.

“It’s hard to verbalize [why someone should volunteer] because it seems so natural to me,” she says. According to Liang, her east coast upbringing couldn’t have shown her how beautiful Arizona is. Now that she’s experienced wilderness in Arizona, she can’t help but want to preserve it as an enriching environment for people and for future generations. Liang also attributes her opportunity to check out new hiking trails to her participation in the solitude monitoring program.

As for the future of Wild Stew, Liang hopes to have more visibility of the organization. “I hope more people recognize the need to to preserve the wilderness and just do something small to help,” she says. “I think a lot of people are afraid to commit, but even just a few activities in a year can help to educate.”

• Read more about Winnie Liang and the work she’s done for the TGen institute at https://www.tgen.org/news/2019/february/13/tgens-dr-liang-named-one-of-arizonas-outstanding-women-in-business/ and https://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2019/04/05/2019-outstanding-women-in-business-winnie-liang.html.
• For more information on how you can volunteer with Wild Stew, please visit https://www.wildarizona.org/projects/wild-stew/.
• If you are interested in completing solitude monitoring for Wild Stew, please visit https://www.wildarizona.org/volunteer-opportunities/.
• Wild Stew’s Meetup page can be found at https://www.meetup.com/Arizona-Wilderness-Stewards/.

The post Winnie Liang has wilderness in her DNA. appeared first on Wild Arizona.

Shortly after what turned into nearly a full month of self-supported remote work in the Kanab Creek Wilderness (the ultimate in social distancing) in this unusual spring of 2020, Wild AZ’s Brian Stultz & Jonathan Patt made a quick turn-around. After only a few days home, they repacked their things, and headed back out — down to the Pajarita and Mt. Wrightson wilderness areas in the Sky Islands, on the Coronado National Forest, for yet another month of solitude monitoring.

Wilderness refresher: for a land area to be federally designated as “Wilderness”, it must contain several key characteristics, which are outlined in the Wilderness Act of 1964. One element of wilderness character is the opportunity for solitude, the characteristic that Wild AZ monitored this spring. The data we collected will be used by the local USFS districts to understand trends in forest visitation; this is an important dataset that when juxtaposed to historic data, provides the USFS with a lens to measure wilderness stewardship performance, and advise land management to maintain wilderness character.

Unlike most of the rest of us, Brian and Jonathan are more than content with being home after months in the field, but they had an extraordinary experience. Some highlights include: summiting Mt. Wrightson in the Santa Ritas, quite regularly waking up to a morning chorus of elegant trogons and turkeys, trying out swimming holes in the Pajaritas, finding sweeping views of the North Rim and SE AZ, fern-laden springs, massive old-growth Douglas-firs, and, of course, copious amounts of solitude. They returned with humorous tales (we need some of those these days) of hikers trying to figure out what social distancing etiquette should look like, while wildlife ventured out boldly and busily, having happily abandoned their usual wariness. Most importantly, through their work and your support, WildAZ is helping keep our Wilderness heritage wild.

Here are a few pictures from the times, sheltering in wild places in the ‘Canvas Castle’:

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The post Wild Stew: back from Wilderness Solitude Monitoring. appeared first on Wild Arizona.

“I believe as stewards and enjoyers of these lands we have many different responsibilities and one of them is bringing education to the users and the distant observers. Education, in my eyes will ultimately help preserve and protect our lands for future years.”
—Nattie Marshall, Training Associate

We will be continuing to offer a series of training events into the future on a variety of topics, including trail conditions assessment and documentation skills, the use of primitive tools for trail maintenance in Wilderness Areas, invasive plant identification and removal, crosscut saw certification, and more. If you are interested, please watch our Events and Meetup pages for future events, or email us.

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