Written by Dexter Kopas.
“Just one person can make a big difference. They can start a movement. ” Dan White, president of the Friends of Madera Canyon, addressed a crowd below towering Mt. Wrightson. “55 years ago, a senator from Wisconsin, Gaylord Nelson, had an idea that a day should be set aside to take action to preserve the environment. Today, we too will start something small, but that can grow into something big.”
On Saturday, April 26th, some 20 excited Tucson-area environmental stewards had gathered to start their own small movement: a restoration of a highly impacted section of the Mt. Wrightson Picnic Area. Here, in beautifully oak-and-pine-covered Madera Canyon, in the Santa Rita Mountains, several organizations had come together to care for a natural area much beloved by the citizens of Tucson, Green Valley, Nogales, and beyond. Our group ranged from middle schoolers from local Scout Troop 247 to those well into retirement age.
After being directed to parking by volunteers from the Knights of Columbus, eating burritos and muffins supplied by nearby cafe Posada Java and paid for by Tucson’s outdoor gear superstore Summit Hut, we grabbed gloves and safety glasses offered by the Green Valley True Value Hardware, and donned Wild Arizona hard hats.
US Forest Service volunteer wilderness ranger and Santa Rita Mountain devotee Jim Beck explained for everyone why we were there: in this well-traveled and well-loved picnic area, several user-developed trails had sprung up as folks over the years had wandered into the enticing oak woodland. If this were an off-the-beaten-path locale, this wouldn’t be an issue, but here in an environment that gets impacted by so many people, this can be quite detrimental to the landscape and the critters that inhabit it. As suggested by the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics, when in an undisturbed area, disperse use to prevent the creation of campsites and trails. In a popular area, concentrate use on existing trails and campsites. Much work has gone into making the many trails in Madera Canyon sustainable, whereas no such work is done with user developed trails, so we aimed to direct those wanderers onto the official trails.
So, after a safety briefing, we split up into three groups and started turning the landscape back over to the trees, lizards, deer, and others. Largely, this involved placing pieces of dead wood and rocks on trodden pieces of ground, then covering it all up with leaves. It’s a super simple process that gets you using your creative side to figure out how to make something look “natural.” Now covered with debris, the ground will slow water down, allowing it to filter into the ground. If left undisturbed by foot traffic, seeds will germinate and grow into plants. Soon enough, you won’t know any work was done there at all. Sometimes, when you do something right, nobody will know you’ve done anything at all.
By the time we broke for lunch, we had closed about a quarter mile of trail, several erosive chutes off of the Old Baldy Trail, and a large old campsite. All in a half day’s work, made possible by many caring folks.
