Overland Bound Completes 3rd Trail Guardian Work Weekend in Partnership with the Mojave National Preserve –
April 24th, 2021 –
It was a weekend of hard work, camaraderie and perfect weather in the Mojave National Preserve.
With the help and guidance of OB/Trail Guardian Executive Director Kent Reynolds, over 100 Overland Bound members joined together in the Mojave National Preserve to take on three major projects in partnership with the US National Park Service (NPS). Ongoing work to clear decades worth of debris in the Death Valley Mine was completed, barriers and fire pits to help protect the environmentally sensitive ecosystem of the Kelso Dunes were installed, and significant progress was made in the demolition of a historically inaccurate barn at Kessler Ranch.
Overland Bound volunteers distributed themselves across these worksites, and best of all, the collective hours of volunteer service are translated into direct value to the NPS. Volunteer hours are calculated into cash value by multiplying the number of hours the volunteers work by the Independent Sector’s estimate of the value of volunteer time. (For example, the value was $23.07/hour for 2014.) We will update this article with the total value pending confirmation from the Mojave National Preserve team. The November 2020 Trail Guardian event had an estimated value of over $18,000.
Thank you to Park Superintendent Mike Gauthier, Park Archeologist Dave Nichols and Mojave National Preserve Science Advisor Debra Hughson and Matt Caire for their commitment to producing these events.
The workday wrapped up with a large campfire and raffle. Thank you to Maxtrax, Zarges Cases, Gazelle Tents and Wagan Tech for their generosity in offering up raffle prizes for our hard workers.
A significant and enthusiastic THANK YOU is due to the entire volunteer leadership team who lead the charge: Bob Brann (Death Valley Mine Lead), Kevin Reinig (Truck Unloading Lead), Nick DeLuca (Truck Loading Lead), Tom Butler (Demo and Debris at Kessler Ranch Lead), Mike Lee (Kelso Dunes Lead), Deb Lee (Event Medical Lead) and Rob Irwin (Documentation Lead and Medical Support).
In the words of the National Park Service, “Volunteering is an American tradition that over the years has made an immeasurable contribution to communities, organizations, and individuals throughout the country. Volunteers are vital to the success of the National Park Service (NPS).”
Overland Bound is proud to work alongside the National Park Service and all other land use authorities to help keep our trails open, especially the historically rich and well traveled overland route of the Mojave Road. We are currently working to expand the Trail Guardian Program to reach even more lands in need of volunteer assistance.
Thank you again to everyone who joined us during this epic weekend! And please remember to pack out more than you packed in. Let’s work together to leave it better than we found it.