Chris Prange has worked on both the GBCA trails crew and the noxious weed crew. In this 'Voices of the Burn', Chris tells us why wilderness is important to him and his favorite memory from working in the Great Burn.
That's a wrap! 2020 field season recap
It's hard to believe that 2020 is coming to a close. With a less than normal start to the field season due to Covid-19, Great Burn summer stewardship crews were able to complete a remarkable amount of work. Our field crews deserve an enormous round of applause- not only did they complete important stewardship work in the Great Burn and surrounding roadless areas, but they are all passionate conservationists who deeply care about wild places.
(Hard) Hats off to you, 2020 field crew!!
TRAIL CREW
Sarah and Dan were part of the GBCA/Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest integrated trail crew. They logged and brushed 26 miles of trail, built 1477 cu ft of retaining wall (that's enough to fill a 20' shipping container plus some!) cleaned 144 drains, and completed 1620' of tread improvement throughout the North Fork Ranger District.
KELLY CREEK NOXIOUS WEED CREW
Every summer the weed crew is packed deep into the Great Burn backcountry to treat weeds throughout the Kelly Creek drainage. This year, Zack and Chris directly spot treated 13.5 acres, completed inventory on over 350 acres, released 1,000 knapweed biocontrols, and hand pulled over 100 pounds of weeds.
BACKCOUNTRY RANGER
Backcountry ranger Rory O'Connor is in his 13th season with GBCA. Rory serves as the eyes and ears on the ground, and covered roughly 275 miles of backcountry trails this season. He also maintained 12 campsites, naturalized 20, checked for correct signage, and packed out 73 pounds of trash.
STATELINE CAMPSITE INVENTORY
Every summer GBCA crews visit backcountry lakes along the Stateline Trail, monitoring, maintaining, and naturalizing human impacts to the land. In 2020, GBCA Stateline crew members Jory, Claire, Trevor, and Emily surveyed 15 lakes, maintained 58 backcountry campsites, naturalized 20, and packed out 21 pounds of trash.
Special thanks to the Liz Claiborne-Art Ortenberg Foundation, Cadeau Foundation, Cinnabar Foundation, National Forest Foundation, Yellowstone to Yukon Foundation, and others for supporting our stewardship work this year.
We can't wait to get back out there in 2021!