Spring into 2014!

Surveying the landscape in the East Fork High Rock Wilderness in the Black Rock NCA (photo by Brian Beffort)

The Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area may look barren and dry, but thousands of springs dot the landscape, providing water sources for bighorn sheep, pronghorn, mule deer, and other Nevada wildlife. Learn how to spot springs, and gather valuable information about water quality for the Bureau of Land Management as a Citizen Spring Investigator! Stay tuned for training details, coming later this month!

Volunteers of the Year - Spring Monitors Dorothy and Mike!

Dorothy and Mike spent an immense amount of time monitoring springs in the Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, part of the Conservation Lands System. The duo collected data on spring characteristics, including temperature, GPS location of spring source, and electro-conductivity.

National Public Lands Day - Spring Monitoring in the Lava Beds

Volunteers celebrated National Public Lands Day with Friends of Nevada Wilderness and Nevada Outdoor School in the Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon National Conservation Area in September with a weekend of clean-up, construction, and, of course, spring monitoring! (photo by Brian Beffort)

Three teams of volunteers headed up to the Lava Beds to learn how to gather spring data for the Bureau of Land Management, which will be used in management plans. (photo by Brian Beffort)

The Wild Waters of Pahute Peak

By Brian Beffort, Associate Director, Friends of Nevada Wilderness


This last Fourth of July weekend, (the 5th through the 8th), five volunteers joined me for a backpack trip to explore the nooks, crannies, high reaches and wild waters of the Pahute Peak Wilderness, in the Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area.

Rugged and colorful geology on the west slope of Pahute Peak Wilderness

Our official goal was to monitor springs in the wilderness by collecting snapshot-in-time data about water quality and the overall health of springs on the mountain. In these sere lands, springs are essential sources of life for the region’s plants and animals, from bighorn to horse, pronghorn to owl and prairie falcon. Unofficially, Pahute (prounced “pie-yute” in honor of the native people in this region) has been teasing me for more than a decade; every time I have driven by on my way to somewhere else, or seen it from the playa to the south, it teases me, tempting and inviting with its slopes, crags, canyons and ridgelines. A spring monitoring expedition provided a perfect opportunity to explore what some maps name Big Mountain. Standing tall at 8,556, Pahute Peak is the centerpiece of the Black Rock-High Rock NCA and an exemplar of our National Landscape Conservation System—a place where we can all explore and discover the remote backcountry and history of our American West, where wildlife can find refuge from their myriad challenges.

Intrepid explorers at the beginning of our hike

After leaving one car at Copper Canyon, on the Pahute Peak Wilderness’ northwest boundary, Ann Kuhn, Devon Snyder, Scott Hall, Ann and Dylan Kuhn, BLM hydrologist John McCann and I began our hike to the south, at the Lassen-Clapper Murder Site. (In 1848, Peter Lassen led Pioneers across the Black Rock Desert, through Soldier Meadows and High Rock Canyon, and on into California. In 1852, an unknown gunman hiding in the rocks killed Lassen and Edward Clapper while they were camped here). Over three days, we hiked 4,500 feet to the summit, then descended back to our first car, monitoring springs along the way. The heat and steep were mighty challenges, and I swear the mountain kept getting bigger, its summit farther away the higher we climbed. But the crew persisted, enjoying the sweeping views across thousands of square miles of vastness, watching wildlife and napping the aspen shade one afternoon.

John and Devon approach the summit of Pahute Peak

Ann and Dylan enjoy refreshing aspen shade.

The health of water on Pahute concerns me. Water is life, and in the Black Rock Desert, scarce springs provide scant water to sustain the region’s life. At least a third of the springs indicated on my map did not exist on the ground. And most we found trickled barely, often impacted by horses, cattle and wildlife. But I guess that’s to be expected in the desert, especially during dry times like these—nothing that rest and precipitation won’t cure.

Ann and Dylan collecting data on a spring above Copper Canyon

The Black Rock Citizen Spring Inventory program has given me and volunteers a wonderful lens through we to explore and learn about life in this unique desert. Thanks to incredible volunteers, and our partners at the BLM and Friends of the Black Rock-High Rock, we are closing in on 200 springs monitored. We’re still ironing out a few wrinkles in collecting and sharing the data in order to make it most helpful to the BLM. Later this fall, we will be crunching this data, teasing out trends and presenting a report with recommendations to help the BLM ensure the continued health of these essential sources of life in the Black Rock.


All photos by Brian Beffort.

Become a CSI Investigator!!

Friends of Nevada Wilderness is seeking volunteers to conduct Citizen Spring Inventories in the Black Rock Desert. Citizen-scientist volunteers collect information on the health of springs in the desert. The data helps the Bureau of Land Management make sound management decisions, and it will help the BLM, the USGS and Desert Research Institute keep the springs healthy in the face of climate change and other challenges.

The Citizen-Spring Inventory program is a great way for people
to explore the Black Rock Desert and contribute information
that helps keep your public lands in Nevada healthy.

Learn more at Friends' CSI skills training in Reno, April 21, from 9am to 2pm, with a pot-luck BBQ at 2pm.

Contact Brian Beffort at (775) 324-7667 or brian@nevadawilderness for more information.

As a CSI volunteer, you will:
·         Hike and camp in remote and beautiful corners of the Black Rock Desert;
·         Become an expert with maps, compass, GPS and electro-conductivity meters;
·         Learn job skills important to natural sciences and public lands management;
·         Gain outdoor skills and confidence to explore backcountry settings;
·         Meet funny-looking bugs and shrimp in places you never expected;
·         Join a group trip with Friends, or seek your own desert solitude.

 Citizen Spring Inventories are great opportunities for families to spend time together in nature, where children can immerse themselves and learn about the natural world, while learning scientific skills that will prove valuable in school and future careers.

Become a CSI Investigator today. Call Brian at (775) 324-7667.

Training Session 2012: April 21 at Idlewild Park

Delightful discovery of fossilized sand dollars
in the Calico Mountains (photograph by Brian Beffort)

Become a citizen scientist! Join Friends of Nevada Wilderness at Idlewild Park on April 21 to learn how to use the equipment in Spring Monitoring Kits and fill out the forms. After that, you will be ready to start planning your own trip out to the Black Rock-High Rock National Conservation. Perfect for individuals, families, and small groups, these trips are customized by you, on your schedule.
Please contact Brian@NevadaWilderness.org for information and to RSVP.

Spring Speak: Riparian

Riparian: on or relating to the banks of a natural course of water

Over Four Dozen Springs Monitored in 2011!

 And only 9,452 left!

Spring Speak: Benthic

Benthic: relating to or ocurring on the bottom under a body of water

Benthos: organism living at the bottom of a body of water

Spring Speak: Level I Spring Survey

Level I Spring Survey: locate and characterize spring based on its abiotic and biotic features, including ecological potential and management issues

Spring Speak: Stream vs Spring

Stream: Discharge, temperature, and chemistry is highly variable; strong hydraulic processes

Spring: Fairly static temperature, chemistry, and discharge, with weak hydraulic processes

Black Rock Rendezvous Spring Monitor Training

Volunteers headed out during the Black Rock Rendezvous for spring monitor training. The eight volunteers gathered data from three springs in the Black Rock NCA.

Taking the picture from the head of the spring (photo by
Brian Beffort)

Learning the equipment (Brian Beffort)

Taking GPS points (Brian Beffort)

Dissecting a discovery with Nevada Outdoor School (Brian Beffort)

Training to Monitor Springs in the Black Rock NCA

Interested in becoming a spring monitor in the Black Rock National Conservation Area? This video will go through the necessary steps and data needed to complete a Level I Spring Survey.

Spring Monitoring: Using the SPOT Meter

The SPOT Meter is used nightly to check in and let us know everything is okay. The device also has two additional buttons that will let users submit a request for assistance from the organizations, and another that connects directly with emergency dispatch, and sends GPS coordinates in both cases.

Spring Monitoring: Using the Electroconductivity Meter

This short video goes through the steps necessary to collect an electroconductivity and temperature reading from a spring using the EC Meter included in monitoring kits.

Spring Speak: Helocrene, Limnocrene, and Rheocrene

Pinto Hot Springs in the Black Rock National Conservation Area (photo by Dan Montero)

Helocrene: a spring originating from a marsh or bog

Limnocrene: a spring originating from a large, deep pool of water

Rheocrene: a spring that flows from a defined opening into a confined channel

Monitoring Results

Wilderness warriors Dorothy and Mike headed out to the Black Rock NCA and gathered data on five different springs in the area! Here are a few of their pictures:



Unnamed Calico Mountains Spring 1: Evidence of cattle and horse use as well as a
functioning springbox and pipes (photo by Mike Thorson)



 Unnamed Calico Mountains Spring 2: Evidence of spring dredging as well as
horse and cattle use (photo by Dorothy Hudig)

Unnamed Petersen Mountain Spring 1: Located on the valley floor at an elevation
of 1700' with surface water present (Mike Thorson)

Unnamed Petersen Mountain Spring 2: Evidence of human use and pipe
system (Mike Thorson)



The Springs of Soldier Meadows: A Short Background

This video provides a short introduction to the springs in Soldier Meadows, the first portion of the Black Rock National Conservation Area where volunteers will be monitoring springs.

Spring Speak: Crenobiontic

Crenobiontic: Species that are found exclusively in springs

Coming Soon...

Instructions and training videos...



Progress reports...

Downloadable forms...

 

And pictures...



Pictures...

 

Pictures!!!