Desolation Wilderness Volunteer Recruitment

Published on Mar 26, 2008 - 9:28:13 AM

By: US Forest Service, Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU)

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif., March 25, 2008 - The Forest Service is looking for people who love the outdoors, enjoy talking to people and have a passion for preserving and protection wilderness to join the Desolation Wilderness Volunteer Program.

The forest service program is operated jointly by the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit and the Eldorado National Forest, funded entirely through donations collected at wilderness trailheads. Its goals include increasing community involvement in wilderness management and enhancing the experience of visitors to Desolation, 63,960 acres of sub-alpine and alpine forest, granite peaks, and glacially-formed valleys and lakes, located west of Lake Tahoe and north of Highway 50 in El Dorado County.

Roles for volunteers include backcountry patrol, trailhead naturalist, resource monitoring and information desk assistance. Volunteers provide a contact for visitors on the trail, at trailheads or at ranger stations, offering practical information and conveying wilderness ethics and etiquette, including "Leave No Trace" practices. They answer general questions about trails, ecology and the history of Desolation and provide a communication link to wilderness rangers in the event of emergency.

The Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit will hold a meeting for prospective volunteers Tuesday, April 8, at 6 p.m. at the Forest Supervisor's Office, 35 College Drive, South Lake Tahoe, Calif.

The Eldorado will hold a meeting on Friday, April 4, at 7:00 p.m. in Placerville, Calif.

Volunteers must attend a one-day training on Saturday, May 3, from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. The Forest Service asks for a commitment of at least six days over the course of the season, from June through September.

For more information, contact Chris Englehardt, the volunteer coordinator for the LTBMU at (530)543-2600, or program lead Gwyn Ingram with the Eldorado National Forest, (530)647-5439. Additional information is also available at http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/ltbmu/recreation/wilderness/desowild/volunteers.shtml.

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