Where you'll be:
Help care for the Blanca Wetlands, a critical wildlife habitat area in the San Luis Valley. Volunteers will spend the weekend removing Russian Olive, a List B noxious weed, to support wetland and native plant restoration efforts. These wetlands are one of the most important areas for birds in Colorado, providing habitat for migrating water birds or shorebirds alike. The BLM will allow the group to camp onsite at the Blanca Wetlands, where we will enjoy breakfast and dinner from our Crew Chefs, a volunteer appreciation raffle, and a fun and social camp setting.
What you'll do:
Volunteers will spend the day helping remove Russian Olive, an invasive species. We are looking for two types of volunteers: chainsaw-certified volunteers to cut the Russian Olive trees to a manageable size, and volunteers to move the cut pieces to an area where BLM staff will later collect it. *Only certified sawyers will be allowed to operate the chainsaws.
Why it's important:
Russian Olive is designated as a “List B” species in the Colorado Noxious Weed Act, meaning we need to actively stop the spread of this species. Russian Olives displace native flora and fauna and prevent them from re-establishing. Of particular importance to this project site, a single plants can consume 75 gallons of water per day, water which is critical to maintain this important wetland area and the wildlife that depends on it.
Eligibility Requirements:
- Ages 18+
If you are certified, please include this in the Comments of your registration and send your certificate to Katie Goodleaf at katie@voc.org. ALL SAWYERS MUST HOLD A CURRENT FIRST AID AND CPR CERTIFICATION IN ORDER TO OPERATE A SAW. Want to get certified? Visit our Training Calendar for upcoming training opportunities.
Project Difficulty: This project is considered moderate to difficult, please check our difficulty rating criteria, here, for more details
Accessibility Factors:
Vehicle Accessibility: Accessible with 2WD. Van/Car camping is fine, contact Katie to inquire about trailers- the camping area is small but did accommodate a few small ones last year.
Other notes: Vault Toilets
