Forest Service employees and Friends of the Forest volunteers modifying fencing on the Dutch Kid pasture, making it safer for pronghorn to cross.
Imagine working and never getting a paycheck. That’s what volunteers do. They work without pay because they get satisfaction in doing tasks they want to do and not what they don’t want to do. At the non-profit Friends of the Forest, members can sign up for a myriad of projects to satisfy their particular volunteer desires. The organization’s various committees comprise teams that work with the U.S. Forest Service’s Red Rock Ranger District.
The Wildlife, Fish, and Rare Plants Committee works directly with Forest Service wildlife biologists Janie Agyagos and Kayla Long. As Agyagos says: “Much of the district’s wildlife, fish, and invasive plant program accomplishments are achieved by the work of volunteers; without the help of volunteers, this program work would not otherwise be conducted.” At best count, at least 77 Friends of the Forest volunteers contributed approximately 4,497 hours last year, so they must be enjoying their involvement!
Agyagos and Long send information to the committee chairperson for the project they want to get done. The chairperson then sends out an email to the team members with the details. It could be anything from being prepared to be in the “slippery cobble/boulder channel bottom kneeling to scoop fish out of low spots, putting them in buckets, carrying buckets downstream, and then releasing the salvaged fish into the channel” to sitting in your own home creating a “Riparian Plant Photo Guide.” Dress for the occasion, of course.
Some of the emails that go out to the team are a little funny. They might have instructions like “aim for the center of the fecal pat/pellet collection to avoid transferring too much soil.” In that case, the Forest Service was collecting scat samples for an ungulate parasite project.
Fencing anyone? The pronghorn population in the grasslands north of Cottonwood and west of Highway 89A has grown from 25-30 to upwards of 50 in the Coconino National Forest since the early 1990s. “We have been working for years to remove encroaching trees in our grasslands and have been modifying fences to be more amenable to pronghorn passage,” notes Agyagos. Now the focus is on modifying barbed wire fences by replacing the bottom barbed wire with smooth wire and raising it to 18 inches, which facilitates pronghorn crossing under the fences. This increases the amount of suitable habitat available to pronghorn, enabling the herd to grow. Other work in progress is ensuring water availability and re-establishing a pronghorn crossing across the Verde River so the Cottonwood herd will be able once again to interact with another herd, thereby improving genetics and population health.
Let’s get into the weeds. Such projects include invasive plant inventories and treatment. During one of the inventories, a new-to-the-area invasive species was even discovered — cutleaf vipergrass (Scorzonera laciniata). Regularly treated species include onion weed, Johnson grass, yellow blue stem, Saharan mustard, and teasel. Also, volunteers help clear English ivy from trees at the Thompson property and numerous weeds in the newly widened Cornville Road right-of-way.
Don’t kiss a toad. During Arizona Toad breeding season, there are opportunities to support the Forest Service by monitoring nighttime call points. These surveys are quite interesting, as volunteers get to go out at night with headlamps along the Oak Creek corridor. One year was disappointing because of the flooding that befell the area. Quite by accident, a neighbor’s dog kissed a Woodhouse toad and got very sick. So really, don’t kiss a toad.
Each year, the list of projects changes, as some long-term or one-time projects are completed, and others begin. At any time, there is a diversity of initiatives that volunteers are involved in. These range from extremely easy to quite strenuous, and vary in duration from a couple of days to year-long. Whether your skills and interests include photography, construction, weed cutting, wildlife monitoring, hiking, or 4×4 driving, there are projects that may appeal to you.
Author, Annie Glickstein
Working with Agyagos is a privilege. Her dedication, knowledge-sharing, ability to work with volunteers, and genuine warmth make for an amazing partnership. The Wildlife, Fish, and Rare Plants Committee volunteers work independently and in fun teams. If you would like to receive an email like this: “Volunteers needed for a night out at Fossil Creek to do firefly surveys at multiple sites,” then become a member of Friends of the Forest.
Serving Sedona, written this week by Annie Glickstein, volunteer at Friends of the Forest, appears Wednesday in the Sedona Red Rock News.