A group of 11 students from Montana State University crammed in a big white van and drove 15 hours to spend a their spring break volunteering for the Grand Canyon Trust. Together we spend five days removing old barbed wire fence from house rock valley and creating a native plant demonstration garden at our Kane Ranch Headquarters. Removing the old fence improved the landscape as antelope habitat. It also made us proud that the wide open spaces of house rock valley look a little more natural now that 5 miles of fence have been removed.
In the evenings volunteers took turns cooking the rest of the group dinner. We were all excited to be dining on local, grass fed beef raised on the land where we were working. While some of the group cooked, others strummed the guitar, and still others flipped through books on regional topics such as regional plants, stories of the Arizona Strip, and photos from the flooded Glen Canyon. These books sparked interesting consversations about the southwest, the environment, and the work ahead of conservationists and volunteers.
In addition to being great workers, this group of students from Montana State University were just great people all around. I am confident that the landscape was as positively moved as i was by the end of the week. Thanks to all who donated their time this last spring break to volunteering with us and making a difference on the Colorado Plateau.
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