Outreach Events

We attended 4 separate Earth Day events in Reno, Tahoe, and San Francisco, the Jackpot of Gems convention, X-Night at the Nevada Museum of Art, the Lake of the Sky festival, SF Decompression event, and the Nevada Day Parade. These events gave us an opportunity to promote membership, advertise our programs, and take our message to a wider audience.

Hot Spring Tours

Since hot springs are a popular feature in the region, Friends board member and Sierra Club trip leader David Book conducted 4 separate tours to hot springs within and adjacent to the NCA.

Black Rock Rendezvous

Perhaps the most exciting event of the spring was the Black Rock Rendezvous event held over Memorial Day weekend at the Gerlach Community Center. In partnership with the Nevada Outdoor School, this event brought together many of the groups who are active in the Black Rock Desert region. On Saturday, we kicked things off with an address from Dave Cooper, manager of the Black Rock Desert High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area (NCA), and opening remarks from Tom Hunt, former trail preservation officer and long-time active participant in the Oregon California Trails Association (OCTA). People then signed up for their choice of a number of presentations and workshops provided by several groups. Lunch was provided by Black Rock Pizza in Sparks and Scolari's in Fernley, and at the end of the day, Peter Goin, renowned art scholar from the University of Nevada Reno and co-author of "Black Rock", gave a fantastic talk which touched on the spirit of the desert.

Our raffle prizes were then awarded, with many fantastic items including apparel from Patagonia and Skoosh Ink, tickets to Burning Man, fine photography from Steve Chandler, a silver geode pendant, and stays at the area's premiere guest ranches-- Soldier Meadows, Surprise Valley Hot Springs, and the F-Ranch. We then had dinner provided by the Nevada Outdoor School and danced to the Wild Creek bluegrass band. We adjourned Saturday evening to our campsite near Cassidy Mine, where Will Roger was our generous host.

In the morning, a series of field trips gave participants the opportunity to visit various sites of interest with knowledgeable guides to provide context to the experience. There was also a Nevada Archaeological Resources site steward certification program held at the Gerlach Community Center. After all this roaming around, members were invited back to camp for a deep fried turkey dinner, fine beer provided by Great Basin Brewery, and more music from Frame of Mind. It was quite a sight to see people from so many different backgrounds- - professors, archaeologists, land planners, four wheelers, campers, and rocket scientists-all getting loose together and dancing into the night under the stars and yellow moonrise. Not to diminish the educational and interpretive opportunities that this event provided, but this melding of different people from a wide variety of backgrounds was perhaps the greatest triumph of the event.

In total, 223 people attended the event, 29 volunteers worked 1,079 hours to produce the event, and donations of food, drink, and prizes totaled $3,740.00. Here is a list of the many tours, trainings, and projects provided:

• Burning Man Earth Guardians/Karina O'Connor -- Leave No Trace training
• BLM/Dave Valentine -- Wilderness Site Stewardship training
• Nevada Rock Art/Alanah Woody -- Rock Art in Nevada
• NDOW/Kim Toulouse -- volunteer program overview
• OCTA/Trails West Emigrant Trail workshop
• AeroPac/Peter Clay -- rocket launch and playa use
• Summit Lake Reservation/Steve Frank - Lahontan Cutthroat Trout overview
• FBRHR/Matthew Ebert -- Guru Road and Fly Geyser tour
• Friends of Nevada Wilderness/Pat Bruce -- Calico Wilderness Hike
• Desert Research Institute/Ken Adams -- Playa Dynamics study overview
• Reno Gem & Mineral Society/Norvie Enns -- Rock Hounding in the NCA
• Nevada Outdoor School/Stephanie Lefevre -- Kids activities (astronomy, kites, weather patterns, animal tracking, solar ovens, etc)
• FBRHR/David Book -- Visitor Contact Trailer orientation
• Back Country Horsemen/Alan Cain -- horse travel and LNT associated principals
• Soldier Meadows and High Rock Canyon areas of critical environmental concern

Emigrant Experience Tour

Renowned OCTA member Chuck Dodd led this tour of the Lassen/Applegate Emigrant Trail from Imlay to Soldier Meadows with 12 Friends members. As a leading reason for the establishment of the NCA, the Lassen/Applegate emigrant trail through the Black Rock Desert and High Rock Canyon provides a unique opportunity to experience the original, undeveloped route established by thousands moving west. Interpretation for participants is provided by an experienced guide with emigrant diaries on this members-only trek.

5th Annual Guru Road Restoration

This drive-through folk-art experience, complete with installations built from desert materials and a series of homespun petroglyph aphorisms, is a local favorite and extols the simple virtues of rural Nevada life. We work with volunteers to preserve and repair this site from the ravages of weather and a recent rock slide. 8 volunteers worked over two days to repair the road and perform maintenance on the art installations.

Perseids Meteor Shower

From August 11th to 13th, FBRHR and the Nevada Outdoor School (NOS) held the 3rd Annual Perseids Meteor Shower Camp-Out, smack dab in the middle of the Black Rock Desert playa. The weather was clear and temperate, and nearly 125 people participated over all three days. The NOS crew helped to put up our big green army tent, which provided a common meeting area for all the campers, and Burning Man kindly supplied the dual porta-potty trailer. On Saturday, the Friends of Nevada Wilderness and NOS conducted a wilderness hike and mining post removal project, with about 20 people participating. Later in the evening, Metric from FBRHR conducted a quiz show, asking Black Rock trivia questions and awarding prizes for the correct answers. The potluck dinner was a varied and voluminous offering-- beer was generously provided by Great Basin and New Belgium Breweries, and generously consumed by the event participants.

Of course, the meteor shower was very nice, too. The frequency seemed to peak earlier than predicted, with more activity between 11 pm and midnight. Often several meteors could be seen at once-- everywhere people were spontaneously exclaiming in awe, with the Milky Way sprawled out across the sky and the moons of Jupiter visible through binoculars. Some of the meteors lasted for several seconds and left fuzzy trails of stardust as they zipped across the sky.

Burning Man

This year's Burning Man event provided the Friends of Black Rock with a great opportunity to get our message in front of a large desert audience. We participated with the Friends of Nevada Wilderness, BLM, Desert Research Institute, Nevada Outdoor School, and the Nevada Division of State Parks in providing a display for the interpretive camp installation called "The Playa," situated directly next to the Earth Guardians camp on the Esplanade. Friends of Black Rock provided information for one of the displays and handed out newsletters and brochures-- a big thank you to Dave Mensing of State Parks for putting it all together, and to the Nevada Outdoor School for providing volunteers to attend the exhibit throughout the event. A Friends of Black Rock poster display was placed at the Burning Man installation also, as part of a large showcase of environmentally balanced groups, projects, and technologies.

Gerlach Visitor Contact Trailer

FBRHR manages this facility for the BLM which is situated just outside of Gerlach. In 2007, 27 volunteers working a total of 503 hours at the visitor contact trailer reached an estimated 1085 visitors. This was an increase from 18 volunteers and 397 hours in 2006. The trailer houses a beautiful array of interpretive displays about the historical, paleontological, and other values of the region, along with may different printed brochures, travel guides, maps, and reference materials. We estimate over 5000 brochures and maps were distributed this year-- a large scale NCA map was installed, and a small solar power module was added to support a computer and other small devices.

For the first time in 2007, the visitor contact trailer went on the road to three separate events. At the Reno and Tahoe Earth Day events, some 2,350 people were reached and nearly $800 was raised to support our organization. Then in October, we set up just of the Nevada Day Parade route in Carson City. Special thanks to Pioneer towing in Alturas and United Rentals in Sparks, whose generous donation of time and equipment were crucial to this outreach. Also, the trailer was open throughout the Burning Man event, and we could not have done this without the significant support of the Nevada Outdoor School and Friends of Nevada Wilderness. (links)

To volunteer for a shift at the visitor contact trailer in 2008, please go here.

Coyote Springs Restoration

On Wednesday, August 29, and Thursday, August 30, the Friends of Black Rock convened the Coyote Springs Restoration project with participation from the BLM, Friends of Nevada Wilderness, Nevada Outdoor School, and volunteers recruited by the Earth Guardians. The first chore was to remove vehicle tracks by raking and sweeping, including the playa surface approaches to some degree (within about 30 feet of the dune slope). Eroded dune material (dirt) was replaced by shoveling the displaced loose material back onto the original mound location. A roadway that had developed from inappropriate vehicle use was removed by working the ground into a very rough, uneven texture, and indigenous vegetation was transplanted into this and other locations to facilitate the retention of wind-blown indigenous seeds and to camouflage the damage. Litter and other detritus were removed from the vicinity, including material (toilet paper) that had been inserted into vacated fox dens near the spring. After this, sections of buck and pole fence stretching over 500 feet long and about 5 feet high were constructed to prohibit vehicle entry into the recovered areas, and Carsonite signs were installed which indicate that the area is closed to vehicle traffic. In all, 43 volunteers contributed a total of 306 hours of effort-- also, the Burning Man staff commissary provided lunch for 24 participants on Wednesday. Everyone who participated got a special T-shirt for the event, and Friends of Nevada Wilderness also gave out gift patches. A rain and dust storm on Friday of the event worked to better obscure the impacts of the dunes and make the whole site look more natural.

National Public Lands Day, September 29th & 30th, 2007
Stevens Camp and Massacre Ranch

The BLM, in cooperation with the Nevada Outdoor School, Friends of Black Rock-High Rock, High Rock Trekkers, and Friends of Nevada Wilderness, hosted this event on September 29th and 30th at Stevens Camp, just on the north end of High Rock Canyon about 60 miles north of Gerlach.

Situated along the historic Applegate-Lassen Emigrant Trail, Stevens Camp includes a cabin, modern outhouse, and interpretive signs. The event was a great opportunity for the public to help protect nationally significant historic trails and wilderness areas, to learn about the unique natural and cultural resources of the Black Rock-High Rock Country. People also participated in an archaeological survey of Massacre Ranch with NCA archaeologist Dave Valentine.

Friday September 28th proved to be a blizzardy day indeed. All folks traveling in that day were caught in the first snow storm of the year and had to set up camp in the storm. For some families, this was their first time camping in snow. We awoke to a beautiful morning with 2 inches of snow on the ground, making for a late start. Things got rolling @10am and folks begin working on the various projects, kids were participating in kids camp. We ended the day with a pot luck dinner and quiz show...including many wonderfully donated prizes. Breakfast on Sunday was provided by Friends of the Black Rock. It was a highly successful event.

71 VOLUNTEERS WORKED 2840 HOURS

• One old cattle trough removed
• 4 new windows installed in Stevens Camp Cabin
• Interior and exterior trim painted (2 coats)
• Kitchen cabinets painted (2 coats)
• Cabin cleaned and winterized
• 4 tons of rock moved
• Front are of cabin and meadow trash removed
• 25 yards of drainage ditch repaired
• Metal fire ring installed at Massacre ranch (MR)
• 2 rock fire rings cleaned up (MR)
• Pack it out sign installed (MR)
• Removal of trash from inside cabin (MR)
• 3 cultural protection signs installed (MR)
• 16 kids participated in outdoor/EE program for 8 hours