Community comes together to Rehabilitate Water Canyon Recreation Area and Bloody Shins Bike Trail on National Public Lands Day
Organization
BLM Office:
Media Contact:
WINNEMUCCA, NV - Earlier this year Water Canyon was hit by a spate of vandalism. But, on Saturday, September 22, 70 volunteers joined the Bureau of Land Management, Winnemucca District, Humboldt River Field Office for National Public Lands Day to rehabilitate this treasured recreation area and the nearby Bloody Shins Bike Trail.
At the Bloody Shins Bike Trail, Bikes & More, Triton Manzo and other volunteers worked with the BLM fire crew and other BLM employees to clear several miles of bike trails that had been choked with vegetation. BLM also added two new picnic tables at the trailhead and plans to add a shade shelter in the near future.
At Water Canyon a pollinator garden was planted with native vegetation and weed cloth, decomposed granite, a rock pathway, a new irrigation system, an interpretive sign and a bat house were installed. The remnants of an old disc golf course were also replaced with a brand new nine-hole course. Meanwhile, the Church of Latter Day Saints Youth Group painted over graffiti covered picnic tables and previously tagged dumpsters in Water Canyon, provided courtesy of Desert Disposal, and were painted with beautiful murals by the Lowry High School Art Club. Prior to the event, Nevada Division of Forestry Rose Creek Honor Camp trustees cleared hiking trails of vegetation and cleaned graffiti from interpretive signs.
Nevada Outdoor School provided education activities for children who also helped with projects. Partners from UNR and US Fish and Wildlife Service also travelled to Winnemucca to volunteer their expertise and Julie Koop from the Nevada Monarch Society gave a fascinating talk on Monarch Butterflies. BLM Law Enforcement Officer, Joey Wilcox, provided tips to the public on how to help protect Water Canyon and Bloody Shins in the future.
“We want to thank everyone who volunteered their time and artistic skills to restore the area and to help make this event a success,” said Winnemucca District Manager Ester McCullough.
BLM will host an informal demo session at the new disc golf course (located near the new pollinator garden) on Saturday, October 13th at 3pm. BLM is asking for suggestions from the local community for a new course name which can be submitted via email to lkeach@blm.gov until October 30th with the subject line “Course Name.” For additional information about the informal demo session, contact the Outdoor Recreation Planner, Gabrielle Lukins at (775)623-1704.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.