By AMY DAVIS
The Progress
Friends of Gold Butte held a National Public Lands Day event on Saturday, Sept. 26. And the most unusual thing about it was that it was a live, in-person event.
Volunteers gathered at 8 a.m. at the Riverside parking area to get a start on a project to clean up trash throughout the Gold Butte National Monument.
The monument is managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Each year on Public Lands Day, the BLM and the Friends of Gold Butte collaborate on a service project that will both beautify and preserve the land.
As with everything else since March, COVID 19 forced the group to alter its plans. In the past, Friends of Gold Butte have done service projects for National Public Lands Day like reseed an area burned by fire, plant Joshua trees to encourage wildlife to return, install directional signs to make travel easier throughout the monument or repairing fences. But this year, the BLM was concerned about people working in close proximity to one another. So the decision was made to simply pick up trash because it is easy to spread out and keep social distance while doing so.
“We do what we can to care for the land and promote using it responsibly,” said Brenda Slocumb, Operations Manager for the Friends of Gold Butte. “It is such a beautiful place. The Gold Butte area has a lot of history and a lot of natural treasures. It is a place to be treated carefully and enjoyed. You just feel freer out there.”
A total of 18 volunteers cleaned trash from Whitney Pocket, the Falling Man Petroglyph area and Fisherman’s Cove.
“Fisherman’s Cove is one of the first locations you can see Lake Mead from” Slocumb said. “You wouldn’t think you could see a lake in the desert, but there it is.”
She noted that volunteers spent quite a bit of time cleaning up bullet shells and glass from Fisherman’s Cove.
“People come out here and shoot glass bottles for targets, so we spent a lot of time on glass clean up,” she said.
Friends of Gold Butte host a trash clean up service project each month. Slocumb was impressed with the overall appearance of the three locations that volunteers tended.
“This was not a good trash day because the area was pretty clean-which is a good thing,” she said. “People are being more responsible.”
The Friends of Gold Butte are a nonprofit organization with a mission to “promote the responsible enjoyment of the Gold Butte National Monument through education, stewardship, advocacy and preservation of natural and cultural resources.”
Slocumb also wanted to remind explorers that it is still pretty hot outside. She recommends explorers always bring extra water, a spare tire or two, and always let someone know where they are going and when they plan to return.
The friends of Gold Butte lead hikes and driving tours through the trails. They also have monthly guest speakers For more information visit them at www.friendsofgoldbutte.org/.
