2013 National Public Lands Day: A Trail To Promote Meadow for Butterflies

Volunteers at the 2013 National Public Lands Day. 

Volunteers at the 2013 National Public Lands Day. 

Meadow restoration - 2013 National Public Lands Day. Joel Brumm photos

Meadow restoration - 2013 National Public Lands Day. Joel Brumm photos

When you’re hiking at the the Hobart Bluff Trailhead, give a shout out of thanks to the volunteers and the Friends of the Cascade Siskiyou National Monument. They shoveled and moved a lot of dirt on our 2013 National Public Lands Day! BLM Recreation Planner Dennis Byrd inspired us with the day’s project: to construct a new section of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) to replace part of the trail that traversed a meadow and home to the rare Mardon Skipper butterfly. Volunteers restored the PCT at the Hobart Bluffs trailhead by breaking up the compacted old trail, adding new soil, seeding native grasses and planting shrubbery, and then spreading hay to protect the soil from erosion. New signage alerts hikers to the follow the detour so the old trail can revert to being part of the meadow habitat. We’ll celebrate the joys of our labor when the meadow is filled with butterflies!
     Working with great community volunteers not only made this job memorable, it also improved and protected an important butterfly habitat. Thanks to: Joel Brumm, Asa Cates, Wanda Chin, Marian Crumme, Terry  Dickey, John Galego, Justin Glasgow, Jed Holdorph, Duan Mallams, David McClarnon, Barb Morris, Jim Reiland, Kristi Reynolds, Peter Schroeder, and Ian Tally.
     Mark your calendar for next September when we’ll meet up for 2014 National Public Lands Day. For those of you who like get physical, it’s a great chance to meet new friends to work on a fun project at the Cascade Siskiyou National Monument.

--Terry Dickey, Chair, Friends of Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument