Boundary Posts Installed at Dumont Dunes to help keep OHVs out of Wilderness Area

While visitors to the Dumont Dunes Off-Highway Vehicle Area were having fun and enjoying their time together over the past few weekends they may have noticed another group of individuals working along the old historic Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad. The group of young people was helping to protect the Kingston Range Wilderness. The Student Conservation Association’s (SCA) WildCorp crew is helping the BLM’s Barstow Field Office and the off-highway vehicle community by installing a post and cable fence where the open riding area comes in contact with the wilderness boundary.

Members of the WildCorps youth crew help install posts along the Kingston Range Wilderness.
The five-person SCA WildCorps crew started training in September before hitting the field at the Carrizo Plain National Monument and now is currently working within the Kingston Range Wilderness. Crew members enjoy the beauty of the dunes, the sense of accomplishment at the end of the day and the physical and mental challenge of pounding posts all day. “Nothing could make the work easier than having the gorgeous sand dunes on one side and the stunning Kingston Mountain range on the other” said crew member Caitlin Bowman.

WildCorp members started their hitch in Barstow with an overview of BLM history by Greg Hill, the California Desert District Wilderness Coordinator. Park Rangers Art Basulto and Ron Salazar later presented programs on desert wildlife and dunes safety. All of these presentations help the WildCorp crew connect to the area they are working in.

WildCorp project leader Natalie Wilson said that it was honor to be working with such dedicated and hardworking crew members and that she appreciated the support the Barstow Field Office staff was providing. WildCorp will be in the Kingston Wilderness for the next few weeks with additional conservation work planned throughout the California Desert District in the next six months.