General Site Information

The Migratory Bird Crew was able to cover 481920 acres during the season. We recovered 1506 bird skulls from mine claim markers, hopefully preventing 1506 future birds from becoming trapped. The team was able to set two live birds free from two different mine claim markers, a season highlight for all of us. The crew pulled 2176 markers in all, more than half of them during the 6th and final hitch. Work Totals Area Covered (acres) 481920 Claim Markers Found Empty 1644 Claim Markers Knocked Down 2176 Mammals Extracted from Markers 97 Reptiles Extracted from Markers 118 Birds Extracted from Markers 1506 Live Animals Found 10 Special thanks to our agency partners for their support throughout this challenging field season!

The Wilderness Ranger Corps (WRC) team is made up of eight corpsmembers and one project leader who are all based at Snoqualmie Pass in Washington. Members of the corps team have come from all different areas of the United States to the state of Washington to do some very exciting and beneficial work for the SCA and the U.S. Forest Service.

Throughout the summer and into late September we will be monitoring and taking inventory of all known campsites and recreaction sites in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. Specifically we will be designated to the Alpine Lakes, Glacier Peak, and William O. Douglas Wilderness Areas.

The project is part of the U.S. Forest Service's 10-year Wilderness Challenge. The goal of the 10-Year Wilderness Challenge is to bring every one of the more than 400 wildernesses under the USDA Forest Service’s care to a minimum stewardship level by 2014, the 50th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act.

The job of Recreation Site Inventory is one of the 10 key elements of the challenge and we are more than excited and willing to spend the summer and fall in some of the most beautiful and scenic areas of the world.

Specifically we will be hiking the trails throughout the mountains and lakes of the Wilderness Areas for nine days at time. We will find known campsites and recreaction sites while using Trimble GPS units in teams of two to collect data on such things as physical campsite locations, tree damage, ground disturbance, and other human impacts. While collecting the data we will be camping along the way in teams of four and then re-uniting with the other team members back at our home base at Snoqualmie Pass to share our adventures.....and then go back out in the backcountry to explore and monitor another area!

What follows is the tale of five inspiring individuals, dedicated to a life of service, who share a connection to the land, and have made a commitment to the people who live there. Their quest is a courageous endeavor, the challenge of controlling wildland fire in Arizona’s most beautiful and equally unforgiving terrain. The Student Conservation Association, in partnership with Coconino, Kaibab, & Prescott National Forests of Northern Arizona, is pioneering a new program, the Veterans Fire Corps (VFC), to complete fire & fuels management projects.

Bearing down on the standoff between wildfire and the wildland-urban interface, The VFC readily takes action. When weather, wind, and vegetation conditions align, they harness the power to control fire in their struggle to find a balance with Mother Nature. Some would call them idealists, many call them Heros, but one thing is clear: When history has passed and all that we know has come to fade away, the mountains of Northern Arizona will stand eclipsed under the shadow of these giants known as the VFC. This is their story.

The VFC is working with the US Forest Service to improve ecosystem health, rangeland conditions, wildlife habitat, and reduce the threat and adverse effects of wildland fire while also providing recent-era Veterans with the training, credentials and experience they need to competitively pursue wildland fire and/or forestry careers. The VFC is working on a variety of projects including; tree thinning, mechanical brush clearing, and prescribed fire.

Check back regularly to follow a firsthand account of their adventure.

The Wilderness Ranger Corps (WRC) - Snoqualmie Pass Team, is based out of Snoqualmie Pass, Washington in the scenic and mountainous Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. The pass is located about 50 miles east of Seattle right off of Interstate 90.

The WRC's home base is attached to the US Forest Service Visitor Center up at Snoqualmie Pass, Washington. It is also located at the popular winter ski destination, The Summit at Snoqualmie. Many of our hitches and projects will be based out of Snoqualmie Pass, as the area is a very popular camping and hiking destination.