By Nico Lorenzen, Wild Stew Field Crew Leader.
Scarlet Gilia, Whitemouth Dayflower, Pinewoods Geranium, Lemon Beebalm and Wild Blue Larkspur. An alpine fireworks display attended by the moths, bees, wasps, flies, hummingbirds, and other winged denizens of the Dry Blue Creek region. Just as species names cannot evoke the panoply of a late summer wildflower bloom so too is it impossible to truly relate the bursts of color given by a hitch spent with great workers and better people.
This past week the Wild Stew Field Crew continued our work of meadow restoration in the Dry Blue by way of chainsaws and copious amounts of slash we took down and moved pines and juniper that have infiltrated the riparian area. This demolition job of sorts makes room for cottonwood and willow to establish along the banks of the Dry Blue and thereby bring back the vitality of the local ecosystem along with a natural firebreak.
This project will be one in a greater series to change the channelization of the stream and increase riparian vitality and, critically, fish habitat. Phase one however is running a crew rip roaring with chainsaws to open up the understory. In a mere sixteen days of saw time I had the privilege of watching the crew gain confidence and expertise in their technique and ability to take down ever-more complex trees. We avoided fence lines, opened felling lanes and safely placed trees in the path we wanted them to rest outside the floodplain.
Alongside the inherent dangers of working with chainsaws, this hitch showed off a plethora of environmental hazards that we had to navigate around. Whether it was ornery ground hornets, a close run with a rattlesnake, or a lightning strike so close we could smell the ‘brimstone’ as the flash dissipated from our view, the crew wiped the sweat from their brows and patted the sawdust from their chaps and kept ripping those saws. Set by an ironic determination of felling trees to save the forest, our crew of six hummed along to the onomatopoeic roar of the chainsaws Zing bing bing bing!!! (the correct translation of the saw, as attested to by a South Texas sawyer of forty two years).
It was not all harrowing sawing in the summer heat however, as the crew outdid themselves with our front country camp: establishing a rain shelter, bringing copious amounts of dessert (including ice cream cake!) and setting up a crew movie night thanks to Kile and Joseph collaborating to project a cinematic experience onto the wall of our crew trailer. We celebrated a birthday as well as my farewell from the regular hitch schedule of the crew.
This was my final hitch as crew leader and I was humbled by the fine compliments paid by the crew and the even more meaningful summer filled with grit, laughs and that trademark trail zaniness that saw us through summer heat, poison ivy, monsoon deluges and the other tribulations of the job. As I say goodbye to the hitch schedule I can proudly attest that Arizona and New Mexico’s wildlands are in great care with the Wild Stew Field Crew, both volunteer and professional. To each Wild Arizona crew member, my most sincere gratitude to the times we have shared and all you have taught me. This goodbye is merely the briefest of parting as I will remain with Wild Arizona and will move on to help in advocating for our wilderness areas and wildlife. With that, I’ll hope to see you on the trail and as always, keep it wild.
