Here comes Jerry and yes, he has sandwiches. The midday heat does little to dampen the appetite we have worked up after a morning of unburdening the local hillside of outdated fencing. There is a scramble to help Jerry unload the cooler and soon the frenzy dies down replaced with mild munching noises. We eat then lounge contented in the shade watching the Colorado River roll on as it is want to do. Jerry Pelis is back again and this time he means business. Not that he did not mean business last year or the year before that. He has been heading out to places like this every year with a small but dedicated army of Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation volunteers. BHA got wind of the work and joined the fun.  

Now for the second year in a row the BHA stewardship team is back at the Pumphouse recreation area along the Colorado River to join RMEF in pulling some fence. Friday night we find ourselves sitting around a fire with 40 new and old friends with shared interests and passions. What could be better than a couple of nights of camping for habitat improvement? A rain shower comes and goes yet we barely notice. Eventually the urge to sleep wins out over the fun of swapping tales as tall as the shoulder of an elk and we all turn in. 

As with the new day so to is the group bright and fresh brimming with excitement. This Saturday we are meet by the BLM, introduce the scope of the work and put it all in context. Quickly we divide into groups, tools organized, we move out down the road to the work locations. I was fortunate to be teamed up with a crew working out some old woven wire fence that parallels a creek. The old fence slices a line through stands of cottonwood and sagebrush growing to impressive heights. The trees offer rare shade on a fence job and the lush grass smells of summer. The work is slow going as our group grabs, pulls, snips, yanks, cuts, and rolls the fence up out of the ground and vegetation. Once again, the woven wire seems to attract thick vegetation and has been out there long enough to sink a foot or more into the soil. Before we know it, the lunch bell rings, and we rendezvous back at the meeting site where Jerry and friends have the sandwiches. Refueled and refreshed we head back to the work site and the fun continues well into the afternoon. Our Group follows the fence out into the open as it continues through sage at the edge of a once irrigated pasture. Here we find more evidence for animals interacting with the fence in the shape of hair stuck in the wire. We end the day dirty, sore, tired and scratched but glad for our efforts. 

That night we toast, cheer, and dive into a mountain of food that the eager attendees provide for the potluck dinner. Elk was on the menu in the form of fajitas, chili, stew, steaks, and casserole. Other hard-won games were on hand with a variety of dishes showing off the camp cook prowess of the chiefs. The perfect summer day blends to night and we again get lost in the campfire. It was an amazing experience to share this place with so many dedicated people.  

The region along the Colorado River in the middle of the state is important to so many species of animals including the elk and deer. The valley floor along the river is a critical wintering range for large ungulates. Do in no small part to the beauty and outdoor recreation opportunities, there is considerable pressure from development and human activities. Removing unneeded fencing here has been identified as one of many habitat treatments we can do to improve the future for wildlife. None of the 31 attendees need convincing of the magic of this place. The sounds of the river and smell of sage and juniper after the rain all add up to what we know in hearts to be true. That places like this gives us more just knowing it is there than we can ever hope to give in return. We unite through the love of the wild and the dream of conservation. With any luck I will be back next year to help Jerry and RMEF. I know that Jerry will be there if he is able, year after year, to give a little back.  

By Briant Wiles