News.bytesNews.bytes Extra, issue 309

 Volunteers helping to restore Piedras Blancas Light Station

A army of volunteers dedicate numerous hours and effort to help BLM restore and rebuild the Piedras Blancas Light Station.  Volunteers are not only tour guides, they perform everything from gardening and maintenance to removing invasive ice plant and restoring native plant species.  They raise funds by selling cookbooks and soliciting donations.  Many spend hours doing historical research.  Some assist with biological research and construct trails.  They paint and pull weeds, procure supplies and materials.  They are invaluable to the mission of BLM.  We thank all volunteers for their tireless dedication. 

Jerry Praver and his wife Beverly who put the lighthouse cookbook together, fill out a receipt for a customer at a Cambria community event (photo by John Dearing)
Volunteers remove invasive iceplant (photo by Carole Adams)
Toni Moore (left) and Marsha Goss (right) weed an area recently cleared of iceplant. Native plants sprung up quickly but so did the weeds (photo by Carole Adams)
Abel Martinez, points at a recipe at a community event in Cambria (photo by John Dearing)
Left to right, Phil Adams, Abel Martinez, and Duane Christian await the arrival of the tour bus. Abel and Duane are wearing reproductions of lightkeeper uniforms. (photo by Carole Adams)
Eighty-something Will Dallons shown here with his wife Sue next to a display they built, are long-time volunteers. They live in Arizona but try to make the trip north to help at the light station when the weather gets too warm. Will is a talented handy man who has made or repaired numerous items at the light station. (photo by Carole Adams)