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Volunteers carry sagebrush to place on an old road. The Big Horn Basin Adolescent Program group leader assists BLM Natural Resource Specialist C.J. Grimes in collecting sagebrush for the road reclamation. BLM Law Enforcement Ranger Aaron Kania receives a helping hand from a few hard-working volunteers.

Youth from Group Home Reclaim Old Roads

By Sarah Beckwith, Public Affairs Specialist, Wind River/Bighorn Basin District

Staff from the Worland Field Office and young people from the Big Horn Basin Adolescent Program in Basin, Wyoming, came together on May 1 for a day of hard work and some fun, too. The group reclaimed roads that are no longer used in the Lower Renner Wildlife Habitat Management Area.

The volunteers were full of energy as they bounded up steep grades and used sagebrush to disguise and reclaim nine routes. “I know I’ve said it before, but this is really fun,” said one of the volunteers. “I love cleaning-up and it’s good exercise, too.” The Big Horn Basin Adolescent Program specializes in helping troubled youth, and provides long-term care for boys and girls ages 10 through 17.

“The BLM wouldn’t be able to do this kind of work without the dedication and enthusiasm of volunteers like these,” said Law Enforcement Ranger Aaron Kania, who guided and worked with the volunteers throughout the day.

The project was the final piece of the reclamation puzzle for the Lower Renner Wildlife Habitat Management Area. The old routes were tilled by contractors last summer and then seeded. For the final project, the young volunteers placed limbs and sagebrush branches over the routes to break up the visual line and help protect the new seedlings.

On her way down a hillside, with Renner Reservoir sparkling below, one of the volunteers looked proudly back at the newly-disguised route and said, “I want to bring my parents out here and show them all the work we did.”