BLM-NM works with Girl Scout volunteers to control erosion in campground arroyo for NPLD

BLM-NM works with Girl Scout volunteers to control erosion in campground arroyo for NPLD 

Oct 4, 2024

Michael McGee, left, a hydrologist in the Roswell Field Office, demonstrates how to spread grass seed to volunteers.

Girl Scout Troop 18044 from Roswell, N.M., helped Bureau of Land Management Roswell Field Office personnel control erosion in a campground arroyo in honor of National Public Lands Day on Sept. 21. 

The volunteers planted grass near the arroyo and performed maintenance on rock structures called "check dams" that help control the arroyo's water flow, at Rob Jaggers Campground near Fort Stanton. Michael McGee, a BLM hydrologist who helped organize the event, explained the science behind the maintenance, telling volunteers how the grass roots and the check dams keep soil in and around the arroyo from washing away.

Michael McGee, left, a hydrologist in the Roswell Field Office, distributes grass seed to volunteers.

National Public Lands Day is the nation's largest, single-day, volunteer event for public lands. Established in 1994 and held annually on the fourth Saturday in September, the event brings thousands of volunteers to help restore and improve public lands around the country. 

Warren Kasper, manager of the Fort Stanton - Snowy River National Conservation Area, participated in the event and said he appreciates the Girl Scouts' work because it will make the campground more resilient and appealing.

"Spreading native grass seeds will help to retain soil during the rainy season and will give a more natural appearance to a disturbed area," Kasper said. "Having these Girl Scouts volunteer at Fort Stanton - Snowy River Cave National Conservation Area is heartening - that there are people willing to commit their time and effort to make America's Public Lands better and more inviting places."

Volunteers fix a check dam in an arroyo in the Rob Jaggers Campground.

Cheryl Martinez, troop leader for Girl Scout Troop 18044, said the troop has participated in National Public Lands Day activities with BLM for 30 years, and she is a big believer in teaching Girl Scouts the importance of community service. She wants Girl Scouts to continue to perform community service when they're adults and continue to pass on the tradition.

"National Public Lands Day is a very worthy cause, and we can see the results from when we started doing this 30 years ago," Martinez said. "The girls can come back and see the results years later. We have such a good working relationship with the BLM, if they need something done, they just call, and we go and do it."

Michael McGee of the BLM takes a selfie with Cheryl Martinez, troop leader.

After the work, BLM personnel served volunteers lunch, and participants also played cornhole on a special, BLM-themed cornhole board that Kasper designed and constructed. The board includes paintings of Seymour Antelope, the BLM logo, and Fort Stanton Cave.

For more information on National Public Lands Day, please visit https://www.blm.gov/national-public-lands-day.

During lunch, a volunteer plays cornhole on a BLM-themed board that Warren Kasper, NCA manager, created.