Photo: Delores Danielson Save the Cottonwoods, Canyonlands National Park, Utah Highlights:
Includes:
Trip Number: 09068A Price: $ 575 Deposit: $100 Capacity: 14 Leader:
The Trip  Photo: Delores Danielson Sierra Club volunteers have been removing tamarisk for several years from this wonderful canyon and the results are beginning to show. We’ll continue to cut and treat tamarisk which has formed choking thickets around old cottonwood and willow stands. These thickets prevent the cottonwoods and willows from receiving the water they need and forms a major fire hazard in the canyon. Canyonlands National Park is classic red rock desert canyon country with arches, slickrock, wide vistas, excellent hiking, amazing sunsets and many archaeological ruins. The Needles district is located south and west of Moab, UT., which is a world-class destination for mountain bikers, rafters, off road and canyoneering enthusiasts. We will work four days and have time off in the late afternoons for exploring, and socializing around camp. Participants will have a day set aside hike, explore ruins or visit some of the local canyons or arches. You will be away from the worries of the world, as your cell phones will not work in the park. There are pay phones at the Visitor’s Center. The Project  Photo: Delores Danielson Tamarisk (an exotic imported from the Mediterranean to stabilize erosion in the
Little Colorado River) is rapidly forcing native willow and cottonwood out of
many of the river systems in the southwest.
 Photo: Delores Danielson Please plan on arriving at the Wooden Shoe Group Campsite by 1 p.m. on day one. The ranger at the entrance will provide you with a map to the site. Park entrance fees will be waived if you bring the letter I will provide you. If you arrive after hours, go past the entry booth, past the turn off to the visitor’s center and watch for the second left turn, just shortly past the Wooden Shoe overlook. It’s a sharp, descending turn, so be careful. At the end of the descent, the Wooden Shoe campsite is on your left. If you miss the turn, you will see the road to Squaw Flats campground. Turn around and retrace your steps. Day one will be for setting up camp, exploring the local
nature trail and archaeological sites and getting to know each other. Beginning on Tuesday, small groups will rotate
through off days Tuesday-Friday to hike and explore places like Druid
Arch, Chesler Park or visit archaeological
sites. Getting There The closest airports are Moab, Grand Junction, CO. and Salt Lake City.If you would like to coordinate your flights so that you can share rental cars you may do that with others on the trip.
The camp is located on an access road away from the other camps, about a mile from the access road to Salt Creek Canyon. It has private tent sites shades by interesting rock formations and oak trees. Unlimited water is available on tap for cooking cleaning and filling shower bags. There are picnic tables, a central fire pit and pit toilets as well as daily garbage service. We will enjoy the cuisine of Phyllis Singleton, who will shop and supervise our meals, with our able assistance. The rave reviews from 2007 and 2008 results in her being invited to return for the 2009 trip. She has cooked for Sierra Club service trip to Arches and Mesa Verde. It will be vegetarian friendly but meat eaters will not go hungry. Only three vehicles can be parked at the campsite. After unloading our gear we will set up a shuttle to move extra vehicles to the visitor’s center for the remainder of the week. We will shuttle you to your car as needed on our days off.
The sheltered location and pleasant accommodations in the camp make the tenting
and food preparation portion of the trip easy and enjoyable. The process of cutting tamarisk can be physically
challenging. Typically the rangers will use chain saws to remove the larger
specimens while we use bow saws
and hand clippers on the smaller ones and help carry the larger ones to piles.
Good books to check out include:
Websites Conservation In years past, Salt Creek Canyon was open to any motor vehicle at any time with no limit on the number of vehicles per day or on how far up the canyon they could go. Currently, a limited number of permits per day are issued to visitors to the canyon and the road has been closed to motor vehicle traffic above Peek-a-boo Spring.When the NPS gated access to the canyon and limited the number and distance vehicles could travel in this environmentally sensitive area, a number of lawsuits were filed by group seeking continued free access. The NPS has begun a comprehensive survey of the archeology of this canyon with the help of the Sierra Club volunteers. A lot of new sites have been found and known ones documented. This is a chance to help protect this unique and environmentally sensitive area while getting to see it before changes in the access regulations preclude access or limit it further.
See the How to Apply for an Outing section for more details on registering for this trip and details about our Reservation and Cancellation Policy. The payment of a deposit does not confirm you as a member on the trip. Participants must be approved by the trip leader. After signing up for this trip, you will be sent a confirmation packet containing approval materials (Participant Approval Questionnaire, Medical Form, Liability Release Form). Each applicant (including those on the waitlist) must fill out these forms and promptly mail them to the trip leader. The leader will review the approval materials and notify you of your acceptance in a timely manner.
 Delores Danielson will be returning to Canyonlands National Park to save the cottonwoods for the third time, this time as leader. Her first service trip was to Arches National Park in 2003. She had traveled around the world working as a flight attendant for the past 23 years. Delores enjoys running, gardening, cooking and has hiked and backpacked extensively in many of your National Parks, such as Grand Canyon, Glacier and Canyonlands, in the Sierra Nevada mountains and on the many trails in her home state of Arkansas. General Notes About Sierra Club Trips
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