A gift for the pronghorn

The Sierra Club's California/Nevada Desert Committee sponsors regular service trips to the California Desert and environs. The article below describes one such trip. Many such outings are included in the Yodeler calendar, starting on page A of every issue. For a more complete listing, see the Chapter calendar. For more information about the Desert Committee, email Kate Allen at KJAllen -at- qnet.com or send a self-addressed, stamped envelope with 59 cents postage to:

Kate Allen
32515 121st St. East
Pearblossom, CA 93553.

In a swale on the American Ranch, overlooking the vastness of the Carrizo Plain, a dozen volunteers waited in bone-chilling wind for our next move. Cal and Doug had driven ahead on the tenuous dirt road to try to find the closest approach to that elusive fence. The radio finally gave us the go-ahead. Around the big curve and over the hill, there was the BLM truck.

We grabbed wire cutters, universal fence tools, and post-pullers and trudged up the ridge. We could see the trails of animals alongside that last section of fence that blocked their movement. We needed to pull it down. With two strong incentives - getting rid of the fence and keeping warm - this amazing group of 14 volunteers took care of that section in less than two hours. Rolled-up barbed wire and heavy T-poles were left in neat piles every 30 yards for Doug Wreden, our BLM resource person, to collect with his all-terrain vehicle (ATV). As we finished lunch a shower came down from the black cloud overhead; we piled into the cars.

What next? Doug had the job: at the Washburn Center a quarter mile of hog wire that he had needed out for a long time. Hog wire is nasty stuff. It's a square mesh of heavy wire sunk 6 - 12 inches in the ground and deeply anchored to T-poles. Our group set to work. Many of us had never seen hog wire before, and exclamations warmed the air at the difficulty of freeing it from the T-poles. Well, maybe half an hour later, we had that bottom half of the fence neatly rolled up and carried over to the maintenance shack. In a few days it would be loaded onto a dump truck and taken to the steel-recycling station in Taft.

Got anything else, Doug? Sure. Six miles back to the Sprague Road. Here we took down the bottom two wires of maybe half a mile of fence. With that done, the pronghorn can neatly slip under the fence, barely breaking stride. Eventually, Doug will get a smooth wire laid along the stretch 18 inches above the ground. That keeps cattle and ATVs on the road. It's now 3:45, and we lay plans for tomorrow. Those who want to do more work can do one more section. Those who want to play can play.

Ouch, it was cold! We pulled up to our site in Selby camp, parked the camper so as to shield the fire site from the wind, and immediately started the campfire. Next came happy hour. When darkness fell, the wind died, and the heat from discarded oak logs spread out to warm us. Lots of good food and good conversation along with some chocolate and libation sent everyone to bed tired and happy.

Sunday dawned clear, sunny, and cold. We met Doug at the visitor center again and drove towards the American Ranch. Here a long stretch of fence just begged to be modified. We yanked the bottom wires off rapidly, cutting the loop of holding wire or knocking out the clip of the pole. Old rotten wire and T-poles give up rather easily. By now, the sun had warmth, and we were ready to go. But Doug had run out of work! OK, time to play!

Craig Deutsche led us on an easy walk to some very interesting areas where we explored. One big rock was pockmarked with holes up the face overlooking the plain. We could clearly see four raptor nests. All were empty this time of year. Underneath one I picked up owl pellets with intact little mouse and kangaroo-rat skulls.

Finally, it was time to leave. As we came down the road, close on our right beside Soda Lake road was a herd of about a dozen pronghorn. They watched us alertly, and the faint breeze seemed to carry their message, "Thank you so very, very much."

Their thanks go to Doug Wreden, BLM maintenance manager, who took over at the last minute for our work party. Our volunteers came from all over: Eric Rorer from Mill Valley, Jane and George Collier from Oakland, Jim VerSteeg from Porterville, Glenn Gregg from Santa Cruz, Tony Loftin from Sacramento, Sid Silliman from Upland, Alice Bond from San Francisco, Greg Frugoli from Cambria, Joan O'Keefe from Atascadero, and Jason Hashmi and Craig Deutsche from Los Angeles. They braved rain and cold and did a fantastic job.

Louise "Letty" French