Actually more than a week, 11 days of working every day, this week more than 40 hours … this sounds like a job. Our second largest project (after quail care) is tracking the endangered Pima Pineapple Cactus (PPC). Somehow we became the experts (no one else wanted to do it and the biologist in charge resigned). The “work” is enjoyable as we get to drive to remote parts of the refuge and then bushwhack across country to find the cactus and record its status. A generic Android tablet is programmed to the location of the cactus and off we go. Sometimes we find PPC living and green, often dead and sometimes just gone (probably died, dried up and was blown away). We record the data, take photos and move on. Our other days involve caring for the birds and doing assorted other chores at the quail breeding facility like assembling shelf units, sorting the storage trailer and cleaning unused pens with the pressure washer.
Back at the outpost, we moved trailers three weeks ago from the old but clean (and brown) “Masked Bobwhite Quail” to the much newer and smaller “Raven”. We left our old trailer clean and tidy for an incoming group of AmeriCorps kids who will be with us for most of the rest of our stay. We had heard from Raven’s former tenant that it was “smelly” but we were shocked at how smelly. She left the trailer clean and tidy but it reeked of mold, rodents and who knows what else. It seems two problems were working here: an old water heater leak had soaked the insulation underneath and rodents had moved into the warm and yucky insulation. The two smells, of course, made their way into the interior. This was bad and then it got worse. Some unknown animal chose to die and rot in the mess. We went to Tucson last Sunday for our weekly shopping and, while we were there, a live skunk joined the dead animal. We moved back into Speedy.
After complaining endlessly, we were close to leaving when Steve blasted the refuge Assistant Manager with an email barrage about the trailer. Meanwhile we had been asked by the Fire Crew to be the PPC “experts” with a state Wildlands Fire Crew that were coming to survey a sector of the refuge before a prescribed burn scheduled for this month. What was supposed to be one day became two. There were 20 of these highly trained young men and two old people (Steve and me). They had been off for the winter and viewed this as a training exercise. While we carried small backpacks, they carried huge packs, axes, really big chainsaws and many carried 5-gallon water sacks. One of their main jobs (when not looking for small cactus) is to put out wildfire hotspots. Needless to say these guys know how to walk in a line and focus on the job at hand, something that just seemed impossible with volunteers.
We loved their enthusiasm, spirit and professionalism. Did I mention they were all guests of the State of Arizona? These young men view this as a break from being incarcerated and as an opportunity for a better life when they get out with training, skill and experience.
While they walked in a straight line, following a track on an iPad, we did follow-up walking a serpentine pattern behind them. They found many small cactus but sadly no PPC. Each day we would stagger home, eat something quick and collapse. They got on their bus and back to Tucson. They will spend the fire season all over the west.
Meanwhile, back at Raven, maintenance had finally tackled the insulation. We got back as they were hauling away bags of soggy, smelly fiberglass. They had done about a third of it and already things smelled better. During the next few days, they removed everything else including one dead skunk full of maggots and one live skunk. The trailer smells much better now.
With a four-day weekend, we decided to visit the Tohono rodeo and festival in Sells, about two hours west of the refuge. The Tohono O’odham nation is the second largest in Arizona with land the size of Connecticut. The nation is currently suing the Trump administration over the “wall” which would cut through the reservation which straddles the border and cut off traditional routes to the ocean. We spent the day watching traditional dancing and rodeo events and eating good food. Of course, there were many booths including the Arizona Democratic Committee. They are hoping to mobilize the state’s 300,000 native American voters. As we walked off, we were approached by an earnest young man with a clipboard. Were we registered voters in Pima County? No, only Massachusetts. He responded that he probably knew our political views and would we please move to Arizona.
No comments:
Post a Comment