11/19/2009 10:27:00 PM
Stimulus money helps repair BLM trails in southern Yavapai County
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BLM/Courtesy photo
Coconino Rural Environment Corps leader Robert Fudge, left, helps officials break ground this past Friday on a rock kiosk at the entrance to the Hells Canyon Wilderness Area. Yavapai County Supervisor Tom Thurman is placing the rock on the kiosk. |
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BLM/Courtesy photo
Rae Byars is part of the new BLM crew that will repair trails in the Hells Canyon Wilderness Area and other nearby BLM trails. She got started on the work this past Friday at the Hells Canyon Wilderness Area. |
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The Daily Courier
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is putting federal economic stimulus money to work on some scenic public lands in southern Yavapai County, while also providing jobs for young people working to pay off college loans and the like.
Jim Kenna, director of the BLM in Arizona, broke ground on the main project at Hells Canyon this past Friday.
The BLM received $70,200 through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA, commonly called economic stimulus money) to hire seven people to make repairs to a staircase and trail that lead into the Hells Canyon Wilderness Area.
The workers also will repair other BLM trails in the region, making that money stretch over 33 miles of trails. The other trails include the historic Harquahala Peak Pack, Vulture Peak, Sophie's Flat, Burro Flat, Spring Creek, Horse Spring, Needle, Williams, Slaughterhouse, Balancing Rock, Black Rock Mine and Treasure Canyon.
The trail work includes tread restoration, refurbishing water management structures, renovating switchbacks, erosion control measures, signage and vegetation cutting.
In all, the BLM in Arizona is managing 58 ARRA projects valued at $15.2 million.
Vehicular access to the 10,540-acre Hells Canyon Wilderness Area is located off Castle Hot Springs Road near Lake Pleasant. From Highway 74 at milepost 223, drive north on Castle Hot Springs Road 5.5 miles to a stop sign and turn left. About 3.5 miles after the Castle Creek bridge, as you cross a cattle guard, watch for a small parking area on the left featuring a tall brown fiberglass post with the letters "TH" for "trailhead."
For the trail work, the BLM hired workers through the Coconino County Community Services' Rural Environment Corps based in Flagstaff and the Southwest Conservation Corps based in Tucson. They hire youth and young adults and teach them outdoor ethics along the way. Members of the seven-member crew are earning $7.50 to $13 per hour for two seasons.
Crew member Martin Aksentowitz, a college grad from Phoenix, was recently laid off from the auto industry where he test drove Bentleys.
"It was a job that interested me," he told the BLM about the trail work. When he finishes his Coconino Rural Environment Corps stint, he will get an AmeriCorps scholarship to help pay off his college loans since the two groups are connected.
After an unsuccessful job hunt in Flagstaff, 24-year-old Rae Byars said she joined the Coconino Rural Environment Corps to get some fresh air while working hard at an interesting job. She also wants to pay off her student loans.
At 18, Cairo Kepley of Flagstaff is one of the youngest members of the BLM trails team. He hopes to gain work experience in a positive atmosphere and later use his scholarship money to attend a culinary arts school.
The diverse crew of seven also includes Justin Vendettuoli of Rhode Island, Elena Belkin of Columbus, Ohio, Harry Miller of Portland, Ore., and Evan Hawbaker of St. Paul, Minn.
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Posted: Friday, November 20, 2009
Article comment by:
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I'm a hiker but this is a terrible waste of taxpayer dollars when there are so many infrastructure projects that this money could have been spent on.
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