Our outdoor areas are facing many challenges, but with those challenges come people putting local stewardship into action. Leave No Trace wants to shine a spotlight on these challenges and the communities that are rising to meet them.

Grand Staircase Escalante Partners, The Bureau of Land Management, and Leave No Trace are bringing the new Spotlight Program to the southern end of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument! This program is a multi-day event, April 13th-15th, to bring attention to community conservation, to spread education, and to build momentum and inspire involvement for the future. 

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Sites will receive 3 days of activation put on by the Subaru/Leave No Trace Traveling Teams that will include a service project, staff and community training, and community outreach programs. See the full list of events below!

April 13th:

• Future Focused Site Assessment Meeting

• 9 a.m. – 11 a.m. @ Paria District Field Office, Kanab:
• Leave No Trace Team, Spotlight host, and key stakeholders convene to discuss ways to continue the momentum of the Spotlight. Utilizing the Leave No Trace Site Assessment, this meeting will help focus long term efforts and outline opportunities to work with Leave No Trace in the future. To sign up, please contact Kaitlin Martin at kaitlin@gsenm.org. 
• Effective Communication of Leave No Trace Workshop
• 1 p.m. – 4p.m. @ Paria District Field Office, Kanab
• This interactive presentation provides participants with tips, tools and best practices to effectively communicate the hows and whys behind Leave No Trace through robust discussion and participant engagement. This workshop is specifically designed for agency employees, partners, guide services, outfitters, friends’ groups, volunteers and others who educate and interface with the public in a formal capacity or work on messaging and communications for a site. Participants will discuss local impacts and generate clear, succinct and focused social and ecological reasons for individuals to engage in practices that help avoid these impacts. 
• RSVP Here
• Leave No Trace and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Trivia Night
• 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. @ Peekaboo Canyon Wood Fired Kitchen, Kanab
• A fun relaxed night of trivia, beer, pizza, and prizes! Topics for trivia will be based around LNT Principles and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. 
• RSVP Here!

April 14th: 

• Expert Walk and Talk: Leave No Trace in Cultural Landscapes with GSENM Archaeologist Sandra Zarzycka and GSENM Recreation Planner Clay Stewart 
• 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., meet @ Paria River District Office, carpool/caravan to the White House trailhead/campground
• Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is an interesting and important cultural landscape. Learn more about the history of the White House area and the best ways that you can protect it by following Leave No Trace principles! Participants will need to be able to hike around 3 miles round trip over uneven terrain. We will be hiking to different areas in the White House area to learn more about Leave No Trace while we visit historic and cultural sites. 
• RSVP Here
• Indigenous Perspectives and Dark Sky Leave No Trace Principles with Autumn Gillard and Stellar Vista Observatory
• 7p.m. – 10 p.m., meet @ BLM Kanab Visitor Center, carpool/caravan to Ponderosa Grove campground
• Join Autumn Gillard, who is a maternal descendant of the Cedar Band of Paiutes from the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah and tribal liaison for Grand Staircase Escalante Partners, and the Stellar Vista Observatory at Ponderosa Grove Campground to expand your knowledge about LNT and the night sky. 
• RSVP Here

April 15th:

• Stewardship Project at the Toadstools

• 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., meet at Paria River District Office, Kanab, carpool/caravan out to the Toadstools Trailhead
• Join Grand Staircase Escalante Partners, Leave No Trace, and the Bureau of Land Management for a fun day of hard work and learning! We will be remediating graffiti, removing trash, improving trail conditions, and installing signs along the popular Toadstools Trail.
• RSVP Here

We are partnering with Wilderness Volunteers to remediate visitor impacts on Hole in the Rock Road in GSENM! Sign-ups and all information related to this project can be found at the Wilderness Volunteers website.

We are partnering with the Bureau of Land Management to remediate graffiti, pick up trash, and address other impacts. Volunteers should be able to hike around 6 miles over uneven terrain and pack their own lunch and water for the day.

Sign-up here!

Description:

• Location: North end of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, near the towns of Escalante and Boulder
• Difficulty: Moderate; requires lifting 30-40 lbs repeatedly, ability to bend over to pull invasive plants, ability to hike around 3 miles/day over rough terrain with about 300 ft of elevation gain, and exposure to inclement weather. The majority of this work will be rock work. Volunteers should expect to be bending, digging, lifting, carrying, cutting, hauling, tensioning, etc., throughout the project.
• Project type: Front country – camping in a campground near cars, most project sites in close proximity to vehicles
• Details:
• We are looking for volunteers to help construct natural rock structures (aka “Zuni bowls”) on private land near the southern end of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument to mitigate the impacts of climate change such as drought and erosion on the Colorado Plateau. This project is funded by the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Climate Adaptation Fund, and will be done in collaboration with Tribal representatives. Zuni bowls are natural rock structures used for millennia by Indigenous peoples of the Colorado Plateau to mitigate erosion, increase soil moisture, and promote the growth of vegetation. Placed at actively eroding headcuts in ephemeral washes, they consist of a stepped rock “dam” with a layer of rock lining the channel downstream of the structure to create a plunge pool. They are placed at steep headcuts where swiftly moving water scours away soil and vegetation, contributing to a loss of soil and habitat. The pool dissipates the energy of falling water, nullifying the effects of steep sloping at the headcut. Rock lining lifts the stream bottom, creating a shallower profile and slowing water as it exits the pool. The pool holds water, allowing it to infiltrate into the soil and for sediment to settle out, preventing it from being carried downstream. Over time, a positive feedback loop is initiated: retained sediment→greater infiltration→retained moisture→more vegetation and greater biodiversity→reduced erosion→more retained sediment and moisture. This change allows the habitat in the vicinity of the Zuni bowl to support the recruitment of native grasses and forbs and the presence of a variety of invertebrates, birds, and mammals that rely on them for forage and habitat. Such transformations will become more important as the effects of persistent drought and climate change continue to compound on the Colorado Plateau.
• Along with volunteering to install Zuni Bowls May 2nd-6th, we are looking for 1-2 volunteers who live locally in the Escalante/Boulder/Tropic area to monitor their effectiveness during 2023. This will include 3-4 days of additional volunteer work throughout the year with the option to continue monitoring sites in future years. After signing up for this event, please reach out to GSEP staff at kaitlin@gsenm.org indicating your interest in monitoring. 
• Volunteers should have the ability to hike 3-5 miles per day and lift 30-40lbs throughout the work day. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner will be provided at no cost to volunteers. Volunteers will need to commit to all work days of this project.
• Itinerary:
• Tuesday, May 2nd @ 2 p.m.: Volunteers will meet GSEP staff at GSEP Headquarters in Escalante to carpool to campsite. Volunteers are also welcome to come to the campsite later in the day.
• Wednesday, May 3rd: Work day
• Thursday, May 4th: Work day
• Friday, May 5th: Work day
• Saturday, May 6th: Break down camp, goodbyes, and depart (volunteers are also welcome to depart on the evening of the 5th)
• Sign-up here!

Description:

• Location: Southern End of Hole In the Rock Road, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
• Difficulty: Strenuous; requires lifting 30-40 lbs repeatedly, ability to hike around 5 miles/day over rough terrain with about 500 ft of elevation gain, and exposure to inclement weather. Volunteers should expect to be bending, digging, lifting, carrying, cutting, hauling, tensioning, etc., throughout the project.
• Project type: Front country – dispersed camping near cars, most project sites in close proximity to vehicles
• Details:
• Grand Staircase Escalante Partners is partnering with the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance and the Bureau of Land Management to complete stewardship projects on Hole In the Rock Road in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument! We will be focusing on cleaning up dispersed camping and recreation impacts throughout the Hole In the Rock Road Corridor. Visitation to this area has greatly increased over the past several years with people looking to recreate on the beautiful mesas and in the stunning canyons of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.This has also caused an increase in visitor impacts that are hard to address completely without the help of volunteer time and labor. Volunteers will help address visitor impacts including camping impacts like campfires, tree cutting, vehicle trespass, and new site creation. This project may also include addressing and remediating scratched-in and drawn-on graffiti in sandstone canyons and trail work to improve signage and cairn reconstruction and refinement.
• Volunteers should have the ability to hike 3-5 miles per day and lift 30-40lbs throughout the work day. This trip may include hiking through the Dry Fork Slot Canyons, Peek-a-boo and Spooky. These canyons are extremely narrow (not recommended for those over 200 lbs), have exposure to heights (up and down climbs around 15 feet), and require hiking through rocky, difficult terrain. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner will be provided at no cost to volunteers. Volunteers will need to commit to all three work days of this project.
• Itinerary:
• Tuesday, May 16th @ 1p.m.: Volunteers will meet with GSEP and SUWA staff at the GSEP Headquarters in Escalante, UT, to caravan and carpool to campsite. Volunteers are also welcome to come to the campsite later in the day.
• Wednesday, May 17th: Work day
• Thursday, May 18th: Work day
• Friday, May 19th: Work day
• Saturday, May 20th: Break down camp, goodbyes, and depart (volunteers are also welcome to depart on the evening of the 19th)
• Sign-Up here!

Description:

• Location: Northeastern end of the Monument, The Gulch
• Difficulty: Strenuous; requires packing in 50-60 lbs over rough terrain for 7 miles.
• Project type: Backcounty – backpacking for one night, two days. Volunteers should have backpacking experience and be able to provide a majority of their own backpacking gear and food.
• Details:
• Grand Staircase Escalante Partners is partnering with the Bureau of Land Management to complete stewardship projects in The Gulch in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument! We need help packing in tools and supplies for our stewardship trip May 30th – June 2nd. 
• Itinerary:
• Friday May 25th, May  @ 8 a.m.: Volunteers will meet with GSEP staff at the GSEP Headquarters in Escalante, UT, to caravan to the trailhead. Staff and volunteers will backpack into the Gulch and spend the night.
• Saturday, May 26th: Hike back out of the Gulch, volunteers will be back in Escalante @ 6 p.m.
• Sign-up here: https://x.gldn.io/afZ2EApbzyb

Description:

• Location: The Gulch from the Burr Trail and down the canyon towards the Escalante River.
• Difficulty: Very Strenuous; requires lifting 30-40 lbs repeatedly, ability to hike with a backpacking pack around 7 miles/day over rough terrain with about 500 ft of elevation gain, and exposure to inclement weather. Volunteers should expect to be bending, digging, lifting, carrying, cutting, hauling, tensioning, etc., throughout the project.
• Project type: Backpacking – this is a 4 day, 3 night backpacking trip, previous backpacking experience is required! Participants will be expected to be able to hike around 5 miles/day with a backpacking pack and be able to do several hours of manual labor in the same day.
• Details:
• Grand Staircase Escalante Partners is partnering with the Bureau of Land Management to help remediate impacts in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument along The Gulch from where it intersects the Burr Trail and down canyon towards the Escalante River. Visitation to this area has greatly increased over the past several years with people looking to recreate in the stunning canyons of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. This has also caused an increase in visitor impacts that are hard to address completely without the help of volunteer time and labor. Working from Burr Trail down canyon, volunteers will remediate visitor impacts by destroying rock fire rings, packing out trash and human waste, digging out and shredding trash that has washed down from flash floods, and remediating scratched-in and drawn-on graffiti. 
• Volunteers should have the ability to hike 7 miles per day with a 30 lb pack and lift 30-40lbs throughout the work day. Volunteers must also be comfortable wading and working in water. Previous backpacking experience is required and volunteers must be able to provide most of their own backpacking gear (there is limited gear available for borrowing) and all of their cooking supplies and meals. Volunteers will need to commit to all four work days of this project.
• Itinerary:
• Tuesday, May 30th @ 10 a.m.: Volunteers will meet GSEP and BLM staff at the Partners Headquarters in Escalante, UT. Volunteers will carpool to The Gulch trailhead on the Burr Trail in the afternoon to begin the backpacking trip.
• Wednesday, May 31st: Backpacking and work day
• Thursday, June 1st: Backpacking and work day
• Friday, June 2nd: Hike back out to trailhead

• • Sign-up here!

Trail Ambassadors volunteer their time at popular trailheads and hiking the trails of the Monument to educate recreators about how to minimize their impact. GSENM has seen a large increase in visitation and impacts in recent years, We are partnering with the BLM to help educate visitors about Leave No Trace out on the ground. This in-person event will train volunteers how to be Trail Ambassadors. Volunteers will do an in-person training day at Lower Calf Creek Falls to learn how to become Trail Ambassadors. They will also need to complete a 2 hour online training before the in-person day.

Sign-up here!

Description:

• Location: North end of the Burr Trail Road, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
• Difficulty: Moderate; requires lifting 30-40 lbs repeatedly, ability to bend over to pull invasive plants, ability to hike around 3 miles/day over rough terrain with about 300 ft of elevation gain, and exposure to inclement weather (heat and thunderstorms). Volunteers should expect to be bending, digging, lifting, carrying, cutting, hauling, tensioning, etc., throughout the project.
• Project type: Front country – camping in a campground near cars, most project sites in close proximity to vehicles
• Details:
• Interested in joining the Goathead Obliteration and Annihilation Team (G.O.A.T.)? Grand Staircase Escalante Partners is partnering with the Bureau of Land Management to help remove the invasive goathead plant and remediate visitor impacts on Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument along the popular Burr Trail Road. 
• The goathead plant (Tribulus terrestris) is spreading rapidly throughout GSENM, especially at popular dispersed campsites and along hiking trails. Visitation to this area has also greatly increased over the past several years with people looking to recreate on the beautiful mesas and in the stunning canyons of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. This has caused an increase in visitor impacts that are hard to address completely without the help of volunteer time and labor. Volunteers will help address the spread of the goathead plant by removing it and its seeds from the Monument and will also address visitor impacts including campfires, tree cutting, vehicle trespass, and new site creation. 
• Volunteers should have the ability to hike 3-5 miles per day and lift 30-40lbs throughout the work day. It is likely that inclement weather will affect this trip, including heat and thunderstorms and GSEP will make adjustments to the trip itinerary as needed. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner will be provided at no cost to volunteers. Volunteers are welcome to join for the entirety of each project or for just one day/
• July 21st-23rd Project: Sign-up here!
• August 8th-9th Project: Sign-up here!
• August 18th-20th Project: Sign-up here!

• We are partnering with Wilderness Volunteers to remove Russian olive in GSENM! Sign-ups and all information related to this project can be found at the Wilderness Volunteers website.

Description:

• Location: Escalante River Corridor between Escalante town and the HWY 12 Bridge
• Difficulty: Very Strenuous; requires lifting 30-40 lbs repeatedly, ability to hike with a backpacking pack around 5 miles/day over rough terrain with about 500 ft of elevation gain, and exposure to inclement weather. Volunteers should expect to be bending, digging, lifting, carrying, cutting, hauling, tensioning, etc., throughout the project.
• Project type: Backpacking – this is a 4 day, 3 night backpacking trip, previous backpacking experience is required! Participants will be expected to be able to hike around 5 miles/day with a backpacking pack and be able to do several hours of manual labor in the same day.
• Details:
• Grand Staircase Escalante Partners is partnering with the Bureau of Land Management to help remediate visitor impacts in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument along the popular Escalante River Corridor between the town of Escalante and the HWY 12 Bridge. Visitation to this area has greatly increased over the past several years with people looking to recreate in the stunning canyons of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. This has also caused an increase in visitor impacts that are hard to address completely without the help of volunteer time and labor. Working from the HWY 12 bridge to the Escalante town trailhead, volunteers will remediate visitor impacts by destroying rock fire rings, packing out trash and human waste, digging out and shredding tires that have washed down from town, and remediating scratched-in and drawn-on graffiti. 
• Volunteers should have the ability to hike 5 miles per day with a 40 lb pack and lift 30-40lbs throughout the work day. Volunteers must also be comfortable wading and working in water. Previous backpacking experience is required and volunteers must be able to provide most of their own backpacking gear (there is limited gear available for borrowing) and all of their cooking supplies and meals. Volunteers will need to commit to all four work days of this project.
• Itinerary:
• Thursday, October 5th @ 10 a.m.: Volunteers will meet GSEP and BLM staff at the Partners Headquarters in Escalante, UT. Volunteers will carpool to the HWY 12 Bridge Escalante River Trailhead in the afternoon to begin the backpacking trip.
• Friday, October 6th: Backpacking and work day
• Saturday, October 7th: Backpacking and work day
• Sunday, October 8th: Work day and backpack out to Escalante Town Trailhead. Volunteers depart during late afternoon.

• • Sign-up here!

Description:

• Location: Southern End of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
• Difficulty: Moderate; requires lifting 30-40 lbs repeatedly, ability to hike around 6 miles/day over rough terrain with about 300 ft of elevation gain, and exposure to inclement weather. Volunteers should expect to be bending, digging, lifting, carrying, cutting, hauling, tensioning, etc., throughout the project.
• Project type: Front country – camping in a campground near cars
• Details:
• Grand Staircase Escalante Partners is partnering with the Bureau of Land Management to help remediate impacts in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Volunteers will help complete stewardship projects  which may include remediating dispersed camping impacts, installing signs, removing trash, and trailwork. This project may also include addressing and remediating scratched-in and drawn-on graffiti in sandstone canyons and trail work to improve signage and cairn reconstruction and refinement.
• Volunteers should have the ability to hike 6 miles per day and lift 30-40lbs throughout the work day. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner will be provided at no cost to volunteers.
• Itinerary:
• Tuesday, October 24th @ 1p.m.: Volunteers will meet GSEP staff in Kanab to carpool to campsite. Volunteers are also welcome to come to the campsite later in the day.
• Wednesday, October 25th: Work day
• Thursday, October 26th: Work day
• Friday, October 27th: Work day
• Saturday, October 28th: Break down camp, goodbyes, and depart (volunteers are also welcome to depart on the evening of the 27th)
• Sign-up here!

Description:

• Location: Southern End of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
• Difficulty: Strenuous; Requires the ability to hike around 8 miles/day over rough terrain with about 800 ft of elevation gain, and exposure to inclement weather. 
• Project type: Front country – camping in a campground near cars
• Details:
• Grand Staircase Escalante Partners is partnering with Wildlands Network to survey wire fencing in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Volunteers will help survey fencing to determine if it complies with wildlife friendly standards. 
• Volunteers should have the ability to hike 8 miles per day with around 800 feet of elevation gain. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner will be provided at no cost to volunteers.
• Itinerary:
• Friday, November 3rd @ 1p.m.: Volunteers will meet GSEP staff in Kanab to carpool to campsite. Volunteers are also welcome to come to the campsite later in the day.
• Saturday, November 4th: Survey day
• Sunday, November 5th: Survey day
• Monday, November 6th: Break down camp, goodbyes, and depart (volunteers are also welcome to depart on the evening of the 5th)
• Sign-up here!