Southeastern Arizona Restoration Team Winter 2012

It has been a productive February for the Southeastern Arizona Restoration Team. The Corps Members completed training at the beautiful Cave Creek Ranch in Portal, AZ - the javelina hotspot of the sky islands. After a Wilderness First Aid refresher, the team traveled to Coronado National Memorial, where they have been learning the local flora, fire ecology, and human migratory patterns. While at Coronado, the gang has already made an impact on the Memorial’s ongoing agave restoration, including: cage fixing, Critter Out applying, and invasive species removing. They’ve also had the opportunity to see more of this landscape, hiking to several natural springs and seeps to install wildlife cameras and maintain animal drinkers. Showing their true camaraderie, the team worked hand-in-hand with a National Park Service trail crew to prevent erosion and enhance trail structures on Joe’s Canyon Trail. Most recently, they rehabilitated a fire hand line to a more natural state that existed before last year’s fires. They are now getting ready to head to Chiricahua National Monument to further restorative efforts there.

Originally hailing from SW Wisconsin, and a recent Utah resident, Brian will be leading the Southeast Arizona Plant Team this season. After several years in the military and a year in the desert, Brian graduated of the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse in 2010, where he majored in Geography with a minor in Earth Science. He had his first SCA experience in the summer of 2008, where he was a FIREMON crew member, both in Bismarck, ND and in Havre, MT. While continuing college, Brian worked at the Trempealeau Fish and Wildlife Refuge in Wisconsin. During the summer of 2010, he also studied heavy metal soil contamination in Albania. After graduating college, Brian moved to Kanab, Utah. Brian is very excited for this season, and is looking forward to the work diversity. When Brian is not in the field, you can find him caving, sleeping, trying to improve his knee flexibility, or planning a long vacation.

Growing up in the foothills of East Tennessee, I gained an appreciation for the outdoors at an early age. After attending the University of Tennessee for two and a half years, I put my academia career on furlough and decided to pursue real-world experience. I joined the SCA native plant corps in February of 2011 as a corpsmember at Cowpens National Battlefield in South Carolina, followed by a position at Gateway National Recreation Area in New Jersey in May, and Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore in September. I like Star Wars, hot sauce, and country music. The End.