|
 |
VOLUNTEERS ON THE GO
Wildlife Refuges Vie for "Remote" Title
The U.S. is home to some of the planet's most remote and beautiful wildlife refuges.
— by ANTHONY and MARGUERITE BREDA
Many RVers like to travel with a goal in mind. Some like to visit state capitals, others climb the highest peak, while others visit the homes of former presidents as they pass through certain states. However, several of us RVers prefer volunteer work at refuges. My wife Marguerite and I concentrate on the latter, with an emphasis on remote refuges.
 |
FLORA AND FAUNA: Working at a wildlife refuge provides volunteers with opportunities to get up close and personal with many different types of wild animals.
Photo Credit: Larry Richardson, USFWS |
When we lived in England and had difficulty with the meaning of certain words we were told that America and England were two countries separated by a common language. Well, it seems that a similar separation exists within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). The difficulty with language comes when one tries to identify the most remote refuge in the lower 48 states. The answer should be quite simple or so you would think. Just look at a map, measure the distance from the refuge to the nearest town and there you are. Well, not really, for when you are talking about remoteness among places that are really in the middle of nowhere, the nearest town may be nothing more than a wide spot in the road without services of any kind.
Lets see what constitutes remoteness. The definition that is widely accepted is as follows: the furthest distance, on an all weather road, between the refuge headquarters and the town where the refuge conducts its major business.
That sounds pretty straight forward. On checking a map and then looking up some
refuges that appear to be far off the beaten path, there are five facilities
that look interesting. These are Fish Springs NWR near Dugway, UT; Pahranagat
NWR near Alamo, NV; Red Rock Lakes NWR near Lima, MT; Ruby Lake NWR near Ruby
Valley, NV; and Sheldon NWR near Denio, NV.
The two factors that make my map measurements useless are "conducts major business" and "all-weather road." So, I called the refuges in question and learned the following:
Fish Springs has two towns nearby. Delta, UT, is 78 miles away and Tooele, UT, is 104 miles away. Both roads are bad in the winter, but the one to Tooele is usually closed when it snows, so Delta is where major business is conducted. Here's what my reference book has to say: From Delta, go northeast for 16 miles on US 6, NNW for 41 miles on SR174 to the end of the pavement, 15 additional miles to the intersection with the Old Pony Express Road and then W for seven miles to the refuge headquarters. From Tooele, leave I-80 at exit 99, head south for 42 miles on SR36, turn right and head SW for 63 miles on the unpaved Old Pony Express and Stage Route to the headquarters.
Wow. Neither way sounds very good, and Refuge personnel have sometimes plowed 63 miles to the state road to get out. However, getting out to Delta is easier, so the furthest distance they have to go to conduct business is 78 miles. The Juab County Highway Department states that it always helps to have snow chains and a four-wheel drive vehicle.
 |
WILD ABOUT NATURE: For those who love wildlife
and all that the outdoors have to offer, seasoned RVer Anthony Breda
suggests volunteering at one of the national wildlife refuges in
the U.S.
Photo Credit: Larry Richardson, USFWS |
Pahranagat is much simpler. Snow is usually not an issue and it is a straight shot from the refuge headquarters to North Las Vegas. Surprisingly, that distance is 84 miles. However, if a trip to a major airport is required, or a visit to a hospital is needed, than the distance is 95 miles. Are these latter trips "major business"? I will come back to that later.
Red Rock Lakes looks like it is not even in the running, for there are two towns within 30 miles. However, both are small and the refuge staff usually travel to Dillon, MT, to conduct their business. Dillon is 92 miles away.
Ruby Lake also does not look like a contender, as Elko, NV, is only 65 miles away. However, that route, over Harrison Pass, is only feasible in the summer time as the dirt road (and I use that term very loosely) is literally "the road from hell"! So, once the snow starts to fly, a traveller must take the longer route via Secret Pass to the north. That makes it a 92-mile journey.
Lastly, there is Sheldon, which is only 35 miles from Denio, NV. Unfortunately, Denio does not even have a gasoline station or much else so one must travel 78 miles to Lakeview, OR, to conduct refuge business. However, SE140 is well maintained and getting to Lakeview is usually not a problem.
Now, before going any further, let's try to clarify what is meant by "major business", for it seems that this is another language barrier. Banking, purchases of fuel, maintenance supplies and food are what I and most people in USFWS call "major business." A trip to the hospital or to a major airport is not an everyday occurrence.
While we are at it, let's define what is meant by "an all-weather road." Sounds simply, doesn't it? Well, you would not believe the definitions I received during the course of my research for this article. To me, an all-weather road is one that is open in all types of weather, most of the time. By this, I mean that if a particular road to town is closed a few times a year, for a few days or during severe weather, then it is still classified as "an all-weather road"!
Well, now that we have resolved definitions, we can now summarize our findings, as follows: Fish Springs to Delta, UT is 78 miles; Pahranagat to North Las Vegas, NV is 84 miles; Red Rock Lake to Dillon, MT is 92 miles; Ruby Lake to Elko, NV is 92 miles; and Sheldon to Lakeview, OR is 78 miles.
Thus, it appears that Red Rock Lakes and Ruby Lake share the title of the most remote refuge with Pahranagat very close behind. Surprisingly, Fish Springs is in last place. Now if we were talking about most isolated refuge, than Fish Springs would be first, as their nearest neighbour is 28 miles away. So what appeared to be a very simple question became very complicated due to the peculiarities of the English language.
If you are ever in the neighborhood of one of these refuges, do stop in and say hello. They obviously do not get many visitors. However, we suggest that you call first, to make sure that the road is open.
Anthony F. Breda and his wife Marguerite are full-time RVers who have spent the past five years serving at state parks and National Wildlife Refuges. They have served at Ruby Lake National wildlife Refuge and spent a few days at Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge and Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge. They have personally met with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service personnel who have worked and lived at Red Rock Lakes and Fish Springs.
|
|
