Upcoming Project - JANUARY 10 -12, 2025 RSVP AND SIGN UP NOW
We will be building another brand new wildlife water system for the bighorn sheep and all other desert critters. We will be meeting at a campsite in the East Mojave Desert, 27 miles east of Ludlow, CA on Friday December 6 (Location is East of Barstow off of Interstate 40). A few of us should be there at the camp location by about noon - Friday is camp set up day so arrive anytime that works for you on Friday.
The road to our campsite is level, suitable for most SUVs. However, there is some washboard and lots of loose sand which makes 2WD inappropriate, especially if the driver deviates from the trackway. Skilled & experienced desert sand 2WD drivers should be able to handle it. If your vehicle is not a 4 x 4, you should carpool with others from camp to the project site each morning.
This will be a typical 2 tank in-ground system using our very own Raincatcher tanks, with integral drinker and all-species tread ramp and a Hypalon rain collection mat.
Saturday will be the main work day and you better not arrive late because we'll leave camp in a caravan of 4x4s to reach the project site. Probably about 8 am after our cook serves a hot breakfast. If you don't have suitable desert vehicle you will have to hitch a ride with someone that does. While the trail is not overly difficult and there are no major grades to climb or off-camber areas, there are a few rocks to dodge and some possibility of soft areas so we don't want anybody with low clearance or 2WD to hold up the group.
Usually these projects take us 1.5 or 2 days so whatever we don't get done Saturday we will wrap up on Sunday. Our last project concluded by Noon on Sunday. Plan to camp out with us, bring some firewood to share and enjoy some conversation and fellowship. Camping is dry / wilderness style with only the amenities that you bring with you. We will set up some portable toilets for the group.
Rodger Lopez agreed to do the cooking for us so you will only have to bring some lunches and snacks: Friday night dinner, Sat breakfast, Sat dinner and Sunday breakfast is included. Diversified Excavating will be there to do the digging with their mini excavator and that will allow us to use the hand crew volunteers for less strenuous tasks such as preparing the mat area and covering it with rocks. Diversified has done an excellent job for us on several projects in the past and I look forward to their experience and efficiency. We'll have SCBS's Big Red (driven by Marty Ambrose) with all the tools and supplies so you only need bring yourself, some gloves, snacks and personal gear. Be ready to work the picks, shovels, rakes, and to move some rocks to cover the mat.
We'll send you the coordinates of the camp site when you RSVP; we need to get a headcount for the food.
RSVP to Debbie Miller Marschke at:
Those that RSVP will receive s subsequent email communication with the directions to the camp site.
Funding for construction of this project has been provided by California Chapter of Wild Sheep Foundation and their 'Give a Lamb a Drink' program. Funding for the initial CEQA study was provided by grants from the CA DFW Big Game Management Account; subsequent studies, scouting efforts and design by SCBS members and volunteers, review by CA DFW, the lease and final approval (via CEQA exemption) by the CA State Land Commission.
Steve Marschke
SCBS President