ADVENTURES

1 to 2 hour drive time
from St George

• Cedar Breaks Nat. Mon.
• Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park
• Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park
• Kodachrome Basin State Park

2 to 3 hour drive time
from St George

PINE VALLEY RANGER DISTRICT ANNOUNCES COMPLETED TRAIL WORK - In the past few field seasons crews from the Pine Valley Ranger District on the Dixie National Forest have done significant trail work. Three trails have been rebuilt and now provide exceptional non-motorized recreation opportunities.

The South Boundary Trail located in western Washington County is great for fall and spring adventures. It is a popular deer hunting area and provides unique geology. In 2006 and 2008, crews rebuilt 13 miles of trail. The trail is open for hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding.

The Pilot Peak Trail is located in northern Washington County and just east of Enterprise Reservoir has four miles of rebuilt trail. It is also open to hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding. The Pilot Peak area offers excellent hunting and other activities in the fall and spring.

The Pine Valley Canal Trail is located on the north side of Pine Valley. Four miles of trail have been rebuilt and provide excellent mountain biking near Pine Valley. The cool mountain environment, great scenery, and easy access make this a great place for families and beginning mountain bikers.

These new and rebuilt trails add to the exceptional opportunities that National Forest System land provide for families to recreate in southern Utah. For more information on these trails, contact the Pine Valley Ranger District at (435) 652-3100

Reward Offered for Information Regarding Vandalized Petroglyph - The Bureau of Land Management, Arizona State Office is offering up to a $5,000 reward for information leading to recovery of a stolen artifact and the identification, arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible. The prehistoric petroglyph panel was chiseled out of a cliff face and depicts a human figure with two arms and one leg. This vandalism occurred in the Cottonwood Point Wilderness Area, close to Colorado City, Arizona, on Federal land administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). These cultural sites are fragile and irreplaceable traces of an ancient history. They are a legacy we should all help preserve. Where there once was a petroglyph of a human figure, now only a large cavity in the sandstone cliff face remains.

An investigation into this vandalism has been initiated. Unauthorized removal or damage to an archaeological site is not only a violation of federal law, it also denies the humanity of those memorialized and causes anguish to living descendants. This violation carries penalties up to five year in jail and $100,000 fine. Anyone having any information regarding this crime, is asked to contact Special Agent Robert Babb at (602) 417-9332, or email him at Robert_Babb@blm.gov. If you wish to remain anonymous call the Bureau of Land Management Law Enforcement Office at (623) 580-5515.

The BLM encourages everyone to respect archaeological sites and artifacts. Should you come across a site, please stay on trails, minimize your impact, and leave all artifacts in plac

Zion Canyon Field Institute (ZCFI) announces a full schedule of classes for the month of October - We start the month with a class for those who are artistically inclined. Sandy Bell will be

Teaching The Illustrated Journal on October 4. Learn about the natural world in Zion through passionate observation and attentive contemplation. Awaken your senses and create pages that are a rich and meaningful record of your experience—a touchstone for remembering your connection to Zion. No previous writing or drawing experience necessary. Fee: $50. 

October 11 and 12 features the Geology of the Grand Staircase with Dr. Ben Everitt. This is another of our ever popular geology classes. This class studies the rock sequence (named by Charles Keyes in 1924) beginning with the Grand Canyon (the bottom step), through Zion (the middle step), and finishing at the top step of Bryce. Fee: $100 (both days)

On October 18 and 19 ZCFI will conduct a Leave No Trace Trainer Course. In 1909, Zion averaged around 10 visitors per day.  In July of 2006, it was around 11,000 per day. Because of this, the need for minimum impact hiking and camping techniques has become increasingly important. Come on an overnight backpacking trip with us in Zion where you’ll not only learn all about the 7 principles of Leave No Trace, but how to properly teach and inform others as they develop their own outdoor ethic. Join LNT certified instructor Jason Burton on an overnight backpack on this insightful look at low-impact outdoor ethics. Fee: $100 (both days)

Archaeology Service Project on October 20-21 gets you out in the filed and down and dirty! Join our archaeologist, roll up your sleeves, and prepare for two days of learning and fieldwork in Zion. We will work outside on projects of the archeologist’s choosing which may include site surveys and/or inventories. This is an opportunity to learn trailside about the prehistoric and historic settlements and people of Zion from the Basket Makers to the Mormon pioneers while helping out in a project that is beneficial to the park. Fee: $100 (both days)

Dr. Allen Brown will lead Wednesday Wildlife Walk on October 22. Enjoy the wonders of nature and Zion Canyon with zoologist/ecologist, Dr. Allen Brown. He will explain the complex interactions of the physical and biological worlds that shape the unique ecology of Zion National Park. Discover an abundance of wildlife-large and small-as you stroll along Zion’s trails and side canyons. We never know what we will encounter, so nature’s spontaneity serves as our ever-changing outdoor laboratory! Fee: $25

Thursday Trek on October 23th is basically a naturalist-guided hike at a location of the naturalist’s choosing and starts at 9 am and ends around 2 pm. Fee: $35

A popular new class which premiered on June 7, Rim to Floor, will be repeated on October 25. Need to stretch your legs a bit? Join a ZCFI naturalist as we hike the East Rim Trail down to the canyon floor at Weeping Rock. This is one for seasoned hikers looking to expand their knowledge base while they enjoy a longer hike. Along the way we’ll talk geology, botany, some biology, and desert ecosystems. We’ll pass through several of Zion’s geologic layers, enjoy incredible rim vistas, and descend through Echo Canyon as it skirts around Weeping Rock. We’ll stop at a nice spot somewhere on the rim for our picnic lunch. Enjoy one of Zion’s premier hikes and learn a lot about the desert you love along the way! Fee: $60 

The month closes with Archaeology Road Trip: Zion to Pipe Spring National Monument.

Join Zion National Park Archaeologist, Sarah Horton, for a fun-filled road trip through the archaeological past. We will start our day at 9 am in Zion where the emphasis will be on prehistoric archaeology before proceeding to Pipe Spring. In Pipe Spring we will have lunch and tour historic archaeological sites there. Fee: $75 (Transportation included)

Zion Canyon Field Institute is the educational arm of Zion Natural History Association. All classes are fee-based. For more information or to register CALL 435-772-3264 OR go to www.zionpark.org. As space is limited, please call early to register. 

NATIONAL FOREST SURVEYS COMING YOUR WAY - This fall, you may see more Forest Service and contract employees working in developed and dispersed recreation sites and along Forest Service roads. They will be wearing bright orange vests and be near a sign that says “Traffic Survey Ahead”. These folks are waiting to talk to you, so please pull over for an interview. These well trained interviewers want to know about your visit to the national forest. All information you give is confidential and the survey is voluntary.

This on-going national forest survey has already been conducted once on every National Forest in the country. We are now returning 5 years later to update the information previously gathered as well as to look at recreation trends over time. The information is useful for forest planning and even local community tourism planning. It provides the National Forest managers with an estimate of how many people actually recreate on federal lands and what activities they engage in while there.

This recreation visitor program gathers basic visitor information. All responses are totally confidential, in fact a person’s name is never written anywhere on the survey. The basic interview lasts about 8 minutes. Every other visitor is asked a few additional questions which may take an additional 5 minutes. The questions visitors are asked include: where they recreated on the Forest, how many people they traveled with, how long they were on the Forest, what other recreation sites they visited while on the Forest, and how satisfied they were with the facilities and services provided. About a third of the visitors will be asked to complete a confidential survey on recreation spending during their trip.

Information collected in this national study will be used in local Forest planning, at the state planning level, and even by Congress. The more they know about the visitors the better managers can provide for their needs.

Although the survey is entirely voluntary, we sure would appreciate it if visitors would pull up and answer a few questions. It’s important for them to talk with local people using the forest as well as out-of-area visitors so all types of visitors are represented in the study. If you have any questions about this program you can visit our web site at http://www.fs.fed.us/recreation/programs/nvum or call Sue Kocis at 517.355.7740 x119