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If you want to actively participate in helping maintain the these desert ecosystems, there are several opportunities and steps you can take depending on how invested you want to be, below are some specific examples of groups and ways to be involved.
Volunteer Opportunities
Volunteer Opportunities
Note that volunteering programs may vary depending on several factors such as where you want to volunteer, current need for people, and the availability of space. It is advised that if you plan on working within a specific desert region mentioned here such as the Colorado, Mojave, or Great Basin deserts, do some further research regarding conservation groups, and projects within your chosen area.
Source: thegreatbasininstitute.org
One such way you can help out is to participate in desert clean ups hosted by organizations such as the Great Basin Institute. The image to the left shows volunteers of the Institute working to clean up illegally dumped garbage within the desert regions of the Great Basin desert.
Additionally, if you're feeling up for a greater commit, the Great Basin Institute also has a program called the International Conservation Volunteer Exchange and Field Studies or ICVE. This is a volunteer and internship program geared towards international students who will work with professionals in the field on natural resource projects throughout not only in the Great basin region, but also throughout the western United States. For more information click here.
National Park Service
National Park Service
Source: Great Basin National Park Service
If you so choose you may also volunteer at the individual National park located within each of the three desert systems to serve in a variety of different roles. For example, you can become a Campground Host. The program is called Volunteer-in-Parks (VIP) program, and gives you the opportunity to work alongside the National Park service as well as other volunteers within the program. This program requires a dedicated commitment for the majority of the Summer season as volunteers who are accepted will be required to live within the park for the duration of the program.
While at the park, campground hosts will act as the eyes of the park service regularly assisting park staff and providing information to park rangers such as wildlife sightings, and safety concerns among other things. Additionally, the campground host will also have the ability to directly interact with park guests, and provide information regarding the park itself. To learn more about this program visit their site here for more information.
For those of you who are not able to do this, there are other auxiliary roles you can fulfill when volunteering in these national parks.
Staff the visitor centers and information centers.
Aid in the upkeep and maintenance of the various structures within the parks such as buildings, trails, and campgrounds.
Develop media for the NPS website or brochures through the writing of articles, and submission of photos.
Assist park staff in park projects such as , surveys, land assessments, clean-ups, and restoration/ conservation events.
And various other functions that may be unique to each park.
To help you get started, here the links to the Get Involved page for some of the parks located in these desert ecosystems:
Colorado Desert: https://www.nps.gov/grsa/index.htm
Mojave Desert: https://www.nps.gov/moja/getinvolved/index.htm
Great Basin Desert: https://www.nps.gov/grba/getinvolved/index.htm
Source: National Park and Preserve Colorado, image of university student volunteers in the park
Source: Joshua Tree National Park, image of a member of the Student Conservation Association (SCA).
Federal Agencies
Federal Agencies
Beyond the scope of local organizations such as the Great Basin Institute, and the National Park service, there are also plenty of volunteer opportunities, and even potential jobs at several federal agencies that have partnered with the National Park Service. These agencies include:
The U.S. Forest Service: https://www.fs.usda.gov/working-with-us/volunteers
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: https://www.fws.gov/volunteers/
Bureau of Land Management: https://www.blm.gov/get-involved
Bureau of land Reclamation: https://www.usbr.gov/youth/volunteer/index.html
Many of these agencies offer a variety of ways to participate in the conservation of our desert systems such as internship programs, art and media opportunities, educational programs, and direct participation in conservation and restoration projects all over the country.
Again, the opportunities to get involved in these federal agencies will be varied with some having more stringent requirements than other depending on what you are volunteering for.
Current Research in Desert Ecosystems
Current Research in Desert Ecosystems
Source: United States Geological Survey, image of a wildfire in the Mojave desert
Fire and Invasive Species in California Deserts
Fire and Invasive Species in California Deserts
Deserts are extremely sensitive to fire, placing severe environmental stress on both the plant and animal communities of deserts. Native desert vegetation posses several adaptations to face the harsh conditions of their homes, but these same adaptations can make them more susceptible to fire. For example, many native desert plants are dry during the summer months. In the event of a wildfire, these plants will be immediately set ablaze and consumed allowing the fire to spread rapidly through an area.
As such, one of the most critical topics being discussed in regards to desert ecosystems in California is the increasing occurrence of wildfires, and as an extension, increasing invasion by non native plant species (usgs.gov). These two topics are linked together in a cyclical relationship that exacerbates each other the more that time goes on. Fires fueled by flammable invasive species will clear away native vegetation so that the same invasive plant species that caused the fire are able to take root again. In turn, these invasive species provide fuel when a wildfire does occurs resulting in the repeating of the entire cycle.
Many of these invasive plants include grass species such as cheatgrass, buffelgrass, red brome, and fountain grass (nps.gov, 2017). Unlike native desert vegetation, these grasses are able to grow quickly, and often dominate the area before native plant species can return; monopolizing the already low nutrients available in the soil. In doing so, invasive species are effectively able to starve and outright exclude native vegetation from the area.
Organizations Involved in Research and Active Participation
Organizations Involved in Research and Active Participation
Source: Wikipedia
The National Park Service is involved in the setup of monitoring efforts for invasive plants within certain parks under the NPS's jurisdiction. These networks encompass Great Basin, Joshua Tree, and Mojave National Parks just to name a few. The main goal of these networks is the early detection of invasive plants such that a proper plan can be formulated to deal with them before these invasive species can spread. For more information regarding the NPS monitoring efforts click here.
Source: usgs.gov
The USGS or the United States Geological Survey, is another federal agency who is actively involved in providing fire management guidance to partnered communities and provide advice to federal land managers in areas such as the Great Basin desert, and the Mojave desert. Additionally, a subset of the USGS called the USGS Wildland Fire Science is actively involved in research regarding changing fire regimes, it's causes, and effects on plant and animal communities. To learn more or see some of their publications visit their page here.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
The United States Forest Service (USFS) is another federal agency that plays an important role in managing fire and invasive species. Some of their research regarding wildfires include: fire behavior, and the effect that fires have on soil content. They directly do research on fire management through partnered labs and research stations which can be accessed by clicking here. The USFS is also one of the major entities behind the organization of fire rehabilitation and restoration projects in the aftermath of fires in which they partner and cooperate with local communities, and state individual state agencies.
Source: fs.usda.gov
The USFS is also a major player when comes to research regarding invasive species incorporating their various labs and stations as well as information/ data generated by citizen scientists. Some of the broad research topics the USFS seek to address are identification and detection, management, and determining ecological impacts. To learn more about the research being conducted click here. As previously mentioned they are also an organizational powerhouse, able to mobilize and provide resources to partnered communities and agencies including financial and technical services.
Source: thesca.org
SCA or Student Conservation Association is a conservation minded organization whose members generally comprise of youth and young adults. The organization itself doesn't do any active research like some of the federal agencies mentioned previously, but is focused on direct application of conservation practices instead. A specific program called the Desert Restoration Corps has its members specifically work in the deserts of the Mojave and Colorado. These include projects such as: habitat restoration, trail assessment, and invasive species management and monitoring. If you would like to learn more about this program visit their page here.
References
References
Baker, Mailing Address: Great Basin National Park 100 Great Basin National Park, et al. Campground Hosting - Great Basin National Park (U.S. National Park Service). www.nps.gov, https://www.nps.gov/grba/getinvolved/supportyourpark/campground-hosting.htm.
“Desert Restoration Corps.” The Student Conservation Association. www.thesca.org, https://www.thesca.org/serve/program/desert-restoration-corps.
Fire Research | US Forest Service. https://www.fs.usda.gov/science-technology/fire/fire-research.
“International Conservation Volunteer Exchange & Field Studies Abroad.” The Great Basin Institute. www.thegreatbasininstitute.org, https://www.thegreatbasininstitute.org/programs/intl-conservation-volunteer-exchange/.
Invasive and Exotic Plants Monitoring (U.S. National Park Service). www.nps.gov, https://www.nps.gov/im/mojn/invasive-and-exotic-plants.htm.
Invasive Species - US Forest Service Research & Development. https://www.fs.fed.us/research/invasive-species/.
United States Geological Survey, "Wildland Fire Science." USGS. https://www.usgs.gov/special-topic/fire
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