The Land: Adjacent to the southeast boundary of Zion National Park, Canaan Mountain Wilderness is comprised of approximately 44,500 acres of public land in Washington County. In this wilderness, an 8-by-10 mile block of Navajo Sandstone, bounded by 2,000-foot-high cliffs, has been sculpted by wind and water over time into a landscape of soaring cliff walls, natural arches, and slot canyons. On the highest plateaus, stands of ponderosa pine are surrounded by cream-colored slickrock. Pinyon pine, Utah juniper, scrub oak, and sagebrush cover the mountain slopes, at lower elevations. Seeps in the canyon walls provide water for hanging gardens of maidenhair fern, monkeyflower, and columbine. Hawks, falcons, and golden eagles nest along the sandstone walls, while ring-tailed cats, deer, cougar, and black bear live on the plateaus and in the canyon bottoms.

The Work: Our work will focus on travel management by eliminating motorized impacts within the Wilderness boundary. Several illegal routes spiderweb up sandy slopes and rocky benches, degrading the Wilderness quality of the landscape and inviting more motorized use to further scar the area. Extensive labor will be required to restrict motorized use and disguise the current impacts. Extensive heavy lifting of fallen tree trunks, large boulders and other debris on uneven terrain will be the brunt of our work. Fencing and sign installation will also require heavy lifting and the use of power tools and hand tools alike. Rehabilitating this large area will require an able body and a cooperative attitude.

Our Objective: Rehabilitate areas degraded by illicit motorized use, creating an environment for soil and plant communities to flourish undisturbed. Manage motorized use to areas outside the Wilderness boundary by disguising visual impacts of past use and when necessary installing fencing and educational signage.

Project Itinerary: A comprehensive itinerary will be provided to registered volunteers.