A Path to Change - Volunteer Stories
August 22, 2003
- Reflections from a Student Conservation Assocaition volunteer
Seventeen year old Lisa Maas and her crew were located in the remote desert of central Washington along the Columbia River. Working with the Army Corps of Engineers, her SCA trail led her to long hot days of performing exhausting physical work - removing more than 5000' of fencing that prevented deer from enjoying their natural habitat and sometimes even caused them harm.
On this particular day, as documented in her trip diary, it became clear to her why her work was so important:
6/28/03
10:07 p.m.
Today was a scorcher! The weather channel said it was supposed to be cooler today, but it felt hotter than ever!
We divided into two groups: the loppers and the fence haulers. The loppers headed off for some cool lopping under the luscious, shady canopy while we fence haulers trudged up and down a 90 degree incline under a parching sun. After we had dragged innumerous bundles down the hillside, we were pausing for a sip of hot watery goodness when we witnessed an amazing and very self-satisfying sight: a deer bounded up the hill about 100 yards away and nimbly leaped over the barb wire fence with graceful ease. As it continued up the slope on the other side, it kept looking back as if in disbelief that the fence was removed. In this instant I knew we really were making a difference. Our work was not for naught.