Teams of students build Tahoe trail

Thank goodness for youthful exuberance.

Topaz Lake Park has a trail, bench and informational sign due to the hard work of 30 summer employees of the Nevada Conservation Corps. The corps, part of the service branch of the Great Basin Institute, a University of Nevada, Reno-sponsored organization, hired the students to work in public parks and lands over the summer.

Wednesday was their third day of training and they spent it scraping, picking and hammering a trail out of the side of a mountain from the boat ramp up to the newly-installed bench and informational sign.

Thursday, the students were split into two groups. Half the students will spend most of the summer at Great Basin State Park in Baker, Nev. and the other half will work at Sand Harbor at Lake Tahoe.

The students learned how to make a trail that would resist erosion and how to be safe while working in the hot sun, but most of the participants said the team-building discussions made the biggest impression on them.

Justin Fricke, 18, is a recent McQueen High School graduate whose parents, John Grant and Stephanie Morris, live in Gardnerville.

Fricke said he hopes to work in wildlife management after getting his degree at UNR, so this summer job was "too perfect to be true."

"But it goes beyond just the outdoors, I'm learning a lot about being part of a team. This is a great group of people. Everyone shares their personal experiences to make the team better. It's like a family, almost. We all help each other," Fricke said.

Jenny Francis, who is studying conservation biology, and Sarah Mae Tone, who just finished her undergraduate degree at UNR in wildlife biology, were hired by Nevada Conservation Corps before the others and have been at Topaz Lake for five weeks, assisting the park staff and preparing for this training session.

They also spent a day with kids from Adventure Camp, teaching them about the ecosystem of the area and plant identification.

They designed the trail and mapped it out. Then, they prepared the information about plants and animals of the area, the importance of the lake and the surrounding mountains for the display at the top of the trail and installed the bench.

"I was nervous last night, but now I'm pretty excited," Tone said. "Everybody works so hard. There is nothing to do but be excited."

Francis said they interviewed many local biologists for help with the informational sign and are happy to be a part of conservation and promotion of the area.

"It is really great. I'm so proud of the work we're doing. Watching it unfold, seeing the results is so exciting," Francis said.

Emily McGinty, 18, is a student at Western Nevada Community College and a resident of Minden. She will be working at Great Basin this summer.

"I thought it would be a good experience living with a bunch of people I didn't know," she said.

McGinty said she didn't mind that the students would have to live in tents all summer with little or no opportunity for showers or the other comforts of home.

"I'd rather do that than deal with traffic and Wal-Marts. You get used to the smell of yourself after awhile," she said. "I've learned a lot of how to take care of the environment and what hard work actually is."

John Smihula, 38, is a graduate student at UNR studying American literature and film. He said the summer job is a good balance to the rest of the year he spends in the classroom.

"It's hard work, but if you have a sense of humor and good friends it makes it fun. One reason I like teaching is because it keeps me around younger people. You feel younger being around younger folks," Smihula said.

He said he has learned a lot already.

"It's more complex than you think (to build a trail). I do a lot of hiking and you don't think about it while you are just hiking, but I've realized a lot of effort, planning and money goes into it," he said.

Briana Frank, 21, came all the way from Wisconsin after hearing about the job from friends she met in Nevada last summer while working with AmeriCorps. She will be building trails at Sand Harbor all summer.

"I'm really interested in conservation and environmental studies," she said. "For sure, I'm excited."

Brian Clowers, 22, just finished his undergraduate degree in chemistry at UNR and is looking at more lab time in graduate school in Washington in the fall.

"I felt it would be a good way to give back a little. I spend a lot of time in the lab. I thought it would be a good break," he said.

Craig Burnside, Douglas County parks superintendent, spoke to the students and to local residents at an evening session that included a slide show on species conservation and Nevada's wilderness areas.

"It went very well. I believe there were 8 or 10 local residents who came down to Topaz for the presentations, and then there were the campers. I would estimate there were 50-70 people in attendance," Burnside said.

He praised the students' trailbuilding work, especially the leadership of Tone and Francis.

"It was a great project. There was an existing footpath, but at someplaces, it was very narrow and there was a lot of erosion, and they put in a few remediation measures," Burnside said.

He said the students will do work at Kahle and Zephyr Cove parks. He said if the rest of the summer is as positive as this week, he plans on inviting the group back next summer.

"The two girls we've been working with so far have done a good job. It's been a real worth-while program. At this stage, it looks like we will have them back next year. We've been pretty pleased wth the projects they've been able to accomplish," he said. "It's kind of a 'You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours.' We are giving some students an education in the field they want to work in and at the same time, we are getting some work done in the parks."

The program is paid for by a $257,000 federal grant and will continue all year. Students over 17 years old are encouraged to apply for the positions still open for fall work in Douglas and Washoe county parks. For more information, call Great Basin Insitute director Jerry Keir at (775) 784-1192.