Josh- Big Bend- Day Five

Friday, January 18th.

Since we had finished the conservation efforts earlier in the week, Friday was spent on cleanup.
Until recently, telephone cable had run freely across the ground, over a saddle in the mountains,
and down into the Chisos Basin campsite. These wires had been used for communication and
internet purposes, but had recently been replaced with easier and more eco-friendly methods.
Taking a back round, we went off the main road and into the mountains. After going as far as
the cars would allow we began to go up into the mountains on foot in search of the cable. After
finding it halfway up, our team split and began to cut and roll large segments of the wire, and
bring them back to the trucks. Friday was by far the hardest work we performed all week. This
half day of hiking did not stop us from going on our own hike that afternoon. We hiked the Lost
Mine Trail, a 4.8 mile hike that took us over 1100 feet in the air. As we climbed higher and
higher I began to understand what our conservation efforts could lead to. We saw miles and
miles of beautiful forest and grasslands, mostly untouched by humans. But as we reached the
top I could grasp the full scope of the park, and its habitat. We could see for miles and miles
around us, until often it faded too far into the distance or was blocked by another mountain
range. The park had miles of untouched and unused land. This land was rarely, if ever, touched
by a human and had in maintained its own balance. Much of the work we were doing was
repairing the damaged caused by humans. As Joe had told us through the week, Big Bend had
been a large grazing ground for the cattle industry, and it had taken its toll on the park. Though
much of Big Bend had always been desert and badlands, our conservation efforts were needed
to return the balance to the areas that had been destroyed by others misuse. What this week
has taught me most is that it only takes small changes to permanently alter our environment,
and that it will take much more effort to fix the problem later then to deal with the causes now.