Weed-Free Trails Program, Saguaro National Park

The Weeds-Free Trail Program at Saguaro National Park was organized in February of 2008. The goal of this program is to monitor the trails, mapping and removing exotic plants and fulfilling the goal of “Early Detection, Rapid Response”. In 2013, twelve volunteers monitored 1,150 miles of trails and removed 11 acres of invasive vegetation, contributing approximately 1,039 hours to the volunteer program. In 2014, nineteen volunteers monitored 2,490 miles of trail, removing 24 acres of invasive vegetation, contributing approximately 2,300 hours to the volunteer program. In 2015, 25 volunteers removed 22 acres of invasive vegetation, contributing 1,605 hours to the volunteer program.

Average Number of Volunteers:
Twenty-five active individuals. In 2015, 15 interested individuals attended the 8 hour training and orientation.

Expectations of volunteers:
Volunteers must attend a training and orientation that takes place each fall (8 hours). The training will cover plant identification, GPS skills, data collection and recording, outreach, cultural issues, radio use, and safety issues. Volunteers must go out at least three times during the WFT season to remain an active volunteer in the program.

Contact:
Michael Turner
520-733-5187
michael_tuner@nps.gov
sagu_invasive@nps.gov