Service Project - Dolan Falls Preserve

*** RSVP ON MEETUP ALONE DOES NOT RESERVE A SPOT ON THE TRIP***

Join us for a week long Service Project at the Nature Conservancy's Dolan Falls Preserve. Fed by powerful freshwater springs, the Devils River and Dolan Creek comprise what many consider to be Texas’ most pristine river. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rw4DlHYJ30s

The only way to get there involves fording the Devils River in your vehicle. (For many of us, this is a feature, not a bug).

On the sunbaked western edge of the Texas Hill Country, where the Chihuahuan Desert’s thornscrub and ochre sands yield to the wild, Dolan Falls Preserve emerges like an oasis. Here, the rugged terrain fractures into sheer limestone cliffs, from whose bases powerful springs burst forth, feeding the luminous turquoise and jade ribbons of the Devils River.

This river-often hailed as the cleanest and most untouched in Texas-winds through canyons and dense stands of oak and sycamore, their roots anchored in the cool, clear flow. The river’s tributary, Dolan Creek, joins the main channel to create Dolan Falls, a rare spectacle: one of Texas’ largest and only continuously flowing waterfalls, cascading twelve feet over ancient stone and churning the water into frothy rapids.

The Nature Conservancy’s 4,788-acre Dolan Falls Preserve, fortified by an additional 135,000 acres of protected land along 25 miles of the Devils River, safeguards this extraordinary landscape and its lifeblood. The preserve’s canyons shelter rare and endangered species like the Texas snowbell and Mexican white oak, while the river’s crystalline waters-filtered by moss and porous rock-nurture a hidden world of unnamed salamanders and aquatic life. Above, steep cliffs bristle with scrub juniper and mesquite, while the riparian corridors serve as vital migratory highways for birds and monarch butterflies traversing the arid west.

Remote and largely untouched by human hands, Dolan Falls Preserve is a sanctuary where the elemental forces of water and stone shape a landscape as wild and vibrant as any in Texas-an irreplaceable stronghold for the state’s natural heritage.

What will we be doing? The Preserve Manager Ryan Thornton writes:
"We’ve got a whole bunch of ongoing projects out there, most of which are renovation/construction/plumbing/carpentry related. It kind of depends on what gets done between now and November, but it could be something like putting new screens on the shelters, painting the dining room/kitchen, building a privacy fence around the outdoor shower, trail work, clearing brush from roadsides."

How about sleeping and cooking and showering facilities? Once again, Ryan Thornton writes:
There are 6 screened-in shelters (with cots), and two cabins. The shelters can comfortably sleep two people, but I’ve seen 4 people sleep to a shelter. One of the cabins has 3 beds in it, and the other has 2. There is also ample room outside if someone wants to pitch a tent.
Yes, there is electricity in all the cabins/shelters. There is a kitchen/dining area that is fully stocked (fridge, pots, pans, etc). Y’all will just need to bring your food and bedding. There is also a shower area with two toilets and two showers as well as an outdoor shower.

There will be a day off for hiking.

Participants are responsible for their own transportation, camping equipment, and breakfasts and lunches.

Under our system for evening meals, you and partners will be responsible for feeding the entire group one evening. This includes bringing and preparing the food, Dish Patrol and washing said pots and pans.

To sign up:

1. RSVP on Meetup: The Meetup may show as full, but if you want to come, please sign up! There is usually plenty of turnover.
2. Contact information: Send your name, cell number, email address to stanpeyton at gmail.com.
3. Complete the Medical Form: https://tinyurl.com/SCMedicalForm2021 Scan and email the form also to stanpeyton at gmail.com (preferred), or to Stan Peyton's mailing address below.
4. Wait for approval from Trip Leaders, who might reach out for more details. Hiking and camping in rugged wilderness areas takes extraordinary preparation, so we strive to make sure that this trip is right for you.
5. Read the Participation Agreement and fill out Page 1: https://tinyurl.com/SCSignUpSheet2020
6. Mail the forms to:
   Stan Peyton
   8408 Hanbridge Lane
   Austin TX 78736

VERY IMPORTANT: IF WE HAVE NOT RECEIVED THE ABOVE PAPERWORK WITHIN TEN DAYS OF YOUR SIGNING UP, YOU WILL BE REMOVED FROM THE TRIP.

Don't sign up unless you are serious about attending!

How to get there directions will be given to those who sign up closer to the event.

| YOU WILL NEED TO BRING: |
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•Containers for leftovers

•Kneeling pad

•Geologist's Hammer (we are not kidding)

•Tent and implements of sleeping

•Covid mask

•Dishtowel

•Earplugs

•Evening meal for Fridays and Saturday

•Flashlight

•Food and drinks for all your breakfasts, snacks and lunches

•Hat

•Long pants

•Personal prescriptions and first aid kit

•Plate/bowl

•Silverware

•Sunscreen

•Tweezers

•Water bottle

•Work gloves