Mission:
Stewards of the Black Rock Desert (Stewards of BRD) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization which provides outreach and education to encourage responsible recreation and promotes protection and enhancement of resources in the Black Rock Desert region.
Outreach: visiting camps and events in the Black Rock Desert and beyond, staffing the Bureau of Land Management’s Black Rock Station, collecting contact data, producing media
Education: hosting events, community FM broadcast, publishing brochures with safety tips, historical information, & lists of resources, programs for children about camping tips, nature, history, astronomy, etc., interpretive sign installation for historical, ecological, and geological significance
Protection & Enhancement of Resources: replace and increase signage to prevent prohibited and destructive activities, activity suggestions based on time available and level of experience (novice to expert), development of toilets at appropriate locations, trail stabilization, Trego Management Plan, collect data points of stuck vehicles to inform public of hazards, participate in projects to repair damage from vehicles and irresponsible camping practices.
Vision
Vison:
An increase in dispersed camping, off-highway vehicle use, and wilderness engagement will put increased demands on management of the Black Rock Desert – High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area (Black Rock NCA) and surrounding region in the future. Stewards of BRD along with other partners will help to provide the information and infrastructure necessary to steer visitors and recreational users away from destructive behaviors and towards a shared responsibility for the sustained health of public lands.
It is understood that the Black Rock NCA and surrounding region provides a primitive, undeveloped landscape that preserves the experience of the early inhabitants of the region. While those people traveled through the region on foot, in wagons, and on horseback, modern visitors also travel on bicycles, electric bicycles, motorcycles, ATVs, cars, trucks, RVs, and aircraft. Emigrants regularly engaged in practices such as ground fires and burying waste that are now prohibited because of the undesirable impacts that such practices would have on delicate resources with a much larger population of visitors. The goal of Stewards of BRD is to develop the necessary infrastructure to provide services to visitors while preserving the primitive nature of the experience. It is not feasible to have a complete prohibition of access, and similarly it is not sustainable to have a complete prohibition on infrastructure construction. There is a need for toilets, dedicated fire rings, designated camping areas, and improved signage and interpretation at specific high-use areas within the Black Rock NCA and surrounding region, and these infrastructure improvements must be maintained. The construction and maintenance of infrastructure will require the efforts of Stewards of BRD and multiple partners to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).