Buttermilk Boulders

On January 18, Friends of the Inyo, in cooperation with the Inyo National Forest, celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr. Day with a volunteer cleanup at the Buttermilk Boulders in Bishop. Despite a snowy, overcast start to the day, 17 hardy volunteers picked up trash and delineated parking areas, contributing more than 51 hours of service valued at $1,150 to the popular climbing area. Damage to vegetation from parking, walking or camping outside of established areas causes significant erosion and negatively impacts on both the slope and the watershed. Projects like the MLK Day clean up can go a long way toward protecting this environment.

Volunteers picked up 150 pounds of trash, including broken glass, barbed wire, broken pallets, and plastics. They also delineated the parking lot by lining the perimeter with boulders and rocks gathered from outlying areas and dispersed three fire rings from undeveloped, inappropriate campsites. Volunteers protected islands of vegetation by lining them with rocks and removing short cut paths between them.“In total, volunteers cleaned up and helped restore about 40 acres of the Buttermilk,” said Katie Rodriguez, an AmeriCorps member with Friends of the Inyo. “It’s great to see locals and visiting climbers give back to an area they love so much.”