An enthusiastic group of volunteers joins forces to maintain Fort Ord National Monument.

Like me, Pam Marino, you’ve probably passed the former Fort Ord a million times. Some of you may have even ventured onto the trails of what is now Fort Ord National Monument since it was established by former president Barack Obama in 2012. 

I had only one brief hike inside the monument a few years ago but last Saturday, Oct. 26, I got to see deep inside the 14,658 acres as a volunteer for National Public Lands Day, through the Bureau of Land Management, co-sponsored with the National Environmental Education Foundation. It was the 22nd annual NPLD event they’ve had at the monument, Eric Morgan, the monument’s manager, tells me.

I was on the “Broom Bashing” team, pulling out French broom by the roots using a very cool weed wrench tool, as well as rock rose plants. Both are invasive species that if left unchecked will crowd out native species. Our team was co-hosted by Citizens for Sustainable Marina, or C4SM, which hosts regular “Broom Bashes” on land surrounding Fort Ord.

We met at 9am at Barloy Canyon Road behind East Garrison and received safety training—they still find random pieces of old ordnance leftover from Fort Ord training days, about two a month, we were told. “Recognize, retreat and report” were words drilled into our heads.

We also heard from retired BLM biologist and current Marina mayor, Bruce Delgado, on how to look out for California tiger salamanders, lest we do harm to the protected amphibians with either our feet or our tools.

After signing a sheaf of papers acknowledging we received safety training, we got into our vehicles and were led by BLM technician Daniel Ontiveros, who took us along old Army roads—now used by mountain bikers and hikers—to a location where French broom and rock rose plants were flourishing.

The tools were heavy, but I found I had no issues with the medium-sized weed wrench, wedging it around the base of medium-sized plants. All I had to do was step on one end of the tool to make it clench the trunk and then push the lever until the plant popped up and back, roots and all. Stronger volunteers wielded the large wrenches, yanking bigger plants out of the dry, hard ground. We used other hand tools to dig out smaller plants popping up all over the area.

We had 12 volunteers in our group—in all there were 100 volunteers at work that day in various areas of the monument. The Monterey Off Road Cycling Association led a team of volunteers in trail building. Other projects on Saturday included willow planting, oak planting, a “straw throw” to prevent erosion and collecting native seeds for future habitat restoration.

Our group stopped before noon—we thankfully saw no ordnance and no salamanders that morning—and got back into our vehicles to wind around more back roads, past rolling hills, oak forests and a beautiful lake until we descended on Lightfighter LZ Picnic Grounds, where a catered taco lunch was waiting for volunteers.

It was the perfect volunteer opportunity. You don't need to be an expert, just show up and be willing to pitch in. The best part was being in a beautiful setting with great people who have a heart for the community.

Public Lands Day at Fort Ord National Monument won’t happen again for another year, but there are other ways to volunteer: MORCA hosts monthly trail-building events and the FORT Friends sometimes post other volunteer opportunities. C4SM holds Broom Bashes twice a month on lands surrounding the monument. You can find more information about the monument on the BLM website.