Sep 2 (edited) • General discussion
Getting Involved - Public Lands
⭐ Friends of Red Rock Canyon ⭐
What they do: Friends of Red Rock Canyon is the nonprofit partner supporting Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. It provides volunteers and financial support for trail maintenance, habitat work, visitor education, wildlife care, cultural-resource protection, native plants, and other stewardship projects.
Mission focus: Preserve and enhance Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area through volunteerism, philanthropy, and education.
How to get involved: This is one of the strongest hands-on opportunities in the valley. More than 300 volunteers participate in programs including canyon cleanups, trail maintenance and monitoring, invasive-plant removal, native-plant work, visitor-center interpretation, trailhead ambassador work, desert tortoise care, hummingbird feeding, and site care. Some positions require BLM orientation or additional training.
⭐ Southern Nevada Conservancy ⭐
What they do: Southern Nevada Conservancy helps people discover, understand, and enjoy Southern Nevada's public lands, particularly Red Rock Canyon. Its work includes interpretation, environmental education, visitor services, stewardship, and public-land improvements.
Mission / focus: Connecting people with public lands while helping protect the natural and cultural resources that make those places significant.
How to get involved: Volunteer opportunities at Red Rock Canyon include canyon cleanups, trail repair, graffiti removal, desert tortoise habitat work, visitor-center assistance, and group/corporate projects.
⭐ Friends of Avi Kwa Ame National Monument ⭐
What they do: Friends of Avi Kwa Ame works to protect and steward the ecological, cultural, historic, and recreational resources of Avi Kwa Ame National Monument through advocacy, education, research, interpretation, restoration, and community involvement.
Mission / focus: Protect the monument as an interconnected desert landscape while respecting its extraordinary cultural importance to affiliated Tribal nations and supporting responsible recreation, conservation, research, and stewardship.
How to get involved: Opportunities have included habitat and restoration work, cleanups, Walking Box Ranch stewardship, biological research, Joshua tree monitoring, educational outreach, dark-sky work, public-land advocacy, and events. The organization reports working with more than 350 volunteers on restoration, conservation, research, and educational outreach projects during 2023–2025.
Get involved / volunteer opportunities: Friends of Avi Kwa Ame Events & Opportunities
⭐ Friends of Gold Butte ⭐
What they do: Friends of Gold Butte protects, restores, interprets, and advocates for Gold Butte National Monument and the surrounding landscape.
Mission / focus: Maintain a healthy Gold Butte landscape where wildlife, natural resources, cultural resources, and solitude are protected while remaining responsibly accessible to future generations.
How to get involved: This is another particularly hands-on organization. Opportunities include trash cleanups, invasive plant work, native planting, seed collection, hike leading, visitor-center assistance, community-event tabling, grant writing, education, advocacy, and special BLM stewardship projects.
Volunteer: Volunteer with Friends of Gold Butte
⭐ Friends of Nevada Wilderness ⭐
What they do: Friends of Nevada Wilderness protects Nevada's wild public lands through advocacy, education, wilderness stewardship, habitat restoration, and volunteer field projects.
Mission / focus: Preserve Nevada's qualified public lands as wilderness, protect existing and potential wilderness, educate people about wilderness values, and improve the stewardship and restoration of wild lands.
How to get involved: One of the best organizations here for someone who specifically wants boots-on-the-ground conservation experience. Projects include trail maintenance, habitat restoration, invasive plant removal, wilderness monitoring, trash cleanup, fence work, watershed projects, and public outreach.
They also have Southern Nevada outreach opportunities focused on dark skies, public-lands protection, and volunteer recruitment.
⭐ Protectors of Tule Springs ⭐
What they do: Protect Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument and Ice Age Fossils State Park through stewardship, education, advocacy, interpretation, fundraising, cleanups, and volunteer support.
Mission focus: Protect and preserve the area's paleontological, archaeological, biological, and public-land resources while promoting responsible stewardship.
Members and volunteers participate in desert cleanups, interpretive hikes, educational programs, Junior Ranger activities, science/community events, school presentations, and other monument projects. Volunteers can also receive training to lead cleanups and activities.
⭐ Nevada State Historic Preservation Office — Nevada Site Stewardship Program ⭐
What they do: This is a state-run volunteer program, not a nonprofit. Trained volunteers monitor archaeological, historical, and paleontological sites on Nevada's public lands and report vandalism, looting, visitor impacts, natural deterioration, and other changes to land managers.
Mission focus: Preserve Nevada's archaeological, historical, and paleontological heritage by creating a network of trained citizen stewards who help government agencies monitor vulnerable sites.
How to get involved: This is one of the most distinctive opportunities in the entire directory. Volunteers complete a free six-hour training course, are assigned sites with a partner, and generally visit those sites up to four times per year. They photograph and document site conditions and submit monitoring reports to the program. Training is offered periodically in Las Vegas, Mesquite, Reno, and elsewhere.
For someone interested in fieldwork, this is a fantastic pathway because they're being entrusted with an actual monitoring responsibility rather than simply attending a cleanup.
⭐ Amargosa Conservancy ⭐
What they do: Amargosa Conservancy protects the Amargosa River watershed and surrounding Eastern Mojave Desert, spanning portions of Nevada and California. Its work combines science, advocacy, education, and on-the-ground stewardship, with particular attention to groundwater, springs, wetlands, endemic and endangered species, invasive plants, habitat restoration, and threats such as poorly sited mining and development.
Mission focus: Work toward a sustainable future for the Amargosa River and Basin through science, stewardship, and advocacy. The organization works with communities, researchers, land managers, and conservation partners to protect the region's water, biodiversity, cultural resources, and desert landscapes.
How to get involved: This is an excellent organization for people interested in water, desert ecology, restoration, advocacy, or field conservation. Volunteer projects have included riparian restoration, trail work, closing unauthorized vehicle routes, invasive-species management, native-plant work, monitoring, and restoration of habitat for species such as the endangered Amargosa vole. The Conservancy also mobilizes supporters around groundwater and public-land issues, including current efforts involving Ash Meadows.
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Getting Involved - Public Lands
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Nature in Mind blends birding, field biology, ecology, guiding, and conservation to help people deepen their connection to the natural world.
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