Partner Spotlight: Brandon Boshell, Vermilion Cliffs

Being a caretaker of public lands runs in Brandon’s family. His father finished out a 40-year career with the Forest Service, teaching Brandon the value of working for land management agencies.

“The BLM works for the public, and so do I,” says Brandon.

Together, Brandon and I have shepherded an environmental review for the construction of a fence around a research site at the base of the Vermilion Cliffs. The research site is part of the Southwestern Experimental Garden Array project, which is looking at how plant species grow at different elevations, temperatures, and moisture levels. The environmental review process can be tedious, but it is essential to ensure the quality of work done on our public lands.

In addition to routine tasks, like environmental reviews, and paperwork, Brandon is working on some pretty tough issues—namely how to manage the crush of visitors to the Wave, one of the most beguiling displays of sandstone on the Colorado Plateau.

Depending on how you look at it, the task is either a monster headache or an opportunity to get things right. On any given day, Brandon might see it both ways.

Each day, 20 lucky people get to hike to the Wave. Half of the permits are issued in an advance lottery, while the other half are granted through a walk-in lottery system. In 2016, there were approximately 108,000 applicants for the total 7,300 permits! From dealing with the lines that form each day at the BLM visitor center in Kanab, to assisting those who aren’t successful in obtaining a permit, to calculating the economic value that would-be Wave hikers might add to the town’s businesses if there were more permits, Brandon and the BLM have their hands full. With all of these considerations in mind, the BLM is slowly working toward a better permit system for everyone.

Brandon is also heading up the installation of about 500 new signs in Vermilion Cliffs National Monument. There has always been a dearth of signs in and around the monument; visitors look for, but often cannot find, the location of the historic Dominguez-Escalante route or the Mormon Honeymoon Trail. So while one of Brandon’s staff members secured beautiful, full-color signs through the BLM national office, the team still had to come up with money to install the signs. With the help of a grant to fund installation, Brandon and his staff are now lining up volunteers to help provide labor. Before the end of this year, the public will begin to see new signs on the roads and trails of the monument.

Brandon never imagined he’d oversee the installation of hundreds of interpretive signs and manage 100,000 hikers trying to visit the same spot when he was working his first federal job as a 15-year-old on a Youth Conservation Corps crew in Bryce Canyon National Park.

“You know, my father would be proud of the work I’m doing now; working hard to help the public while protecting our natural resources.” 

And that is just the right attitude to have to help the Trust get things done on the North Rim Ranches.