Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument Volunteer Mounted Horse Patrol/NPS

Volunteers bring much-needed help to units of the National Park System, and at Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument they've brought a unique visage to the landscape.

Into the desert landscape of the monument located near Las Vegas, Nevada, volunteers have brought a mounted horse patrol program. Created this year with the help of their friends group, Protectors of Tule Springs, the program complements and expands park services to the front country trails.

The program is run by National Park Service rangers, though the volunteers on horseback serve as the "eyes and ears" of the rangers and provide valuable support with visitor safety. Currently, a team of 11 Volunteers in Parks manages every aspect of care and training of their personal patrol horses. These horses also serve as park ambassadors, with their riders giving a friendly hello to all visitors they see on the trails at the monument. 

While on horse patrol, the uniformed volunteers provide valuable extended ranger services by watching for public safety concerns, such as hazardous trail conditions and visitors needing emergency assistance. When they see these situations, they report the issues back to park rangers.

The efforts of the volunteers also play a critical role in the preservation of park resources and visitor education, as they chat to visitors about sharing multi-use trails safely and the importance of staying out of sensitive and closed habitats.

The Mounted Horse Patrol riders are also trained on identifying important natural and cultural resources, including fossils, artifacts, and threatened and endangered plants and animals so that they can help inform the park staff of issues or discoveries.  

Patrol volunteers are always happy to provide additional park and trail information to visitors, the park’s natural and cultural resources, and to talk about their horse ambassadors