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Employees of the Mogollon Rim Ranger District gathered at Blue Ridge Ranger Station on September 28, 2017 for the annual District Employee Work Day. This year's project was pest control! The group installed wire mesh around the foundations of two modular office buildings in an effort to keep rodents from digging under the edges of the buildings and entering the interior. Several incursions by mice had damage in some of the offices, with the rodents chewing clothing and paper, getting into storage areas, and generally making a mess. The morning started off with a briefing to cover safety topics and the plan for the work. Participants grabbed picks and shovels, and dug out one foot deep trenches around the two buildings. Employees laid down fine wire mesh material in the trenches, and shovel-wielders quickly filled the dirt back in.

At the end of every summer season, each of the Ranger Districts holds an employee work day. Employees use the opportunity to tackle a much-needed project on the District. Projects often include fence building, landscaping and brush work, clean-ups, and other labor-intensive maintenance and repair work that can be accomplished quickly with a large group of people. Employees from all fields of work come together to help, including office workers, fire fighters, archaeologists, soil scientists, and many others. The teamwork and camaradarie gives participants an opportunity to get to know their fellow District employees, and achieve the satisfaction of completing a project.

Following the work day project, the District held a potluck lunch to celebrate the retirement Rick and Marsha Johnson, long time seasonal workers who had served in fire prevention and recreation (respectively) for several years on the District.