Canyon Lakes Ranger District Volunteers Outdo Themselves Again

In 2014, volunteers to the Canyon Lakes Ranger District were worth a million – over $1.1 million actually. This is the third year district volunteers have reached the million dollar mark.

As with previous years, volunteers exceeded expectations in the services they provided the Canyon Lakes Ranger District on the Roosevelt National Forest. The 875 volunteers spent their time assisting visitors, repairing trails, providing administrative assistance, conducting wildlife surveys, and much, much more. In total, 49,051 hours were spent in support of the Forest Service mission of “Caring for the land, serving people.”

Highlights from last year’s work included a record number 40 participants in the Deadman Fire Lookout Volunteer program, contacting 1,500 visitors, and flood restoration work. Poudre Wilderness Volunteers took on coordination of much of the flood recovery trail work, hosting 22 public work days and accounting for approximately 3,220 of the overall volunteer hours.

“Our volunteers allow us to leverage our resources to make a greater impact to both the land and our visitors,” Canyon Lakes District Ranger Kevin Atchley said. “Without their support, most of the 22,325 visitors they contacted would not have had the opportunity to learn about the Forest Service and our public lands. We cannot thank them enough.”

Many groups and individuals make up the dedicated cadre of volunteers who benefit the district, including the Adopt-a-Road, Adopt-a-Trail, Cameron Pass Nordic Rangers, Colorado State University Interns, Deadman Fire Tower volunteers, Diamond Peaks National Ski Patrol, Northern Colorado Mounted Patrol, Overland Mountain Bike Club, Poudre River Rangers, Poudre Wilderness Volunteers, Wildland Restoration Volunteers and visitor information hosts to name a few.

If you are interested in participating in one of the groups mentioned above or would like to find out how to get involved in giving back to your local forest, please contact Kristy Wumkes at 970-295-6721 or check online.



Jeff
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