Pike National Forest increases fire response capability along the Front Range

On April 24, Deputy Chief for Fire and Aviation Management Sarah Fisher approved the addition of the Monument Helitack crew to the Forest Service helicopter short-haul programs. The program recently moved forward to complete short-haul ground and flight training. The crew completed ground training this spring at the Monument Fire Center on the Pike National Forest, followed by a short-haul flight training in McCall, Idaho, in early June.

The Forest Service short-haul program began operations in 2015 and was initially used for medical extraction. Since then, the program has expanded to include inserting aerial delivered firefighters.

“The addition of the short-haul capability will be extremely beneficial both regionally and nationally,” said Mike Spink, zone aviation officer. “As we get closer to the heart of fire season, this will increase our readiness and preparedness to respond to medical emergencies that occur on an incident and responding in difficult terrain.”

The Forest Service manages most of the large firefighting aviation assets for the federal government, including helicopters, airtankers, smokejumper planes and other fixed-wing aircraft. These assets are used across all jurisdictions.

Monument Helitack is a 10-person wildland fire crew based in Monument, Colorado on the Pike National Forest. They are focused on providing highly trained firefighters and aviation managers to increase our response capacity for initial attack and large fire support both regionally and nationally.

The Forest Service will continue to respond to fires in an aggressive, coordinated and unified response with interagency partners, states, tribes and local governments.



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Check out our online trail guides:

• Glacier National Park: HikinginGlacier.com

• Grand Teton National Park: TetonHikingTrails.com

• Rocky Mountain National Park: RockyMountainHikingTrails.com

• Ramble On: A History of Hiking

Make History This Father’s Day: The Ultimate Gift for Dad

Father’s Day is rapidly approaching! Do you know what you’re getting “dear old dad?” If I had to guess, I bet he loves history. And if your dad’s a hiker, or simply loves the outdoors, I bet he would absolutely love to read Ramble On: A History of Hiking!

Don’t worry, there’s still plenty of time for Amazon to ship a copy to you or directly to your dad.

Here are a couple of reviews of the first edition of the book:

"Doran's book is a treasure: a well-written, entertaining, knowledgeable, and exactingly researched book on the roots of hiking and hiking clubs, the history of trail-making, the evolution of hiking gear and clothing, and the future of hiking on overcrowded trails. Doran weaves the social, cultural, industrial, and political milieu into this fascinating history. Amusing, astonishing, and sometimes alarming anecdotes, along with photos, footnotes, and an extensive bibliography, make this a fascinating and significant account of the history of hiking."

- Appalachian Footnotes, Delaware Valley Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club

Others:

* National Parks Traveler

* MAZAMA Magazine

* Hiking For Her



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Virtually no one went hiking before the 19th century. What occurred that inspired ordinary people to take a walk through the woods for pleasure? Ramble On: A History of Hiking explores the rich history of hiking, and how it evolved into one of the most popular pastimes in the world.

GMUG Proposes Recreation Fees for Blue Lakes Area: Comment period runs thru August 31

The Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison (GMUG) National Forests’ Ouray Ranger District is proposing new recreation fees for the Blue Lakes area in the Mount Sneffels Wilderness.

Under the proposal, visitors would pay a fee of $25 per site for an overnight permit and $5 per person for a day-use permit during the peak season, which is expected to run from June 1 through September 30. Permits would be available through Recreation.gov, which adds an additional processing fee — currently $6 for overnight permits and $1 for day-use permits.

“We’ve seen unprecedented visitation in recent years, which has led to overcrowding and resource damage,” said Dana Gardunio, Ouray District Ranger. “The majority of the revenue generated from the fees would be used on-site to manage these areas, which is key to allowing us to reduce resource damage and continue providing high-quality recreation opportunities.”

The fee proposal is the next step in a larger effort to address overcrowding and resulting impacts in the Blue Lakes area within Mount Sneffels Wilderness. Fees would fund restoration of heavily damaged areas, increased ranger presence, trail and site maintenance, and improvements to recreation area amenities.

In 2004, Congress passed the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (REA) which allows the Forest Service to retain at least 80% of the money collected at recreation sites and use these funds locally to operate, maintain, and improve these sites. Revenue collected through recreation fees would help the forest improve infrastructure at recreation sites and fund additional recreation staff during the season of operation. Recreation fees help provide quality recreation opportunities that meet the modern expectations of visitors and creates a more financially sustainable recreation program for future generations.

The public is invited to comment on the proposed recreation fee changes. The comment period will start on June 1 and close on August 31. To ensure that your comments are considered, please send your comments no later than the above date to sm.fs.bluelakes.vump@usda.gov

Comments can also be provided online at https://arcg.is/qyij80.

In order to provide more details and answer questions on the fee proposal, the GMUG will also host a webinar on June 15 from 5-6 p.m. Link to access the meeting will be available here.



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Check out our online trail guides:

• Glacier National Park: HikinginGlacier.com

• Grand Teton National Park: TetonHikingTrails.com

• Rocky Mountain National Park: RockyMountainHikingTrails.com

• Ramble On: A History of Hiking

Forest Service debuts new recreation mobile app

To kick off Great Outdoors Month, the Forest Service is launching a new, single visitor-information mobile app, National Forests and Grasslands, now available for download as visitors plan their summer trips to recreation sites across the National Forest System.

For the first time the app provides the most complete and accurate collection of Forest Service recreation sites that has ever been made available to the public, along with important planning tools like critical safety alerts, closures, amenity details and more.

“Due to the sheer size and remote nature of our 165,000 miles of trails and more than 30,000 recreation sites, we know that mobile service can be limited once you reach your destination,” said Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz. “We encourage everyone to download the National Forests and Grasslands app – your own pocket-sized Forest Service guide – to check trail conditions, download offline maps, and view safety alerts before your trip.”

With the app, users can design their own adventure by identifying and favoriting recreation activities on national forest lands within a selected radius. Visitors can search for opportunities such as hunting and fishing, water activities like canoeing or rafting, bike – or equestrian - friendly trails, and campsites based on available amenities.

Downloading maps ahead of time allows users to access their location even in remote areas. Optional, map layers, including fire information and National Weather Service alerts, can be toggled on to provide a complete picture of the environment at your destination.

This debut will retire nearly 30 similar, outdated agency apps, improving overall visitor safety, access and consistent information to the nearly 164 million visitors who recreate on national forests and grasslands each year.

Download the app, explore your favorite trails and check out events happening during National Trails Day on Saturday, June 6, 2026.

The National Forests and Grasslands app is available for download on Apple store for iOS and Google Play for Android.



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Check out our online trail guides:

• Glacier National Park: HikinginGlacier.com

• Grand Teton National Park: TetonHikingTrails.com

• Rocky Mountain National Park: RockyMountainHikingTrails.com

• Ramble On: A History of Hiking

This Saturday: National Trails Day

June is Great Outdoors Month, a month-long celebration of all things outdoors. Moreover, America will also be celebrating National Trails Day this Saturday.

If I had to guess, most of us probably take our trails for granted. And if you were like me, you probably have no idea how they came about, or simply assume they were constructed by some governmental entity at some point. The truth of the matter is that there are a wide variety of individuals and groups who’ve been responsible for the construction of our trails over the years.

Before local, state and federal agencies became heavily involved with the construction and maintenance of recreational trails in the 1930s and 40s, many of the footpaths in our national parks and forests were originally blazed by Native Americans, hunters, trappers, prospectors, pioneers, shepherds, cattlemen, and loggers. Even the U.S. Army, railroad barons, hotel owners and other local entrepreneurs built some of the hiking trails that we still use today!

With National Trails Day rapidly approaching, now’s a great time to learn about the rich history of early trail development.

Ramble On: A History of Hiking contains a chapter dedicated to the widely diverse accounts of how and why trail networks were developed in some of our oldest and most iconic national parks, as well as America’s first hiking destination - the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

With Father’s Day right around the corner, Ramble On: A History of Hiking also makes for a great gift idea!



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Virtually no one went hiking before the 19th century. What occurred that inspired ordinary people to take a walk through the woods for pleasure? Ramble On: A History of Hiking explores the rich history of hiking, and how it evolved into one of the most popular pastimes in the world.