Boots on the Ground:

By Hayden Seder

The splendor of Idaho’s pristine wilderness has been drawing people to the area for many years. And while there are many organizations, like the Sawtooth Society or Idaho Conservation League, that work on big picture ways to protect Idaho’s natural resources, like restoring wild salmon populations or protecting public lands, it’s easy to forget about the organizations who are on the trails, maintaining them to keep them accessible. The Sawtooth National Forest covers over 2 million acres, and the Salmon-Challis National forest, which includes the 2.3 million-acre Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness Area, covers over 4.3 million acres. That’s a lot of area for just a few organizations and their volunteers, along with the work of the Forest Service, to cover, especially with the influx of new people to the state and its resulting growing threat to public lands (according to the Chamber of Hailey and the Wood River Valley, visitation to the SNRA went up 500% between 2016 and 2020). Here, we shine a light on some of the organizations putting in the blood, sweat, and tears to keep our trails usable.

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Founded in 2019 and named for the go-to trail tool, the Pulaski, Pulaski Users Group (PUG) is a nonprofit based out of Hailey that provides training, tools, and leadership for volunteer-driven trail maintenance projects across central Idaho. PUG is focused specifically on supporting the Forest Service with sections of trails that are difficult to access and therefore have been a low priority for maintenance. PUG works with the Forest Service each year to determine what trails need work in federally designated wilderness, areas like the Frank Church, Sawtooths, and White Clouds.

When it comes to doing the actual maintenance work, PUG is completely volunteer-based; their only staff member is Program Director Lex Carey. Volunteers are led by former staff or long-time volunteers and taught to use traditional, non-mechanized tools, per federal regulation, which bans the use of mechanized tools like chainsaws. PUG works consistently with volunteer groups like the Flourish Foundation, Community School students, and many retired people in the area but could always use more volunteers, particularly in the younger demographic.

“There’s always going to be more work, and the more volunteer work we can get, the better,” says Program Director Lex Carey. “Our focus is really on getting young people out in the wilderness and learning about public lands and hopefully wanting to become stewards and advocates for our natural places.”

2429 volunteer hours

69 trail miles worked

106 volunteers

1,585 logs removed

Trails worked on: Redfish Inlet, Hell Roaring, Warm Springs, Middle Fork of the Boise River, Queen’s River, Loon Creek, Knapp Creek, North Fork of Elk Creek

The Wood River Trails Coalition (WRTC) is focused on trails within the Wood River Valley, particularly multi-use trails used by runners, bikers, and horseback riders. Founded in 2011 as the Wood River Bicycle Coalition and renamed in 2019 – Wood River Trails Coalition – WRTC is a nonprofit, working to create, maintain, and sustain the Valley’s trail network for all users. Like its peer groups, WRTC relies on volunteer manpower and traditional, non-mechanized tools for its trail projects. Trail projects are planned in coordination with the US Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management and posted on the WRTC website with a detailed description of the project, including where, when, difficulty, project description, what to bring/wear, what will be provided, directions, and a form to RSVP. Most events do not require any previous knowledge of trail work and, as an added bonus, each time you volunteer you’ll get more raffle tickets for WRTC’s end-of-season raffle!

You can also support the WRTC with an annual or monthly individual, business, or dog membership with amounts as low as $5/month. Another way to help keep trails well-maintained is to use the WRTC trail reporting form. Run into snow or mud, or a downed tree? See something else that needs fixing on the trails? WRTC has a trail reporting form on their website to alert them so they can let the BCRD know so they can update the status on their Summer Traillink map, pass the info along to the WRTC’s federal partners, and then address it at the next volunteer night or send a staff member to fix it!

8 drains built

770+ logs cleared

12,803 feet brushed

31,479 feet of tread work completed

1,007 staff and volunteer hours

49 drains cleaned

231 volunteers

Trails worked on: Toe of the Hill, Camp Rainbow Gold, Hidden Valley, Forbidden Fruit, Low Hanging Fruit, Aspen Loop, Pollinator Meadow, Alden, Prairie Creek, Taylor Canyon, Johnstone Creek, Cow Creek, Belle Trail

The Idaho Trails Association (ITA) conducts trail projects across the entire state but dedicates several of those projects each year to the Sun Valley area. Formed in 2010, ITA acts as the voice for hikers in Idaho, promoting conservation and enjoyment of Idaho’s backcountry on foot. By working with volunteers, organizations, and government partners, ITA maintains trails, educates, advocates, and protects public lands to keep hiking open to all.

By working closely with the Forest Service, ITA chooses its projects based on those trails that need help but also what works as a desirable project and area for volunteers. “We love maintaining trails that see a lot of use as well as opening up trails that haven’t been used frequently because of major maintenance issues,” says Kelly Hewes, ITA Communications Director. “We hope that this can lead to spreading out use across more trails and avoiding the issues that come with too many people trying to use the same trails at the same time.”

ITA volunteer projects vary in difficulty and length (both in miles and work days); some are Women-Only work projects as well. ITA looks for ways to educate the public, not just volunteers, on wilderness stewardship and Leave No Trace principles. Like PUG and WRTC, trail workers must rely on non-mechanized tools.

ITA partners with local trail organizations as much as possible. “There are so many trails that need work, and we need to come together to make a dent in the backlog of trails that are due for maintenance,” says Hewes. S

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