Stewards of the Sequoia Work Hard so you can Play Hard

Kernville, CA — As you ride your mountain bike around the corner of a trail and zoom through the cut-out section of a tree that had been sawed and rolled away, take a quick mental note.  At the end of the ride, think about the brush you saw trimmed on the trail and how many water-bars you bumped over on the way down the hills.  It’s not just Forest Service recreation technicians that get this recurring maintenance knocked out each year. Volunteer groups play a key role in keeping the Forest’s trails ready for everyone to enjoy.

The Stewards of the Sequoia are not a new name when it comes to volunteer groups that work with the Sequoia National Forest.  For the past decade Stewards of the Sequoia have accomplished numerous trail restoration projects.  Since last summer, they held Trail Appreciation Events on Little Dry, Willow Gulch, Dry Meadow, Tobias and other trails in the Sequoia National Forest. On these projects alone, they cleared 12 miles of heavy brush, cleared 646 downed trees and refreshed over 200 water-bars that they built in prior years. Some of their volunteers traveled over six hours to help. The Steward’s executive director, Chris Horgan, was recently featured in American Motorcyclist magazine for his group’s efforts.  When asked about this winter’s projects, he replied, “At the end of each Trail Appreciation Day everyone feels good knowing they have done something worthwhile for the trails they love; and volunteers enjoy seeing the work they did to make the trail better every time they return to ride on it.”

There are many groups that support keeping recreation opportunities alive and well on the Sequoia National Forest:  the High Sierra Volunteer Crew,  the Bakersfield Trailblazers, the Backcountry Horsemen of California, the Pacific Crest Trail Association, the United Trail Maintainers of California, and the Stewards of the Sequoia, are some prime examples of groups that are always looking for volunteers.  To learn more about volunteering, visit www.fs.usda.gov/main/sequoia/workingtogether/volunteering or call your local Forest Service office.
(via US Forest Service)

Copyright © 1995-2013 – Rex Emerson
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