The 70 active volunteers with nonprofit Friends of Wilderness go about their resource preservation work of trail maintenance and visitor education seemingly under the radar, yet each year the group maintains miles of trails and camping areas in the regional U.S. Forest Service wilderness areas.

With current reductions in U.S. Forest Service personnel, the work of the volunteer group that started in 2000 “is more important than ever,” said board secretary Nancy Kellogg.

“We do get appreciation from the people who encounter use on the trail, but for people who don’t see us, the work is its own reward,” said longtime volunteer Howard Kellogg from Steamboat Springs. “We are happy and proud of what we do. Maybe we all wanted to forest rangers when we were kids, and now we get to do that.”

Friends of Wilderness volunteers, who are largely active retirees in their 60s and 70s and even 80s, say they enjoy the comradery, fun and work in the scenic outdoor environment as part of their management and preservation assistance for the Mount Zirkel, Flat Tops and Sarvis Creek Wilderness areas.

“We have an enthusiastic base of women and men maintaining the trails who are always eager to get started in spring time and clear the trails and get them back into good conditions after the winter,” Howard Kellog said.

The group, along with Rocky Mountain Youth Corps, will host a 25^th anniversary community celebration and a recognition of group founder Elaine Dermody from 4-7 p.m. Aug. 7 at Howelsen Hill Lodge. Activities will include a free hot dog bar, photo booth, slide show and a visit by Smokey the Bear. Dermody will be honored during a short program at 4:30 p.m.

Friends of Wilderness partners with the U.S. Forest Service by volunteering as wilderness ambassadors including performing trail maintenance, monitoring campsites and fire ring rehabilitation, removing invasive noxious weeds and encouraging Leave No Trace practices.

Longtime volunteer and board secretary Nancy Kellogg said the group receives work requests from the Forest Service and partners on some projects with Rocky Mountain Youth Corps crews. The group also helps to secure grants to support hiring a Forest Service seasonal ranger.

Laura Foulk, friends board president, said the work teams of five to 10 volunteers are effective because they are dedicated, experienced, well trained and enthusiastic about wilderness stewardship. Through the past five years from early June through to end of September, the members have volunteered 26,370 hours, cleared 6,861 trees, rehabilitated 474 campsites and contacted 14,253 forest visitors. In the past four years, the volunteers hiked 5,212 miles and removed 596 pounds of trash.

Clearing fallen trees helps to protect the wilderness area by keeping hikers, campers, backpackers and horseback riders on the designated trails and not creating side, braided, detour or social trails, members explain.

The volunteers encounter trail users who are unprepared or unaware of the current conditions such as people hiking in flip-flops with no water, Nancy Kellogg said. Although the group does not have enforcement powers, they educate, advise and answer questions. The volunteers receive questions about everything from flowers to trail distances.

“Most people are prepared, but it’s surprising how many are not,” Nancy Kellogg said. “They underestimate, don’t know the distance, may not be aware of elevation and do not have water, a hat, good footwear and may not realize there are snow or water crossings.”

The Kelloggs said the group’s physical work and education presence helps keep trail users safe.

“The people we encounter who are not prepared, if we help them have second thoughts, they either turn around or don’t go as far as expecting to because they realize they were not prepared,” said Kellogg.

The volunteers wear shirts similar to Forest Service employees but with a volunteer patch.

“It makes people believe they need to adhere to the rules, so that’s a good thing,” Kellogg said. “We do try to engage people and give them a chance to talk to us to make sure they don’t have questions or concerns. Sometimes they ask about conditions. More than likely, we’ll ask them where they are headed, and we might caution them about conditions.”

Visitors may ask the volunteers, “Is there any wildlife in the forest?” she added. “We try not to laugh and say, ‘yes, and that includes bear and moose.'”

The Kelloggs, both retired high school science teachers, said the group needs summer seasonal volunteers for trail maintenance during the week and for educational patrols especially on the busy trail user weekends. Members volunteer at least 50 hours each summer and receive first aid and CPR training. Volunteers can also train with the Forest Service to be certified sawyers.

“A handful worked for Forest Service, rest of us just like the outdoors and want to help preserve the wilderness and enjoy working with people and helping educate people to be good stewards of the wilderness,” Nancy Kellogg said. 

Currently, the group is recruiting younger volunteers to replace volunteers who “age out” and specifically volunteers with information technology and social media expertise.

The nonprofit group also solicits donations to support the work either through its website FriendsofWilderness.org or through an endowment fund through Yampa Valley Community Foundation at YVCF.org/funds/friends-of-wilderness-endowment.