Trail workers needed

Trails don’t just appear out of thin air. On the contrary, they take years of hard labor to complete. On June 2, Americans celebrated National Trails Day, and the nearly 200,000 miles of trails forged from sweat, blisters and true grit.

This year marks the fifth year that the Montana Wilderness Association will partner with the Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation to sponsor two multi-day trips focusing on weed eradication and trail work along the Rocky Mountain Front.

Trails are the keys to unlocking wild country. Without volunteer driven organizations like BMWF, our access to public lands will depend solely on Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management trail crews, which are subject to frustrating federal budget fluctuations and massive workloads.

BMWF places the keys to wild country in the hands of regular citizens by providing on-the-ground training for pulling weeds and doing trail maintenance. As a result, more trails are open and accessible, public use is dispersed more sustainably, and regular people gain a sense of ownership in lands that they own along with every U.S. citizen.

The Bob Marshall Wilderness country is a globally significant ecosystem and BMWF is leading a daunting effort to maintain backcountry trails and traditions in this 1.5 million acre treasure.

There is more work to be done. For more information, visit online at www.bmwf.org or give them a call at 406-387-3808 to reserve your spot on one of their rewarding trail projects this summer.

Holly Baker

Wilderness campaign director

Rocky Mountain Front

Montana Wilderness Association