Caring for the Land: A Reciprocal Relationship
By Myste French
This morning, work begins where I made camp. I arrived after dark last night and didn’t notice the trash strewn about the campsite. I remove all litter from the area and burn trash from the fire ring, then distribute the ashes in the forest before moving on to my real work site for the day.
When I arrive at the Blue Lakes Trailhead, the parking lot is packed and the sun hasn’t risen yet. I open up the San Juan Mountains Association tent and set out maps and brochures. For the next two hours I’ll staff the tent, talking with hikers about their plans and how we can support them in Leaving No Trace. We discuss preparedness, trail etiquette, wildlife safety and fire regulations.
I am in my fifth month as a Forest Ambassador with SJMA. Eleven of us worked for the interpretive partner of the San Juan and Uncompahgre National Forests – this season. Together we covered 40 trails across six million acres of Public Lands, an area roughly the size of the state of New Hampshire.
Today 31 backpackers are planning to spend the night in the Blue Lakes Basin. I ask them about their plans for human waste management. So much surface defecation happens at this site that E. coli bacteria is starting to infect the water. I distribute PACT Lite cat-hole kits, and Waste And Gelling bags to mitigate overnight waste impacts.
After the traffic in the parking lot slows, I hike the trail, making frequent stops. There are hunters with questions about game sightings and the trail needs attention. This is my seventh weekend at Blue Lakes this season. Each time I walk the trail I note the work our team has done: fallen logs cut and hauled off the trail, fresh trail drains installed, and new vegetation growing where a social trail was closed only two months ago.
I’ve conversed with 161 hikers in the time it takes to reach Lower Blue Lake, tipping the total number of Forest Ambassadors’ engagements with recreationists at Blue Lakes over 6,000 and more than 26,000 people throughout our service area for the summer. Enjoying a moment of solitude and appreciating the cerulean beauty of the lake, I head into the nearby camping area where 13 campsites and two illicit fire rings must be cleaned up and naturalized.
Back on the trail, a conversation begins with a group of hikers. I tell them of the impacts we are seeing from social media. A few weeks ago we dismantled an abandoned campsite which contained only photo-shoot props. I share with the group my favorite message: we need to take Leave No Trace ethics one step further as we consider our online footprint and attempt to Leave No Digital Trace.
Looking up, I realize that other hikers have stopped to listen. I count, and there are 18 of us gathered. We have a discussion about wilderness regulations (groups must be fewer than 15 people) and then split into smaller groups to reduce our impact before heading back down the trail.
Walking through the silent wilderness, I contemplate those who’ve walked before me, both literally and metaphorically. The original Stewards of these Lands were the ancestral Ute and Pueblo peoples. The Ute people consider the trails to be an integral part of their Creation Story. Not only the land, but the trails themselves are sacred – as is the work of caring for the land. In my time as a Forest Ambassador I have learned that being a Steward of the Land is a reciprocal relationship. When we take care of the land, the land most certainly takes care of us.
Myste French, MSW, is nearing the end of her first season as a Forest Ambassador with SJMA, she resides in Silverton and in addition to time spent outdoors, Myste is also an Artist Member of the Silverton Powerhouse Collective and the Market Manager for Silverton Farmer’s Market.
- Published in Stewardship
A sawyer’s perspective: I see more trees than faces
By Jake Anderson, SJMA Wilderness Crew Member
Dawn breaks. Squinting and rolling awake, I rise quickly. A coyote yowls, calling out to its pack, sounding like a rooster to my ears. The backcountry morning bites at me as I crawl out of my bag and begin to ready myself for the day ahead. Popping my head out from my tent, I’m greeted with a glowing view of the surrounding forest. The sun casts a radiant blanket over the trees, memorializing a kingdom of dead giants and nurturing the inconspicuous saplings aspiring to replace them. It pours out into the meadow from which I gaze, gradually dispelling the shadow. It reaches and warms me as I muse.
I’ve had this sort of pleasant subalpine morning many times; its vibrancy is familiar to many, no doubt. But this morning, my achy back reminds me, I’m not at leisure – there’s a job to do. It was a push just to get to this campsite, and there are untold trees down on the trail ahead. If anyone is going to enjoy moving freely up and down this trail, it’ll be in the wake of my crew. Feeling purposeful, I grab my saw.
Our crew of four SJMA Wilderness Stewards and two USFS Forest Protection Officers is dedicated to the task of opening trails in the Rio Grande NF, working our butts off in the face of some daunting challenges. To date this year, we have covered 212 miles, done 340 ft of tread work, brushed 4,912 feet of trail, removed a whopping 2,086 trees, and met 194 people along the way.
The logs we move, using only hand saws and levers, axes, wedges, and good communication, are sometimes astounding. The difference we make is really tangible; it’s very affirming. I’ve also witnessed firsthand the enormity of what we are undertaking, trying to keep trails open amid the dead and dying trees and the inevitability of gravity. Despite the impressive numbers, there’s a lot left to be done. More than once this summer we have had to leave sections of trail uncleared, simply because we lack the labor force to finish the job. And there’s always another project waiting in the wings – the trees keep falling. Beetle kill, wildfire, windstorms and washouts have all amounted to more complex situations on trail and at camp in the backcountry.
Besides just having to climb over and around more trees, visitors to our wild places these days have to be more aware of dangers like fire and falling trees, an unfortunate fact of our evolving world.
Being the boots on the ground, cutting trail, I see a lot of kerf and only an occasional passerby (usually elk, sometimes human). I have plenty of time to think about the metaphor in my work, about how unignorable a tree in the way is, then how easily the fresh cuts that mark its removal go unnoticed. The logs pile high, trailside.
Ed Abbey once said, “The idea of wilderness needs no defense, Only more defenders.” You can help! You don’t need a crosscut saw to make an impact. Become an SJMA member, donate, or volunteer by visiting: https://sjma.org/get-involved/
- Published in Stewardship
Snow fatigue is reminder of mountain’s benefits
By Hannah Green
I stand on the edge of the Wilderness as the late afternoon glow hits the peaks. Clouds hug the tops of the mountains signaling the incoming storm. The wind is cold, and the snow blows across the peaks in delicate wisps. It has felt like a long winter, with weekly storms and more recently lots of wind. Durango Weather Guy calls it “snow fatigue” but in moments like these, deep into winter, the snow and its beauty are undeniable and not to be forgotten when the next blizzard hits.
As the Snow Ambassador for San Juan Mountains Association (SJMA) this winter, I’ve watched hundreds of people take off into the hills around Andrew’s Lake. For some it is their first time out in the backcountry in winter and others have lost count. But no matter their level of experience they are just happy to be outside. Since visitation to the San Juans doesn’t stop during these snowy days, neither does SJMA’s outreach and education efforts. My role is to provide visitors with forest and backcountry information from winter recreation opportunities to daily CAIC avalanche forecasts. Most people are just wondering where to go, some are interested in what I’m doing, but most people, especially outside of the parking lot, are just looking for some quietude or a chance to catch up with a companion.
I hear the word “playground” used a lot to describe the mountains and the word “playing” to describe our connection to these places, but I think in many ways those words degrade the importance of this land and of our responsibility in protecting it. This isn’t a playground, but the lifeblood to the four corners. Without the snow to fill the headwaters of our rivers, we, as a species, wouldn’t be able to survive here. After all, the water that fills our cup and keeps our gardens alive comes from high in these peaks.
It’s easy to become apathetic these days but when I ask myself what else I can do to help the aching planet, the only answer is to show people the beauty of these mountains. We all together have to be stewards of the land. This is not just my job, it’s everyone’s who steps out into these mountains.
I’ve criss-crossed the San Juans many times by foot: long ridgelines, big peaks, even bigger fields of wildflowers, and hundreds of miles of untracked snow across the wilderness; and have developed a relationship with the topography akin to the closest friendship. Through the highs and lows of life the mountains continue to inspire and motivate me to keep moving forward. This land gives me so much- and in an effort to not just take from it-I hope I can give back by helping people find their own relationship with this landscape.
And back to all the snow this season, if you too are experiencing snow fatigue right now just remember that the spring skiing, river season, and wildflowers come July will be incredible. The snow will keep us afloat for another summer as our climate changes and our weather systems vary greatly. A reminder to myself that we are lucky to have such regular storms and they will surely blossom into a magical summer.
Hannah Green is the Snow Ambassador for San Juan Mountains Association.
- Published in Stewardship, Winter
Laying the Groundwork for Protecting Hidden Gems in the West End
By Corbin Reiter
With Moab two hours to the northwest, Telluride an hour to the southeast, and Durango several hours further south, the West End is easily accessible to many recreationists seeking new terrain, but it remains off the beaten path for now.
“The West End” refers to a collection of communities in close proximity along the western slope of the rockies and includes Norwood, Redvale, Naturita, Nucla and Paradox. Telluride is by far, the most recognizable community in the West End. Most people that visit the area don’t look much farther than this well-known, long-standing, highly developed recreation hub.
The desert trails and climate found around the West End presents a unique recreation opportunity for the area, and is an area that has a growing community of recreators that are invested in a more remote and high-skill recreation environment. With temperatures getting colder, the warmer climate of the West End means longer access to trail systems for biking, hiking, and off-roading after the more mountainous areas to the east are restricted by snow. It also means that residents of the West End have more opportunities to get out and do some stewardship and education programs that ensure that this part of Colorado can remains protected and well-managed even as more people find their way to the area.
Serving as San Juan Mountains Association’s community outreach specialist this summer in the West End, I have had the opportunity to put together events to help improve some of the public spaces in the area. In August, SJMA partnered with the Norwood ranger district to host a planting cone pickup event that removed plastic waste from the forest. This event included Forest Service and SJMA staff as well as volunteers from the area that chose to spend time contributing to the health of local public lands. Together, those present filled dozens of garbage bags with plastic planting cones that had outlived their usefulness and were polluting the Forest.
As the Community Outreach Specialist for the SJMA in the West End, my goal has been to connect with the organizations and people that are already invested in the West End. This has presented a range of opportunities from creating volunteer opportunities to expanding the reach of Forest Service programming.
The Norwood Ranger district office and SJMA have worked together in the West End to put together youth education opportunities through local libraries. Throughout the summer, the Forest Service hosted five youth education events that introduced concepts regarding sustainable stewardship, using public lands, and education about public lands in the area. The Wilkinson Library in Telluride provided the first venue for this series, hosting four separate youth education events. Norwood’s Lone Cone library also hosted a youth education event and had the second highest attendance out of any library education event hosted this summer.
Going into the fall, the Norwood Ranger district office is continuing its youth education programs. As the school year starts, we are engaging with Fourth Grade classes to continue to engage local kids in outdoor education. As part of this program, students will attend a series of events that are sponsored by the Forest Service, and once the students attend enough sessions, they will receive a parks pass and a
free Christmas tree.
The West End is an area that has been quietly nestled among other recreation powerhouses. It has massive potential to be a local hotspot that serves high-skill recreators looking to push their skills in a new area, but SJMA is helping to ensure that the next generation of residents understands the value and importance of caring for those public lands well even as it becomes discovered.
- Published in Stewardship