You have the power to help our public lands
Here in the San Juan Mountains, we have an amazing community of public lands supporters from all walks of life. It’s part of what makes our corner of the world unique. It’s not for everyone, but if you live here, you know it’s for you. Many of these public lands supporters donate their time as San Juan Mountains Association volunteers and are central to our stewardship efforts.
For 37 years, SJMA has guided volunteers through projects and experiences that help community and land thrive. Ample opportunities are available to help assure that our public lands are in good hands. Trainings are provided, so no experience is necessary. We can steer you to the right opportunities for you.
Congressional budget cuts in October made it impossible for United States Forest Service to hire many seasonal crews for 2025 (tinyurl.com/hcn-FScuts) and more recent cuts to USFS have further impaired its capacity. This greatly increases the need for SJMA and its volunteers to fill the gaps. Agency partners are solidifying details for volunteer opportunities including more trail work and wilderness solitude monitoring.
Solidified opportunities
- Ice Lakes Ambassadors: From May 24 to Sept. 14, SJMA volunteers and staff members will be at the trailhead or on the trail educating recreators about protecting and caring for this beautiful area. A training is scheduled for the evening of May 20 in Durango.
- Chicago Basin Ambassadors: SJMA volunteers began educating backpackers in Chicago Basin in 1989. Starting June 20, volunteers will spend Thursday to Sunday making sure visitors know what to expect from the unique challenges in the basin and surrounding 14ers. Thanks to our partnership with the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, volunteers receive round-trip train tickets and can backpack into the basin or take advantage of our base camp less than a mile from Needleton. Training is available on the evening of June 10 in Durango.
- San Juan nature walks: SJMA’s naturalist-led walks will take place on Fridays this summer. How does this support our public lands? When people slow down and understand the little things that make a place special, that place becomes valuable to them. Training is on the morning of May 30 near Haviland Lake. Even a fledgling naturalist can assist on these walks.
- Durango Nature Center spring cleaning: On April 26, we’ll spruce up SJMA’s own learning laboratory before opening to the public for the summer. Volunteer needs include: weeding invasives, fixing trails, prepping native plant gardens and installing signs on interpretive trails.
- Hardrock 100 Collaborative Cleanup: SJMA will again partner with the ultrarunning community and nNormal, to clean up dispersed camping sites along South Mineral Road. This USFS road accesses the Ice Lake trail and parts of the Hardrock 100 racecourse. Volunteers are needed on July 10.
- Maintenance on the Colorado Trail: SJMA’s adopted segment 25.1 – from Little Molas Lake to Rolling Pass – is an incredibly beautiful stretch. We’ll address erosion and drainage issues July 18-20 and Aug. 5-7. At least one hitch will involve two nights of overnight backpacking.
- Educator Opportunities: We always need volunteer naturalists to engage children in the outdoors. Opportunities range from assisting after school and homeschool programs to leading groups on field trips.
- Adopt-a-Road: Is there a USFS road that you love and want to keep clean? Let us know!
Is there something you want to help with that isn’t mentioned in this article? Can’t make a training? For additional opportunities or more information about on everything, go to sjma.org or email volunteer@sjma.org. Keep your map oriented, and we’ll get there together.
MK Thompson has worn many hats for SJMA and is thrilled about her new role as volunteer coordinator. See more of her writing at artofmisadventure.com.
- Published in volunteers
Erosion: The Power of Water
Wherever you are from, I’m sure you’ve had out-of-towners ask you, “Is this weather normal?” Here in the San Juan Mountains, the answer is always yes. From a blizzard in July to 70 degrees in January to the most still and blue-skied day you could imagine, it all falls into the ever broadening range of “normal.” And around here, more than your average number of people actually experience this weather up close and personal. I’m sure many of you have been out in it – like it or not.
One aspect of the weather that has been pushing itself outside of our wide range of “normal” is the severity. In late June, the Animas River in Durango was a confused chameleon. Spring runoff had it colored an acceptable paper bag brown for several days. But then it abruptly went to its late-summer translucent blue-green. And then, seemingly without warning, it switched to an opaque cafe latte between breakfast and dinner.
Intense isolated rain storms have further fueled my lifetime obsession with the geologic process of erosion. For 17 years, I have worked outdoors and witnessed the ebb and flow of weather’s tranquility and ferocity. My time as a Forest Ambassador for San Juan Mountains Association (SJMA) has been no exception. I have seen waterfalls crop up suddenly in places where I’d never known them to occur. But I’ve also experienced those cobalt blue-sky days that are so calm, I wonder if the world has ended and nobody told me. I am perpetually in awe of nature’s beautiful indifference.
Erode is defined by Merriam-Webster as “to diminish or destroy by degrees” and, specific to geology, “to wear away by the action of water, wind, or glacial ice.” In the early 1800s, geologists had settled into two parties when it came to erosion. The exemplary book The Emerald Mile by Kevin Fedarko explains these two diverse schools of thought. The Catastrophists argued that the rugged landforms of our planet came about via “abrupt, cataclysmic events; Then there were the Uniformitarians, eventually called Gradualists, whose observations deduced that topography was formed very slowly and evenly over long periods of time.
Well, they were both right. By the 1960s, geologists understood that the slow moving processes of mountain building and glacial erosion were, to quote Fedarko, interspersed with “brief moments of exceptionally brutal violence in which things happen very quickly indeed.”
While the cataclysmic events in the San Juan Mountains don’t quite classify as “debris flows” like those in the Grand Canyon, we do get “gully washers” which lead to flash floods, rock slides, and mudslides. During these events, the ground and the plants rooted within it cannot absorb the water quickly enough despite how much they might need it. This summer we’ve seen several mudslides that block traffic such as just north of Durango on Hwy 550 and down in the Animas Canyon across the railroad tracks.
Critters such as pocket gophers can unwittingly help with percolation – their extensive burrowing in search of tasty roots aerating the soil and creating quick ways for the deluges to permeate the ground. But the sheer ferocity of recent downpours – which sometimes include hail – produce more water than can be absorbed. And since the San Juans aren’t flat, the result is the abrupt erosion of topsoil as the precipitation pulls it downhill.
So when you are caught out there this monsoon season, be safe but take time to marvel at the beautiful indifference of nature. Perhaps part of your favorite trail will wash out tomorrow. Or the clear creek you fished today will be a muddy mess next week. And when a passerby asks if this is normal, you can smile and tell them yes.
MK Thompson is a Forest Ambassador for SJMA. Learn more at sjma.org or MK’s page, artofmisadventure.com
- Published in Stewardship, Visitor Information
Volunteers Make a Difference in Chicago Basin
Those of us who cherish the San Juan Mountains are familiar with the term “loved to death”. We’ve seen photos and stories of beautiful places around the world being carelessly degraded by throngs of tourists. We don’t want this to happen here, and it doesn’t have to.
Yes, more people are learning about our little slice of heaven, and the number of hikers, backpackers, and peak baggers has skyrocketed in the last few years. But the impacts on the land don’t have to increase so long as we educate visitors about how to visit with respect.
Educating trail users is the main goal of San Juan Mountains Association’s (SJMA) Forest Ambassadors and San Juan Volunteers. The vast majority of visitors who disrespect our favorite places do so because they honestly don’t know any better. Yes, they could have done more research preceding their trip, but they didn’t. Instead of berateing these people, we have genuine conversations with them which leads to positive interactions and grateful people who will help spread the word.
An important thing to remember when visiting any wild place is that we don’t live there. As the Wilderness Act of 1964 states, true wilderness is “an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain”. The plants live there. The animals live there. The rivers and springs flow freely. Humans are not a natural part of this ecosystem; therefore, it is important that we do our best not to impact it.
Recently, in a partnership with the San Juan National Forest (SJNF), SJMA, and the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad (D&SNGRR), an old educational program has been resurrected – the Chicago Basin volunteer basecamp. The goal is to reach more visitors and provide them with tips on how to respect this incredible place. Volunteers take the train to Needleton and then hike up to the camp with a lighter pack than usual since the camp already contains some necessities and luxuries.
The basecamp has a long history – so long that even the original mastermind of the camp, Kathe Hayes, can’t remember what year it started. I first helped set up the camp in 2011, after it was already well established, and participated in several set-ups and break-downs. We typically used llamas to pack the gear up there in mid-June. Then, in early September, would use horses to haul the gear out. All of this is made easier with cooperation from the railroad.
The volunteers in Chicago Basin focus on the 4 W’S – wildlife, water, waste, weather, and snags. For a boatload of details about how to respectfully visit Chicago Basin, go to sjma.org or do an internet search for the Chicago Basin Trip Planning Guide. Here are the 4 W’S in a nutshell:
- Wildlife: Mountain goats and marmots in the area are habituated to humans and will approach campers. They love salt. Marmots will chew on anything salty – trekking poles, boots, backpack straps, etc. Mountain goats love salt and other minerals in human urine. Seriously. It’s important to pee in flat rocks or rotting logs. If humans pee on vegetation, the goats will tear up the plants in an attempt to get the salt.
- Water: The land and plants that surround water sources make up less than 1% of the landscape and vegetation. It is important to camp, eat, and “go to the bathroom” at least 100 feet away from water in order to protect the ecosystem that lives there all year-round.
- Waste: Human waste should be packed but can also be buried 6 to 8 inches underground. All trash and toilet paper must be packed out. This includes all food scraps – even sunflower seed shells, fruit peels, and anything accidentally dropped on the ground. This can attract ant colonies or make wild animals sick.
- Weather: Afternoon thunderstorms are common from late June until mid-September. Plan accordingly to be in a safe place and prepare for a drop in temperature.
- Snags: There are many dead trees due to a previous spruce beetle infestation. Be sure to camp where dead trees are not going to fall on you.
No matter where you recreate outdoors, you are always a visitor. These guidelines apply to everyone. No one wants to love a place to death. Many people just haven’t been educated. Don’t be afraid to have a conversation with people. This is how we can all begin to take care of these magical places. And if you think you want to volunteer for the basecamp in Chicago Basin, email Erica Tucker, etucker@sjma.org or go to sjma.volunteerlocal.com/volunteer/
MK Thompson has been with SJMA since 2009 and currently serves as a Forest Ambassador. Contact her at artofmisadventure@gmail.com
- Published in Backpacking, Hiking, Stewardship, volunteers