SJMA Volunteer Opportunities
Volunteers are the heart of the San Juan Mountains Association. We have a wide variety of volunteer programs to meet a broad range of interests from visitor outreach to outdoor education to stewardship projects and more!
Some volunteer programs are long term, others are one-time projects. Some require experience, others just a short volunteer training, and others need no training at all.
Interested in volunteering? Follow the steps below to explore our volunteer opportunities!
Questions? Contact SJMA’s Volunteer Coordinator, volunteer@sjma.org
Step 1:
Complete your volunteer profile
This will help us learn about your interests & experience. If you already have a SJMA volunteer profile, skip to Step 2.
Step 2:
Login to your volunteer account
Fill out the next page. A link will be sent to your email where you will complete the login process. No password is needed.
Step 3:
Sign up for a volunteer training or shift. Explore our current volunteer trainings, programs, and projects. Check your email for a confirmation message with details about your shift
Stewardship Volunteers
Trail Ambassador Program
For more than 30 years, our SJMA volunteers have had the unique opportunity to positively affect the thousands of visitors to the San Juan Mountains by providing trail & wilderness education, safety guidance, responsible recreation, Leave No Trace ethics, and completing stewardship projects on our public lands. By partnering with local land managers including the San Juan National Forest, the GMUG National Forests, the Rio Grande National Forest, and the Bureau of Land Management, our volunteers serve as educators at the most popular trailheads and on the highest priority conservation projects.
As many of us experienced, the COVID impacts of 2020 caused an increase in recreation traffic across the San Juan mountains. We’ve seen impacts like trash, trail damage, fire scars, and human waste across these landscapes. As visitation numbers grew in our area, we increased our volunteer and paid staff presence across popular trailheads to ensure that all recreationists have a safe experience and treat public lands with respect.
Volunteer trail ambassadors provide education at:
- Ice Lakes Trailhead (summer)
- Blue Lakes Trailhead (summer)
- Chicago Basin region (summer)
- Molas Pass snow ambassador (winter)
When can I expect these programs? Mostly summer but there are opportunities in winter as well.
What does training look like? We require a one-time 90 minute training. Once you’ve completed the training, you can sign up for as many shifts as you’d like.
Contact SJMA’s Volunteer Coordinator, volunteer@sjma.org, for more information
Wilderness Solitude Monitoring (WSM)
Stewardship volunteers don’t just educate the public, they also help collect invaluable data. Our Wilderness Solitude Monitoring volunteers roam specific trails in the Weminuche Wilderness while collecting data on Wilderness solitude experiences. This data is part of a years-long process for the National Forest to get an accurate picture of Wilderness use and inform future management decisions.
Wilderness Solitude Monitoring is important, but also really fun! It’s easy to combine a WSM shift with a hike you’d already be doing, along the stunning trails of the Weminuche.
WSM Volunteer Locations: Weminuche Wilderness
When can I expect these programs? May – October, mostly in the summer months
What does training look like? We require a one-time 90 minute training for wilderness solitude monitoring. Once you’ve completed the training, you can sign up for as many shifts as you’d like.
Contact SJMA’s Volunteer Coordinator, volunteer@sjma.org, for more information
Stand-Alone Events
Each year, SJMA works with our land management partner agencies to plan stand-along volunteer events around priority stewardship needs in the area. For example, we typically host a group volunteer project on National Public Lands Day (the largest volunteer event in the nation. Since 1997, SJMA has been organizing events with public land partners. NPLD occurs the fourth Saturday in September), complete trash clean up projects, or complete trail work projects.
Sign up for our email newsletter to learn about these opportunities as they arise.
Stay tuned for summer 2025 events.
Adopt-a-Road – “Eyes and the Ears of the Forest”
Did you know that since 2000, SJMA has organized a group of dedicated volunteers to take care of Forest Service Roads? These are everyday citizens getting involved in stewarding their lands. What do they do?
- Pick up trash from roadsides
- Clean up dispersed campsites
- Check culverts of debris
- Connect with visitors while encouraging responsible behavior
- Upgrade Forest Service signs
Contact SJMA’s Volunteer Coordinator, volunteer@sjma.org, for more information
Volunteer Naturalists
Youth Education Programs
Do you love working with kids? Spending time in nature? Want to hone your teaching skills, all while enjoying beautiful locations at the Durango Nature Center and local National Forest land? If you answered “yes”, consider becoming a volunteer naturalist.
SJMA Volunteer Naturalists help us deliver experiential outdoor education programs to elementary and middle school groups. As a volunteer, you will help connect kids to nature & serve your community. Volunteers will lead small group activities related to various natural history and environmental science concepts. No experience or special skill sets required, other than a passion for connecting kids with nature.
Contact SJMA’s Education Director, astimax@sjma.org.
Locations: Durango Nature Center, local National Forest land
When can I expect these programs? Weekdays year-round, with most opportunities in the spring, fall, and winter.
What does training look like? Most volunteer naturalists start by shadowing a couple education programs. To shadow a program, sign up for one at the link below and email volunteer@sjma.org that you’re interested in shadowing. Once you’re ready to lead groups on your own, we’ll complete a background check for you and then you’re ready to educate!
Contact SJMA’s Volunteer Coordinator, volunteer@sjma.org, for more information
Interpretive Naturalist Program
While many of our educational programs focus on students, SJMA also hosts an interpretive nature walk series each summer and winter.
Our summer nature walks are free, open to the public, and led entirely by our volunteer naturalists. They have considerable experience in ecology, wildflowers, birds, wildlife, geology, and more, and love spending time sharing their knowledge in the San Juans.
Our winter interpretive hikes are co-hosted with Mountain Studies Institute and are free and open to the public. These snowshoe hikes explore snow science, winter ecology, and our snowy landscapes.
We are always looking for more passionate volunteers to join our interpretive naturalist team. Become an SJMA volunteer naturalist and share your knowledge of the San Juans with our community!
When can I expect these programs? Summer and winter
What does training look like? Many volunteer naturalists start by attending a training (in January for winter hikes or May for summer walks) and shadowing a few events. Our current team of naturalist volunteers will help you prepare to lead groups on your own, whenever you’re ready. If you are interested, email volunteer@sjma.org.
Contact SJMA’s Volunteer Coordinator, volunteer@sjma.org, for more information
Visitor Information Volunteers
Public Lands Ambassadors
Do you enjoy talking with people, promoting responsible use of our public lands, and sharing your love of the San Juan Mountains? If you answered “yes”, consider becoming a Public Lands Ambassador!
Volunteering as a Public Lands Ambassador is an exciting way to connect people to the outdoors in Southwest Colorado. We are looking for volunteers in Durango’s San Juan National Forest Supervisor’s Office.
As a Public Lands Ambassador, you will:
- Answer questions about recreation and land stewardship
- Encourage Leave No Trace principles and responsible use of our public lands
- Assist with the SJMA bookstore
When can I expect these programs? Weekdays year-round
What does training look like? As a volunteer, you’ll work with our Visitor Information staff to train and shadow for a couple shifts while you learn all of our systems.
Contact SJMA’s Volunteer Coordinator, volunteer@sjma.org, for more information
Durango Nature Center
Nature Center Docent
The Durango Nature Center is SJMA’s outdoor learning laboratory and outpost in the pinyon juniper ecosystem south of Durango. The Nature Center hosts many of our youth educational programs and summer camps, and we are currently exploring new ways for the public to enjoy this space.
Nature Center Docents will welcome the public to Durango Nature Center, lead interpretive hikes on our nature trail, and share information on responsible recreation in Southwest Colorado.
When can I expect these programs? Weekends in May through September
What does training look like? Docents will attend a one-time training on site at the Durango Nature Center. Once you’ve completed the training, you can sign up for as many volunteer shifts at the Nature Center as you’d like. If you’d like to lead interpretive hikes, you can jump right in or start by shadowing an SJMA staff member during your shift.
Contact SJMA’s Volunteer Coordinator, volunteer@sjma.org, for more information
Christmas Trees for Conservation Fundraiser
Support SJMA’s only annual fundraiser – Christmas Trees for Conservation! With your help, we improve forest health by cutting small ladder fuel trees in the National Forest and selling them as Christmas trees to raise money for our stewardship and education programs that take place year-round.
Each winter, we need YOUR support to harvest white firs, transport trees to Durango, and sell them at our tree lot in town. This is a great opportunity to support your local public lands, and to feel connected to our community during the holiday season.
White Fir Harvest Day
What: Help carry, collect, net and transport white firs from San Juan National Forest
When: Stay tuned for 2025!
Where: Stay tuned for 2025!
Tree Lot Set-Up
What: Help unload, set up both white and balsam firs
When: Stay tuned for 2025!
Where: Corner of Camino del Rio and College Avenue (Train parking lot)
Tree Lot Sales
What: Sign up for a morning or afternoon shift to help sell our Christmas Trees.
When: Opening November 28, 2025
Where: Corner of Camino del Rio and College Avenue (Train parking lot)
Interested in learning more about our fundraiser and how it is helping to improve forest help? Want to know our tree lot hours? Check out our Christmas Trees for Conservation informational page. Or contact SJMA’s Volunteer Coordinator at volunteer@sjma.org.