2025 has been a chaotic year for our public lands. Now, with government shutdowns, we will see more chaos. Many of us live in Summit County because of easy access to public lands. About 70% of land in the county is public, mainly consisting of the White River National Forest, the most-visited national forest in the U.S. Colorado has 22 million acres of public lands. 

These spaces are essential to our recreation economy and Colorado’s lifestyle. A 2023 Colorado State University-led survey of Coloradans found that 72% of respondents reported participating in outdoor recreation at least once weekly in the past year, and 80% indicated that outdoor recreation is an important part of their personal well-being.  

The survey also found that economic output related to outdoor recreation by Colorado residents amounted to $65.8 billion, contributing $36.5 billion to the state’s GDP and $11.2 billion in tax revenue. Colorado’s outdoor recreation industry supported more than 404,000 jobs — representing 12% of Colorado’s labor force — and produced $22.2 billion in salaries and wages.

The Trump Administration’s recent firing of 3,400 Forest Service staff, and departure of others through deferred resignation, left many of us concerned about how our public lands would be protected. 

Sept. 27 was National Public Lands Day, and organizations all over the country volunteered to help protect public lands. Longtime local nonprofit Eagle Summit Wilderness Alliance celebrated our many volunteers on that day. Eagle Summit Wilderness Alliance is unique among other local groups in their focus on protecting and preserving our four local wilderness areas: Eagles Nest, Flat Tops, Holy Cross and Ptarmigan Peak. 

Eagle Summit Wilderness Alliance is “all wilderness, all of the time.”

Eagle Summit Wilderness Alliance Volunteer Wilderness Rangers are trained to serve as official volunteer representatives of the U.S. Forest Service, engaging with and educating the public, and promoting Leave No Trace principles. This year alone, Eagle Summit Wilderness Alliance volunteer rangers hiked over 3,000 miles on wilderness-area trails, conducted 5,500 trail interactions with visitors and staffed trailhead tables at heavily used trailheads, volunteering over 2,000 hours. Wearing Forest Service shirts with a volunteer patch draws attention, and wilderness users have many questions.  

Eagle Summit Wilderness Alliance volunteer sawyers are specially trained to clear the hundreds of fallen logs blocking trails every year, work that must be done with non-motorized equipment — no chainsaws — since the Wilderness Act of 1964 prohibits any form of mechanized tool or conveyance. In 2025, Eagle Summit Wilderness Alliance sawyers spent over 850 hours removing almost 600 trees. 

This summer, Eagle Summit Wilderness Alliance also provided funding and 380 volunteer hours restoring the popular Meadow Creek trail. Another 150 hours and funding helped construct a new bridge on the Missouri Lakes trail in the Holy Cross Wilderness.  And Eagle Summit Wilderness Alliance volunteers helped replace numerous old trail signs. 

Eagle Summit Wilderness Alliance volunteers also work deep into the wilderness on multi-day backcountry work trips. On these trips, Eagle Summit Wilderness Alliance volunteers have a little help from two hardworking friendly llamas that help carry supplies. Many areas popular with backpackers have illegally placed fire rings, campsites placed too close to lakes, trails, and streams and left trash. Eagle Summit Wilderness Alliance provides the funding to rent and house the llamas each season.

Overall, Eagle Summit Wilderness Alliance volunteers dedicated over 4,000 hours protecting our wilderness.

All of this volunteer work helps to keep wilderness wild! The Friends of Dillon Ranger District is doing similar work in other parts of the White River National Forest. We are fortunate to have so many volunteers working all through the busiest seasons. Not all public lands have this kind of organized volunteerism. Even with our many volunteers, we need adequately funded professional federal staffing to successfully manage our precious lands, habitats, and wildlife that we all use and love.

When you’re out enjoying our trails this beautiful fall, thank a volunteer. And consider volunteering!

“Get Wild” publishes weekly in the Summit Daily News. Karn Stiegelmeier is a volunteer wilderness ranger and board member of Eagle Summit Wilderness Alliance.