Make room in your backpack for a pair of work gloves and a shovel. On Saturday, June 3 volunteers around the country will be spending the 14th annual National Trails Day cleaning-up and beautifying our nations trails and public lands. Close to half of the thousand-plus registered National Trails Day events will involve building or maintaining some 2,000 miles of trail in community parks and forests. These efforts contribute nearly 200,000 hours of sweat equity that improves the condition of hiking, biking, and equestrian trails. That breaks down to roughly an hour of volunteer time for every mile of trail in the country.
American Hiking Society has again teamed up with local land managers, volunteer-led trail clubs, and outdoor retailers REI and Eastern Mountain Sports (EMS), both sponsors of National Trails Day, to support events across the country that provide people of all ages and skill levels an opportunity to take pride in their public lands by performing much needed trail maintenance, all while having fun celebrating this national outdoor holiday.
“Hikers, paddlers, climbers-they are extremely giving and passionate about community service and the places where they play,” said Rhonda Krafchin, Outreach Specialist, REI Fairfax, Virginia. “Volunteerism is such an absolute, essential part of wilderness conservation. This goes right to the heart of REI and is why were always a part of National Trails Day.”
Similar to a roadway needing potholes repaired, trails require regular maintenance and upkeep so that they may be enjoyed year-round by outdoor recreationists, and to ensure the sustainability of the surrounding ecosystem, including native flora and fauna. Unfortunately, significant budget cuts have caused many public land agencies to downsize staff and reallocate limited resources, resulting in a dependence on volunteers to combat problems like deteriorating trail quality and user-group safety. National Trails Day serves as a call to action, rallying tens of thousands of Americans to answer with shovels in hand.
Trail work does not have to be a chore, but rather an opportunity to experience nature in a new way and perhaps learn a new skill. National Trails Day volunteer events are often held in pristine, scenic areas, with a river or a mountainside as the backdrop. For example, in Arizona, the Black Canyon Trail Coalition and Bureau of Land Management will be extending a segment of the Black Canyon Trail to an overlook of the Agua Fria River Canyon. Here volunteers will be rewarded with breathtaking vistas and a glimpse into the Native cultures that once called the canyon home. EMS, REI and other outdoor retailers are also hosting trail work projects that provide scenery and experiences that rival the best outdoor activities in the country.
