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Prepared by San Juan Mountains Association P A G E 0 2

P E R S I S T E N C E I N T H E F A C E O F

C H A L L E N G E

It's safe to say that when we gathered last fall to discuss our seasons' accomplishments and catch up that we had no idea what the following year would hold for us. 2020 has created unimaginable challenges for all of us, and hopefully as we turn the corner into 2021 we can collectively move beyond these impacts.

In the face of these profound economic, social, and health disruptions, I am grateful that so many local organizations, participants, and staff have continued doing the work that benefits our communities and the public lands we all rely upon. With any luck, we can meet in person in the spring to regroup after winter, but in the meanwhile, thanks to everyone who submitted a season summary, and I hope to see you all in person soon.

David Taft Conservation Director San Juan Mountains Association

Mancos Trails Group

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Mancos Trails Group had a very productive season in spite of the pandemic. Our members embrace the "adopt-a-trail" we put into place in April. Several members also rallied to complete the crew leader training sponsored by the Dolores Ranger District and put on by Volunteers for Outdoor .

Total volunteer hours across all agencies and entities was 1031.

MTG put in 832 volunteer hours for the Forest Service from 10/1/2019 through 9/28/2020. Almost every one of the 23 1/2 miles of the Mancos Spur Trail received at least some attention, and some segments received a lot.

That is actually MORE hours than we put in last year, pre-COVID! I'm really excited that our Spur Adoption Program was such a success. Hopefully we will be able to keep up the momentum next year, and incorporate group work days back into the mix as well!

Best,

Robert Meyer Mancos Trails Group Chair Durango Trails

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Durango Trails had a very busy season building trails from SKyRaider to Cutthroat; maintaining the area trails, removing hundreds of downed trees and educating trail users about safe access to the outdoors during the pandemic. 2021 will continue to be a busy year and we’d like to encourage partnerships with other organizations that have trail projects coming up.

Happy Holidays, Mary Monroe Brown San Juan Trail Riders

P A G E 0 5 This year has been one for the record books for our organization. Though current COVID protocols have limited our ability to conduct formal meetings, membership rides and trail workdays our members have self-organized and been more active this year than ever. Our membership clears, and repairs trails in four (4) Rangers Districts of two (2) National Forests, and three (3) BLM regions overseen by three (3) respective Field Offices.

Our member trail maintenance crews were off to a strong start getting all the area trails cleared nearly as soon as they reopened from seasonal closures. Then we were dealt a large setback when June 6th derecho passed through producing 60 mph winds with gusts up to 75 mph for nearly 12 hours. Thanks to excellent communication with area Ranger Districts, fellow clubs such as Southwest Colorado Cycling Association (SWCCA), the extremely hard working OHV Crews and our dedicated Member base we were able to quickly Sget etrailsr vpassableice again D fora theys enjoyment of all. Our members removed 1,189 trees, brushed 10,560 ft of trail, covering 300 miles of the area trails volunteering over 900 manhours of labor.N aSometion ofa thel P moreubl notableic Lands work to be completed this summer was the total rehab of #738 Loading PenD Trail,ay including removal of trees, brushing, removal of rocks, and repairing of switchbacks. Our Members also self-organized and completed two (2) extensive trail repair projects on #514 Hermosa Creek Trail to ensure that the trail was safely passable in entirety by all trail users.

The helpfulness of our members goes beyond clearing area trails. When out-of-area trail users were put in contact with the club by area Ranger Districts the members helped owners remove three (3) OHV’s from area trails at no cost. With the approaching holidays our members are already planning to select one (1) girl and one (1) boy again this year to provide warm clothing and gifts to ensure they have a special Christmas. Colorado Public Lands Day We look forward to continuing to collaborate with area U.S.F.S Ranger Districts and BLM Field Offices to ensure all users of multi-use motorized trails continueRetire dto Whaveilde anrn enjoyableess Ranger Anne experiences in the Four-Corners area. Dal Vera led a crosscut saw Respectfully, certification class to increase our forest's capacity to keep trails Deric Hook – Board Member, San Juan Trailc Riderslear and open. We had 11 participants for a total of 8 hours, including a field session in small, socially distanced groups. San Juan Backcountry Horsemen

P A G E 0 6 San Juan Back Country Horsemen had a good field year despite COVID. Early in the year we met with the Pagosa Ranger District to plan work and agreed our chapter would focus on keeping trails cleared once the regular trail crews had them opened.

We started clearing trees from trails in early May to help the trail crews get started, and once they had been cleared by the crews, we kept many trails opened through the year. During summer and fall we cut out 305 trees from 17 trails: Anderson, Archuleta (Divide RD), Lower Weminuche, Cimarrona, Opal Lake, Leche Creek, Buckles Lake, Four Mile Falls, East Creek (Columbine RD), Turkey Creek, Weminuche Creek, Weminuche (Divide RD), Fish Lake, Devil Creek, Williams Creek, Indian Creek, and La Osa (Divide RD). Most of this work was done in Wilderness where we used crosscut saws. We brushed/cleared approximately 1700’ of trail on Turkey Creek and Anderson trails; we reconstructed 200’ of trail tread on Anderson Trail, 150’ of tread on Turkey Creek Trail, and 70’ of tread on Archuleta Creek Trail (Divide RD).

Throughout the summer we resupplied two Southwest Conservation Corps Crews working in the Weminuche and South San Juan Wilderness areas; we did that six times through the year, hauling food and gear to high elevation sites and back-hauling trash and equipment (Williams Lake twice, Turkey Lake, Quartz Ridge, Middle Fork and Cimarrona), and we assisted the Pagosa Ranger District with packing trail crews in and out at Blanco River Trail and at West Fork (Rainbow) Trail.

We built 10 routed campsite marker posts for placement at the hot springs up West Fork Trail. We cleaned up a large campsite at Blue Lake in the South San Juan’s, hauling out 150 lbs of trash and equipment from a camp that had been abandoned during heavy snow in late 2019. On National Public Lands Day, we teamed up with a Girl Scout troop from Pagosa Springs to clean and maintain the popular Treasure Falls site east of Pagosa.

Our group worked a safe, COVID-cautious total of 970 hours in the field this year, while driving 2868 miles to do the work. We received our 501(c)3 status this year, too, which will help us go for grants for trails and Wilderness work in the future. We had a great year and are looking forward to good snow this winter and a nice spring and summer in 2021.

San Juan Backcountry Horsemen South San Juan Broadband Great Old Broads for Wilderness

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Trail maintenance Actions 2020

The South San Juan Broadband of Great Old Broads for Wilderness (Broads) in partnership with San Juan Mountains Association (SJMA) completed the following activities with crosscut saws and axes in 2020: Cleared trees, trimmed vegetation and cleaned drainages on the Lake Eileen trail Cleared trees on the Cave Basin Trail Cleared trees on 6+ miles of the , from Lobo Overlook to the Spruce Lakes Trail Cleared trees on the Clear Creek trail in the Hermosa Creek watershed, where the 416 Fire burned in 2018.

Total number of volunteers: 16 Total number of volunteer hours: 318

Thank you for asking for our numbers. We do plan to help in 2021 and have not firmed up plans at this time. We will clear trails in the Weminuche and Hermosa Creek Wilderness areas. Rico Trails Alliance

P A G E 0 8 Rico Trails Alliance (RTA) was founded in 2017 to promote local and regional trail systems in and around Rico, Colorado, with a focus on access, development, and use of non-motorized trails. As the snow starts to fall and the snowbike groomer is once again pulled out for the winter season, it’s a great time to reflect on RTA’s 2020 accomplishments. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, 2020 has been a busy year for RTA’s volunteers. Trail Maintenance In the winter/spring of 2020, RTA volunteers used our snowmobile and groomer to groom and maintain several miles of singletrack snow trails in and above Rico for fat-tire biking and cross- country skiing. We also held our annual fat bike bash in January, with demo bikes from two shops and which drew nearly 60 riders from across the region. Two RTA volunteers attended a USFS- organized volunteer Trail Crew Leader training program provided by the Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado (VOC). We estimate our volunteers contributed more than 90 hours grooming trails and hosting the 2020 Rico Fatbike Bash this past winter. Trail Planning RTA’s primary focus in 2020 was trail planning, including securing an easement for the Town of Rico across private property along the historic Rio Grande Southern (RGS) railroad grade south of Rico and gathering public support and comments for the Rico Trails Project, which includes trail designation and improvements on the Circle Trail, Ryman Trail, and RGS from Rico to the Dolores- Montezuma County line. For the RGS easement, RTA’s volunteers conducted site walks with the property owner to understand the owners’ needs and mapped a suitable trail route. RTA’s volunteer surveyor and legal counsel surveyed and drafted the easement through multiple Studentsiterations before Served the final easement Virtually: was signed into effect by the property owner and the Town of Rico. RTA’s 20202,345 support for the Rico Trails Project included gathering and providing comment to the USFS on the Draft Environmental Assessment, Revised Draft Environmental Assessment, and StudentsDraft Decision. Served RTA also in conducted Person: planning for a skills trail project within the town of Rico, presented the project to the Town of Rico Board of Trustees twice, and gathered public input on the trail. RTA estimates629 its volunteers contributed more than 60 hours to trail planning in 2020. Fundraising and Operations TotalRTA provided Participants: multiple letters of support for USFS non-motorized and motorized trail grant proposals, which 2,974 help raise funds for maintenance on the North Calico Trail and the Bear Creek Trail system. RTA authorized matching funds for the Town of Rico’s GOCO grant application for bridgeTeachers planning funds, Served: submitted a grant request to maintain existing Rico Trails Project funds, and submitted a request for bridge construction matching funds. RTA also held regular board meetings throughout46 2020. RTA estimates its volunteers contributed over 130 hours to fundraising and general operations in 2020. TotalPlease visit Volunteer our website at www.ricotrailsalliance.org Hours: for up to date information, to contribute, and 121 to join our mailing list. San Juan Mountains Association

P A G E 0 9 Here at the San Juan Mountains Association, we are exceedingly proud of the amount of work we accomplished in 2020. Despite the late start, our volunteer program responded effectively to the dramatic visitor increases across the forest.

Our volunteer wilderness ambassadors spent over 900 hours patrolling trails through the Weminuche, South San Juan, and Hermosa Creek Wildernesses conducting public outreach and doing corridor work. The Adopt a Road volunteers pitched in over 700 hours cleaning up SJNF roads and assisting visitors. Additionally, our volunteers spent almost 500 hours at the Ice Lake Trail (where visitor numbers reached over 600 per day on busy weekends!) promoting LNT practices, clearing downed trees, cleaning up trash, and distributing WAG bags to overnight visitors.

In coordination with the Fort Lewis College Outdoor Pursuits, we hosted a self guided National Public Lands Day clean up effort on the Sale Barn trail area. These volunteers cleaned up hundreds of pounds of trash from transient camps in this well-used area.

In addition to our volunteer efforts, our Wilderness Stewardship Crew spent 14 weeks Studentsacross lServedocal wildern Virtually:esses monitorin g campsites, clearing trail, naturalizing illegal campfire rings, and conducting public outreach. The crew cleared the Needle Creek trail and cu2,345t out eight new designated camp sites from the avalanche debris near StudentsRainbo Servedw hot sprin gins (m Person:uch thanks t o the San Juan BCH for making the campsite markers). 629 TotalFinally, wParticipants:ith a huge lift from an SCC crew, Foundation trail adopter Connie Wian, and the USFS wilderness crew, we were able to clear two massive avalanch 2,974e debris piles from the Creek Trail segment of the Colorado Trail. Teachers Served: We look forward to continuing work across the San Juan and Rio Grande National Forests next y46ear, as well as our continued partnership with the BLM Tres Rios and Total VolunteerCa nHours:yon of the Ancients National Monument. 121