2013 Summer/Fall Schedule Released!

Goat Rocks Wilderness, Gifford Pinchot NF (2012)

We are super excited to announce the release of the full 2013 Service Project schedule!  It is a record setting year as WV will give something back in more wilderness areas in a single year than ever before, with trips from Hawaii to Vermont, Alaska to Texas and many, many areas in between.

We'll need your help to ensure that we complete all the tasks that our agency partners are asking of us, so head on over to our projects page to read more about each of the 2013 service trips and sign up for your top choice before it fills up.  **Also note that supporters of Wilderness Volunteers get early placement for their desired projects.

We can't wait to get on the trail and give something back with you and your friends and family! Check out this interactive map of where our 2013 projects or view the projects by date.

Any questions? Shoot us an email at info@wildernessvolunteers.org.

Spring Trips are on the Website!

Selway Bitterroot Wilderness, ID (2010)

That's right. Just as the 2010 trip season concludes with a week of trail-building along Arkansas' Buffalo National River, the 2011 spring trip schedule is up and ready to go.

Highlights include two alternative spring break trips featuring students from the University of Minnesota and DePaul University, half-a-dozen trips maintaining trails and battling invasive Russian olive and tamarisk throughout Utah, as well as adventures in Yosemite, the White Mountains, and the Pacific Northwest.

Click here for the full list.

As always, we're seeking volunteers from all walks of life, all parts of the country, and all levels of experience. Sign up here.

And stay tuned for summer and fall projects, which will be posted in December.

(Note that only supporters of Wilderness Volunteers can sign up during the months of October and December. Applications from non-Supporters will be kept until Nov 1st and Jan 1st, and accepted if space is still available. To become a supporter, click here.)

Painting Our Corner Of The Big Picture

Ever sought personal fulfillment by being an integral part of someone else's grand vision? That's exactly how it felt leading an eager group of young, enthusiastic students on Wilderness Volunteers' Buffalo National River service project in late March.

Long time National Park Service employee and former Buffalo National River trails supervisor Ken Smith has a dream. Our nation's first National River, dedicated in 1972 (exactly 100 years to the day after Yellowstone was established as the nation's first National Park), had no single trail that hikers could walk along the river bluffs along it's entire 60-mile length. While trails were created long ago and have been in use in the greater area for many years, the lack of a through-route was obvious to adventurers seeking solitude by foot and pack -- especially those lacking the skills or equipment to enjoy the river by paddle and canoe.

With great forethought and experience, and with the support of park management, Ken carefully mapped out the remaining 25-mile stretch to link existing fragmented trails into what will ultimately become the Buffalo National River Trail through the heart of this great Oak-Hickory, Ozark forest. Of course, great visions are such because of missing ingredients -- as is usually the case with public lands, lack of money and personnel top the list. As a retiree and volunteer himself, Ken literally took matters into his own hands and began raising money through a new foundation he established for this purpose, and he began recruiting volunteers in earnest, at first locally, and later involving national conservation groups like Wilderness Volunteers. He's even written an entire book Buffalo River Handbook filled with insights and information about the river and trail system in the area.

Persevering through a gauntlet of spring rains and mud, and mild, leaf-crunching fall colors, volunteer groups camping on the beautiful river beaches under massive limestone bluffs for a week at a time have completed 10 of the 25 miles, usually at a pace about .25 miles per week. It's slow going, but Ken seeks quality not quantity, and his watchful eyes and constant supervision ensure that it's done right the first time.

Our group certainly endured heavy rains and cold conditions, but as we found out, it's tough to dampen the spirit and enthusiasm exuded by youthful vigor. This intrepid group from DePaul University never flinched, despite some wet sleeping bags and cold feet. Each and every student demonstrated resilience and hopefully took home something special from their week of trail construction. If one word can sum it up, John called the entire experience "fantastic".

Volunteerism rewards the soul. Best of all, it introduces us to special people like Ken Smith and special places like the Buffalo National River.

Calling all Volunteers - Spring Trips are on the Website!

Leader Training Trip, Inyo National Forest, CA (2006)

The spring 2010 trips are up! Check them out here.

The summer and fall trips will be posted during the first week of December.

Start planning your adventures now for the new year!

During the months of October and December, only supporters of Wilderness Volunteers will be placed on trips. To become a supporter, click on the Support WV tab on the website.

If you submit an application for a trip in either of these months and are not a supporter, we will save your application until November or January and put you on the trip if space is still available at that time.

Got questions? Email us at
reservations@wildernessvolunteers.org.

WV Announces Alternative Spring Break Program

This spring, Wilderness Volunteers launched an exciting new program: Alternative Spring Break!

Designed to involve college students in the preservation and maintenance of our wild lands and wild places, WV's Alternative Spring Break program will give students from college campuses across the country the opportunity to spend a week "giving something back" in the nation's parks, forests, and wilderness areas and to become the next generation of environmental stewards and "wilderness volunteers."

During the second week of March, ten James Madison University (Harrisonburg, VA) students and one faculty member packed their bags and headed west to Utah's Zion National Park to spend their spring break clearing trails, moving rocks, digging trenches, and working hard. No beaches, suntans, wild parties, or lazy afternoons here.

"Team J-M-U" maintained trails and built earthen water bars across the East Rim and Left Fork Subway trails, improved the wheelchair accessible Emerald Pools trail, and broke ice and cleared a path along the popular Observation Point trail.

Take a look:

The 8-day trip was a success, and was arranged through Breakaway: The Alternative Break Connection, which has been instrumental in providing college students with opportunities to spend their hard-earned spring breaks performing community service focused on some of the world's most important issues. REI generously donated tents, sleeping pads, and sleeping bags for the students to use.

The Zion service trip is the first all-student project that Wilderness Volunteers has organized as it endeavors to involve more college students in alternative spring break service trips across the country.

WV is currently scheduling projects for Spring Break 2010. For more information about how to connect your university group with a Wilderness Volunteers Alternative Spring Break Project, contact Dave Pacheco at dave@wildernessvolunteers.org.

Thanks again to Team J-M-U for "Giving Something Back!"

P.S. To learn more about Breakaway and the Alternative Spring Break movement, listen to this interview with Breakaway's Program Director:

WV Presents...@ REI in Salt Lake City

Outdoor enthusiasts in Utah are encouraged to attend one of two upcoming presentations at REI in the Salt Lake City area titled "Giving Something Back in 2009." The photo presentation will discuss Wilderness Volunteers' work and mission, and will encourage attendees to get involved in upcoming wild-land service projects.

WV's Program Manager Dave Pacheco will present on the following dates:

• May 14th, 7:00pm at the Sandy REI, 230 W 10600 S

• July 22nd, 7:00pm at the Salt Lake City REI, 3285 E 3300 S

Wilderness Volunteers and James Madison University would also like to thank REI for supporting the first-ever Wilderness Volunteers Alternative Spring Break Service Project, which ran during the second week of March in Utah's Zion National Park. As part of its committment to environmental stewardship, REI donated a tent for the students to use, and continues to support the work of Wilderness Volunteers.

Thanks from all of us!