Caring for our public lands: a year in review

A key part of the Greater Arkansas River Nature Association’s mission is stewarding our public lands. This is particularly critical in the Upper Arkansas River Valley, given that public land comprises around 73% of Lake County, 80% of Chaffee County and 54% of Fremont County.

In fulfilling this mission, GARNA manages volunteer groups including the Upper Arkansas Wilderness Volunteers (UAWV), Friends of Fourmile (FOF) and the Chaffee Rec Adopters. Each of these groups fills an important niche in caring for our public lands and worked hard to fulfill their missions in 2025.

The UAWV champions trail maintenance and visitor education in wilderness areas throughout the Leadville and Salida U.S. Forest Service Ranger Districts. In 2025 alone, UAWV accomplished 167 different work projects, clearing 615 trees from trail corridors, maintaining 118 water mitigation structures, installing or repairing trail signs and establishing three elk trail water crossing structures. The UAWV is always searching for hikers willing to report trail issues and individuals willing to join their trail crew. Email uawv@garna.org to get involved.

This year, Friends of Fourmile (FOF), GARNA’s longest-running stewardship group, continued their care for the Fourmile Travel Management Area. FOF volunteers spent nearly 900 hours stewarding Fourmile between October 2024 and September 2025. At the beginning of the year, they led a major campground ash and trash cleanup and completed their 17th annual Memorial Day Visitor Use Survey. Over the summer, they contained campsites with buck-and-rail fencing and boulders to prevent off-route travel and vegetation damage. The Friends also revised and reprinted Fourmile’s official recreation guide and map and supported the USFS in designing their new Dispersed Camping Management Plan.

The Chaffee Rec Adopters complement UAWV and FOF efforts by stewarding dispersed and designated campgrounds in collaboration with the USFS and BLM. Funded by Chaffee County’s Common Ground ballot initiative and run by GARNA, this group keeps Chaffee County campgrounds from being loved to death. From July to October, 167 volunteers dedicated just under 500 volunteer hours to maintenance projects from Clear Creek Canyon to Burmac. They removed 8,020 pounds of ash and trash, downsized or removed 139 fire rings, removed or installed 4,150 feet of fencing and undertook various other campsite maintenance projects.

GARNA’s Porta Potties on Public Lands program supplements these volunteer groups’ efforts on public lands. Through this program, portable restroom units are placed at 20 heavily visited trailheads and dispersed camping areas throughout Chaffee County. Cleaners remove an estimated 10 gallons of waste from these portapots every week, rerouting potentially 4,440 gallons of human waste from contaminating the environment this year alone.

In addition to managing recreation impacts for the benefit of ecosystems and recreationists, GARNA undertook a variety of water quality monitoring projects in 2025. GARNA and Collegiate Peaks Chapter of Trout Unlimited volunteers have conducted monthly water quality sampling and testing for the statewide monitoring program River Watch for several years now. They collect data on temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, hardness, alkalinity, heavy metals and nutrient loads, and share this data with Colorado Parks and Wildlife. This data informs environmental decision-making and policy throughout Colorado.

GARNA water quality monitors focused on two other projects this year: E. coli testing and advocating for Outstanding Waters designations on local stream segments. Volunteers test E. coli at several sites around Chaffee County and share this data with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. These volunteers are also involved with a coalition of organizations pushing to designate local stream segments as “Outstanding Waters.” This designation by the Colorado Water Quality Commission would grant stronger legal protections to some of our beloved streams.

All told, 2025 was a busy year for GARNA’s public land stewardship programs. Despite challenges on the federal land management landscape, local volunteers continued to show up in support of our ecosystems, communities and partners at the USFS and BLM. We expect 2026 to be even busier, and we’re always grateful for more hands. If you care for our public lands, there’s a place for you in this work. Reach out to rose@garna.org to learn how you can get involved next year.