Amid Forest Service cuts, Idaho Trails Association seeks volunteers for Panhandle projects
Idaho Trails Association volunteers use a two-man crosscut saw to clear downed trees from an area trail last year.
Courtesy of Barbara Sammut
Idaho’s trails are a labor of love, especially for the hundreds of volunteers that work with the Idaho Trails Association to maintain them.
Last year, close to 800 volunteers with the nonprofit organization cleared 332 miles of trails across Idaho, totaling close to 12,000 hours of labor.
North Idaho Program Specialist Barbara Sammut said due to Forest Service personnel cuts over the past few months, the need is greater than ever for volunteers as the organization prepares for this year’s projects.
“If there’s a lot of work that needs to be done on a section of trail and the Forest Service can’t get to it, that trail could close permanently,” Sammut said.
This year, ITA has about two dozen projects planned throughout the Panhandle. While most are within the Coeur d’Alene Ranger District and the northern part of the Panhandle, a few projects will focus volunteer efforts farther south, in the St. Joe River Ranger District.
Projects range from spending the day clearing logs and underbrush from the trails on English Point to spending a week on the St. Joe River.
So far, ITA has about 900 volunteers ready to work, Sammut said.
“We have a lot of trails in our area and there’s a need to help the Forest Service in any way we can,” Sammut said. “This work keeps the trails open.”
Instead of modern equipment like chain saws, ITA volunteers use traditional, rudimentary tools such as crosscut saws — which date back to the 1400s — to clear logs and other debris from area trails following the winter season.
In addition to being a safer option, traditional tools minimize disruptions to the natural environment.
Aside from maintaining the region’s trail systems, ITA volunteer projects are centered on building community, Sammut said.
Many projects are organized around specific demographics, such as women-only Women in the Wild projects, “Old Timers” projects for volunteers 65 years of age or older and youth projects, designed for high school-aged volunteers.
“(Volunteers) learn a lot about their capabilities and how to use traditional tools,” Sammut said. “They find camaraderie in working with a team to do something hard.”
Most projects still have space for volunteers.