Montana Wilderness Association - montana wilderness association, montana wilderness, montana hunting, montana public lands, hiking montana, best hike montana, protect public lands montana

For nine years and counting, MWA has mobilized grassroots supporters to improve Montana's storied network of trails. Our Volunteer Trail Crew (VTC) began with an initiative to maintain and complete the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail (CDT). Today, our program continues to steward the CDT, while also lending a hand on landscapes like the Kootenai, Jewel Basin, Madison Range and island ranges across the state. We work in partnership with the United States Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to identify trails in need of extra help. Then we get boots on the ground to do the hard work of keeping these trails open and accessible.

Our volunteer crews continue to come through in astounding fashion, lending much-needed help to underfunded federal land managers: since 2012, 1,151 volunteers have contributed 38,664 hours to maintain and improve over 420 miles of trail.

These volunteers are the lifeblood of our Volunteer Trail Crew program. Most of them hail from Montana, but some travel from different states and continents to be a part of our spirited group of public land lovers. They leave behind the creature comforts of daily living to come work through heat, rain and even snow to dig new tread, saw dead trees, and build structures to improve travel in the backcountry. Volunteers gain first-hand knowledge of management needs and priorities from MWA staff and agency partners, and the tens of thousands of hours they contribute help alleviate a growing maintenance backlog due to shortage of federal funding for trails. Their efforts preserve access to Montana's most beloved landscapes and prove to management agencies that MWA can be a trusted ally. 

Assembled here are the achievements of our world-class volunteers. While the statistics are impressive, the numbers simply can't do justice to all their hard work over the years. To all our volunteers, we give a heartfelt thank you and promise to keep the spirit of your initiative alive, summer after summer.

2012 – 2020 ACCOMPLISHMENTS

1,151 Volunteers

38,664 Volunteer Hours

423 Miles Worked

6 Miles Trail Constructed

2,379 Dead Trees Removed

3,939 Drains Installed/Maintained

125 Miles Brushed

120 Structures Constructed

$955,055 volunteer in-kind value

2019 Field Season

269 volunteers, 63 trail miles worked, 5,500 volunteer hours

Salish Kootenai College's Upward Bound Program brushing in the Jewel Basin (Matt Bowser) 

2019 Stewardship Annual Report

Project Reports and Achievements

2018 Field Season

171 volunteers, 50 trail miles worked, 4,002 volunteer hours

Madison Gallatin Chapter's Adopt-A-Trail Crew venturing off for a day of hard work and good times (Sean Jansen) 

2018 Stewardship Annual Report

Project Reports and Achievements

2017 Field Season

58 volunteers, 26 trail miles worked, 2,217 volunteer hours

Storm Lake crew atop Goat Flat in the Anaconda Pintler Wilderness 

2017 Stewardship Annual Report

Project Reports and Achievements

2016 Field Season

112 volunteers, 38 trail miles worked, 4,988 volunteer hours

Volunteer Packer Chis Eyer hauling out the Welcome Creek crew's gear from the Scapegoat Wilderness

2015 Field Season

159 volunteers, 40 trail miles worked, 6,530 volunteer hours

Flesher Pass crew feeling proud after constructing a new crib wall on the CDT

2015 Year-end Summary

2014 Field Season

134 volunteers, 53 trail miles worked, 6,332 volunteer hours

Volunteers from the Chinese Wall trip take a break from work to soak in the view (Sonny Mazzullo)

2014 Year-end Summary

2013 Field Season

110 volunteers, 72 trail miles worked, 4,310 volunteer hours

Lewis & Clark Pass Fire Rehab crew working on the Continental Divide Trail in 2018 (Sean Jansen)

2013 Year-end Summary

2012 Field Season

81 volunteers, 25 trail miles worked, 3,442 volunteer hours

Constructing a new turnpike in the Bob Marshall Wilderness near Bowl Creek

(Sean Jansen)