VOLUNTEER
SAWYERS
CLEAR TREES OFF TRAILS
The USFS is responsible for clearing trees off official Forest trails. However, they simply don't have enough manpower to manage the thousands of trees that fall on Eagle & Summit County Colorado trails each year. ESWA has partnered with the USFS to clear 10 trails in Summit and 5 trails in Eagle County. All of these trails go deep into the Wilderness where chainsaws are not allowed. Check out an interactive map of our trails here!
​
Help us clear trees off trails in the Wilderness! Check out some of the information below and reach out to join our group of Sawyers!
Join Sawyers
No prior experience or training is necessary. The only criteria is that you be able to hike at least 2 miles, participate in a safe manner, and dress appropriately (long sleeves, long pants, leather gloves, appropriate footwear, and hard-hat (supplied)).
You will assist a certified Sawyer who will provide guidance on how to safely clear trails.
If you're interested, fill out our contact form, and we'll add you to our Sawyer mailing list and we'll notify you about volunteer clearing opportunities.
Get Certified as a Sawyer
Once you've volunteered with us for a summer, you may want to become certified to lead Sawyers.
We hold a certification class annually. For 2024, the class was in June. Please join us on the trails and think about certification in 2025. You can join our certification wait list by clicking below.
Falling Trees
Forests in Eagle and Summit County Colorado were infested with the pine bark beetle starting in 1996. This infestation ravaged our lodgepole pines, killing up to 70% of the pines in some areas.
As these trees died, they fell, and are still falling today!
Why no Chainsaws?
The Wilderness Act of 1964 set aside areas of Wilderness that are inside our National Forest and National Park system. These areas have much greater protection and do not allow any form of mechanized tool or conveyance. Therefore, all of our work is done by one and two person crosscut saws. In this way, we help preserve the Wilderness for future generations.
