COMMUNITY

Smokey’s Corner: A Well-Deserved Round of Applause to Our Wilderness Warriors

Jodie Canfield
Guest Columnist
Somkey Bear Ranger District wilderness volunteers cut fallen trees to clear trails for hikers.

This Smokey’s Corner features a spotlight on a group of dedicated volunteers that do trail work for the Smokey Bear Ranger District. Without them, many of our wilderness trails would go unmaintained and be difficult to navigate for both hikers and horse riders.

My first encounter with this group was 6 months into my job as District Ranger in June 2017 at a first aid CPR class put on by the Ruidoso Fire Department. I sat at a table and shared a CPR dummy with a pleasant individual. As we talked a little, he introduced himself as Walter and explained that he and many others in the room were volunteer trail workers.

I looked around the room and saw a few faces I knew that were forest employees, and a few from the community as well. But many of the attendees were not familiar to me.

I learned that they were almost all volunteers for the Smokey Bear Ranger District. I noted to myself that I needed to learn more about these folks and the work they accomplish.

Things in my new job got busy, but I heard through my work force that almost every other Saturday members of this volunteer crew met one of Smokey Bear’s long term seasonal employees – Orin Nutting - at a trailhead and with water and snacks, hardhats, gloves and non-mechanized tools, dedicated a day of their precious time to improving conditions on the White Mountain Wilderness trails.

Smokey Bear District Ranger Jodie Canfield helps volunteers clear a trail in the forest.

I signed on as a volunteer for a Saturday in September. There were only five of us that day at the Argentina Bonito Trailhead on a crisp autumn morning – none of us spring chickens - but all ready to get to spend a day outside working. We talked about potential hazards and what our goals were for the day then up the trail we went. 

As the day warmed up nicely from the New Mexico sunshine and uninterrupted blue skies, our conversations warmed as well. We stopped on a sunny slope by the creek for lunch, and I felt so lucky to have met new friends and got to know them on a personal level. Besides that, I got to try my hand at the art of cross-cut sawing and learned how to put a water bar in a place where the trail was eroding.

While I was a novice, the other folks were experienced and knowledgeable about this kind of work and they worked hard all day. I was proud to be an honorary member of this cohesive group.

The trail volunteers finished the season with a celebratory potluck and were given a small token of our appreciation in the form of hats and cups. We, the Forest Service, and you the recreating public, owe this group our sincere thanks for a job well done and completed without fanfare.

The core 20-person group of trail volunteers includes Bob Simpson, Bill Maushak, Ann Ellis, Sue Morris, Marty Daven port, Devonna James, Frank Cannela, Marge Cannela, Jim Edwards, Marilyn Koukol, Tom Rechlicz, Ray Faircloth, Shippen Salas, Rifle Salas, Walter Tippin, Cindy Long, Lynn Zimmerman, Lori Lamphere, and Birgit Sawinski. 

They have been doing volunteer trail work for five seasons. Last year they contributed 13 crew days and over 600 hours. I want to give each one of you a round of applause for a job well-done.

Jodie Canfield

Thank you all for volunteering to make our trails better.

Jodie Canfield is the Smokey Bear District Ranger.