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Letter: Volunteer with Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers

Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers is a great nonprofit organization that helps to build and maintain trails from Rifle to Aspen. It also works on wetland planting and other restoration projects as well as removal of invasive species like tamarisk and Russian olive. With the ever-shrinking budgets of the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers has become a valuable resource for these agencies as they struggle to maintain the many miles of trails throughout the Roaring Fork Valley.

Why should you volunteer with Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers? I’ll give you several reasons:

• We need you! The more people we have out on projects, the more work we can accomplish. Trails do not maintain themselves. Brush clearing, removing sediment from water bars, building rock walls and closing braided trails — these are important things to prevent trails from being overgrown or damaged by erosion.



• It’s fun! You meet people with similar interests and values. Some of my best friends are people I met through Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers.

• It’s rewarding! You can see the dramatic before-and-after effects of your work from the start to the end of the project day. I personally like constructing new trail, because you get to build something new that will be used and enjoyed by generations to come.




• We’re flexible! We have Saturday projects, evening projects, group workdays, family-friendly projects and youth projects. There is something for everyone. We also have a variety of tasks — not everyone needs to haul heavy rocks or dig in the dirt.

• Great food! We provide a nice meal and beverages at the end of the project day. Sometimes there are other rewards, too!

Come enjoy some free White House Pizza and beverages and learn more about Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers at our 2016 season kickoff party April 7 at 6 p.m. at the Third Street Center in Carbondale! If you can’t make it to this event and you’d like more information, please go to http://www.rfov.org or call 970-927-8241. Thanks.

Eileen Wysocki

Crew leader and ambassador, Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers Volunteer Development Committee