Media Release - The Poudre Wilderness Volunteers (PWV), a wilderness trail stewardship organization, is launching a GoFundMe campaign, “Reopen Your Favorite Trails,” on March 30. The Cameron Peak fire, Colorado’s largest wildfire, destroyed and burned over 208,000 acres of the Roosevelt National Forest. 
There are 122 miles of trails within the burned area, of which over 42 miles are severely damaged. With those flames came the destruction of the trails that allow us to experience the breathtaking beauty of our wilderness. For over 25 years, Poudre Wilderness Volunteers has been protecting and maintaining trails in the mountains along the Front Range. Over one third of these charred hiking trails will remain closed for years, unless they are rebuilt. PWV has done it before in restoring trails after the High Park fire and will leverage that experience in the coming years to restore trails damaged by the Cameron Peak fires.
The Reopen Your Favorite Trails GoFundMe donations will be used to support these trail restoration efforts. Working with the Forest Service and other local wilderness stewardship groups, efforts will be focused on rebuilding trails, reconstructing bridges, removing dangerous trees, and re-opening access to the wilderness. This link, Reopen Your Favorite Trails will take you to the GoFundMe site or info can be found at www.pwv.org.
“We all get absorbed by the beauty, the expansive views and the freedom to explore in the wilderness,” said Mike Corbin, PWV Board chair and Trail Restoration committee chair. “Dealing with the impact of the largest fire in Colorado’s recorded history is way beyond normal everyday efforts and we need all the help we can get to restore these trails,” said Corbin.
About Poudre Wilderness Volunteers
Poudre Wilderness Volunteers is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. PWV has over twenty-five years of experience working with the U.S. Forest Service, specifically the Canyon Lakes Ranger District in Fort Collins, CO. The organization is comprised of over 300 individuals who live primarily in northern Colorado and who range in age from 18 to 80 years old. The group consists of retirees as well as people still actively working in such fields as medicine, education, public and private administration and business. Since 2005, PWV has donated a total of over 340,000 volunteer hours, worth $7,298,038 to the USFS.
Tasks Include:
- Serve as volunteer Rangers for the USFS
- Launch patrols to survey trail conditions
- Remove dangerous and fallen trees
- Repair bridges
- Recruit members of the local communities to safely assist our crews in trail building
For more information, visit www.pwv.org.
Media Contact:
Jeff Randa
630-561-8121