Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers has released the results of its 30th season, which engaged 1,996 unique volunteers to steward regional public lands with the organization’s highest community engagement to date. 

This is up from the previous three years that saw 1,993 volunteers in 2024, 1,457 volunteers in 2023, and 1,304 volunteers in 2022, according to those respective years’ impact reports. Tabatha Godoy, RFOV communications and engagement manager, credits this increase in volunteers over the years primarily to word of mouth, in addition to the steady expansion of RFOV’s youth programming through Spruce Up Your School and youth service days. Group/Adopt-a-Trail programs have also offered options for local businesses and organizations to get staff out for a service day/team-building opportunity.

“Many of our volunteers come back year after year and invite friends and family to join,” Godoy told The Aspen Times. “We try to meet people where they’re at and offer different ways to get involved.”

The 2025 volunteers, in addition to RFOV staff and partners, contributed 14,768 hours of hands-on stewardship over 230 days of work at 80 project sites in Pitkin, Eagle, Garfield, and Gunnison counties. Together, the community “restored habitats, reduced wildfire risk, improved trails, and inspired the next generation of stewards,” according to a press release.

Volunteers also assisted in restoring 12 acres of habitat across the Roaring Fork Valley by planting 675 plants and trees, removing over a mile of fencing (8,844 feet), and clearing 15 acres of invasive species. 

“Every project helped the land recover and thrive,” the press release states. “None of this happens alone; this progress reflects true teamwork, made possible by dedicated land managers, conservation partners, and committed volunteers.”

RFOV trail work is aimed at ensuring the locations community members regularly depend on for recreation and well-being remain in good condition. RFOV maintained 40 miles of trail, installed more than 1,000 features that include drainages, check steps, and mono walls, and cleared more than 18 miles of trail corridor. 

“With 76 backcountry workdays, our crews ensured that even the remote and rugged routes remain safe, sustainable, and ready for the next generation of explorers,” the release reads.

In the face of intensifying wildfire seasons, RFOV trained 14 volunteer sawyers, or someone who saws wood, this past season who mitigated seven acres for wildfire across 14 fire-related field days. 

The Young Stewards Program also reached 1,499 youth participants, who produced 3,286 stewardship hours across 36 projects. The Spruce Up Your School program expanded to seven schools across the valley, and the Youth in Nature teen internship program boasts 32 alumni and a current cohort of 12 students. 

The community projects closest to Aspen this season were the Maroon-Snowmass Trail, Sunnyside Trail, and Maroon Creek Wetlands, according to Godoy. Group projects worked at Lower Hunter Creek, Linkins Lake on Independence Pass, and the Congo Trail; and youth projects closest to Aspen were Maroon Creek Wetlands, Margie’s Hut, and the Catto Center at Toklat.

Looking forward, Godoy said RFOV is committed to continuing stewardship in the face of federal decisions, expanding engagement with volunteers, and increasing the number of projects per season as well as the reach to include younger volunteers, families, athletes, and trail users who directly utilize the public spaces.

“With anticipated funding cuts and reduced staffing among our federal land management partners, we’re preparing to help fill critical gaps,” Godoy said. “Our goal is to stay nimble and continue working closely with land managers to address priority projects … Ultimately, we want to continue to strengthen a culture of stewardship across the Roaring Fork Valley and build community and character through caring for our public lands.”

For more information on becoming a volunteer, go to https://www.rfov.org/how-to-volunteer.