The Pagosa Area Trails Coalition (PATC) went before the Archuleta County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) during a work session on Tuesday, Sept. 10, to make a funding request to help support its effort in clearing trails in the Pagosa Springs area.
PATC board president Bob Milford explained to the BoCC that the organization has been focusing on its clear the trails campaign over the past few years “because we had so many trees fall on our trails.”
Milford noted that the organization has cleared “well over 30,000 trees in the last five years.”
In 2018, about 50 percent of local trails were closed due to trees falling and covering trails, making them extremely difficult to navigate, Milford explained.
He noted that, since 2019, the PATC has been using a mobile app to track the amount of trees that have been cleared on our local trails.
Milford indicated that data recorded in the app shows that more than 400 miles of trails have been cleared since then.
Milford went on to mention that the PATC works with the U.S. Forest Service to recruit and hire trail clearing crews.
He noted that the PATC has had success hiring crews through the American Conservation Experience, which mostly consists of college students looking for a summer gig.
Milford mentioned that through his own experience working with the PATC he’s learned that “clearing trails is a young-person sport.”
The PATC has raised more than $500,000 in grants and through local funding over the past five years, Milford added.
He explained that it costs roughly $50 per tree that gets cleared and that PATC aims to clear more than 5,000 trees each summer.
Milford requested $50,000 from the county’s 2025 Conservation Trust Fund account, noting that any amount awarded would be greatly appreciated.
He also mentioned that any funds the county chooses to award would be used within Archuleta County limits to comply with Conservation Trust Fund uses.
“I know these funds need to be spent in Archuleta County,” he said.
Milford explained that the PATC is applying for a grant with Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) for $180,000 to $200,000.
Milford also explained that he has met with Hinsdale and Mineral counties to request funding, but that those two counties would only be able to offer a letter of support for the grant application.
The PATC has been awarded grants in the past from CPW for the amounts of $120,000 and $150,000, Milford indicated.
He noted that the organization prefers to apply for grants that have a three-year cycle of funding, as compared to a one-year cycle.
Milford noted that if the PATC is awarded the next grant , the funds will be used throughout the 2025, 2026 and 2027 hiking seasons.
Milford also noted a lot of the trail clearing occurs at higher altitudes among Engelmann spruce species in designated wilderness areas, where use of machinery is prohibited, so crews must use cross-cut saws to cut and remove fallen trees from trails.
Milford mentioned that tree clearing needs to be done yearly and that the region has a lot of connecting trails that go to the Continental Divide Trail, which runs from Mexico to Canada.
The PATC works with multiple local outdoors organizations that assist in their trail-clearing efforts, Milford added.
“We’ve had so much support from all the different user groups,” Milford said.
The BoCC commented on the importance of trail clearing, indicating the board would consider the item during the next fiscal year.
clayton@pagosasun.com
