While spraying weeds in the Lolo National Forest, I couldn’t help but notice an abundance of a low-growing purple flowers covering the ground. Many native plants quickly recolonize an area after a disturbance—such as herbicide application.

My name is Hope Sampson, and this year I’m serving as GBCA’s Big Sky Watershed Corps (BSWC) member from January - November, filling the role of Volunteer & Outreach Coordinator.

My name is Seth, and I’m the lead for the GBCA trail crew based in Pierce ID for this season. Going into the summer, the crew had a variety of different trails projects planned, such as replacing turnpikes and puncheons, as well as repairing bridges, drains and digging tread.

Picture this: You’re hiking along the St. Joe River corridor and spot a trail leading down to a perfect-looking fishing hole. As you make your way to the river, it’s quiet and peaceful.

When you look at a map of the Great Burn, you may notice that many trails either follow streams or lead to lakes. There are multiple reasons for this, but among them are humans' need and desire for water.

It started in November 2023 when we visited the Idaho Youth ChalleNGe Academy to learn about how we could engage the students in environmental education and land stewardship.

We’re so excited that you’re considering volunteering with us for this field season! If you’re a returning volunteer, we can’t wait to hang out and work hard with you again. If you’re new here, read on to get a taste of what a day in the life of a trip is like.

It’s hard to believe the 2025 field season has already come to an end. Our Great Burn summer stewardship crews accomplished an impressive amount of work, and they deserve an enormous round of applause. Not only did they complete essential stewardship projects throughout the Great Burn and surrounding roadless areas, but they showed up every day as passionate conservationists deeply committed to protecting wild places.

From battling invasive weeds to keeping trails clear and accessible, our staff, field crews and volunteers put in a tremendous amount of work across the Great Burn this year. Here’s a look back at the 2025 field season through some of our favorite photos.

In August, GBCA’s Integrated Trail Crew packed up for a hitch deep in the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest to perform maintenance work on Weitas Creek Trail #20 in the Bighorn Weitas Inventoried Roadless Area. Stretching 29 miles, this trail is a true multi-use route—welcoming hikers, horseback riders, mountain bikers, and motorized uses like ATVs and UTVs.

The restoration crew’s sixth and final hitch for the season got off to an unusual start. We met at Granite Peak RV park (granite pit, if you prefer the groovy slang), where Malcolm and Logan had been staying between hitches. Malcolm had noticed several Cyphocleonus achates (“Cyphos”), an important knapweed biocontrol species that acts as a root weevil crawling on their tent, so we were there to collect them.

Hello! My name is Micah Freeman and I am part of the weed restoration crew. As a wildlife biology student at the University of Montana, it has been a pleasure to spend time in this gorgeous area, a far cry from my hometown of Fort Worth, Texas. This week is my turn to share some recent news in the Great Burn area.