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.
A heartfelt thank you to the National Forest Foundation, Yukon to Yellowstone, Weyerhaeuser Family Foundation, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the New-Land Foundation and the U.S. Forest Service for supporting our stewardship efforts this year.
Trail Crew
Cooper, Esther, and Claire served on the GBCA/Nez Perce–Clearwater integrated trail crew. In a tight-knit, four-person team, they weren’t afraid to dig in and get the job done. Over the season, they worked on nearly 40 miles of trail, brushed 25 miles, retreaded 3.5 miles (WOW!), built an excellent turnpike, and tackled a variety of additional projects.
Restoration Crews
We brought on more restoration crew members than ever this season. After several years of groundwork leading up to this point, they were ready to take on bigger challenges. Cameron, Logan, Kalle, Micah, Jasper, and Malcolm worked across all three forests—Nez Perce–Clearwater, Idaho Panhandle, and Lolo—releasing 2,900 biocontrol agents, spraying 513 acres, pulling 46 pounds of weeds, and inventorying 218 miles of trail for invasive plant populations.
Backcountry Ranger
Stewardship Coordinator and Backcountry Ranger, Joelle Gallaugher, wrapped up her fourth field season with us. As our eyes and ears on the ground, she patrolled nearly 300 miles of trail, maintained 103 campsites, naturalized 36 more, and removed an impressive 310 pounds of trash from the backcountry.
Volunteer Crews
This year, we hosted 12 volunteer stewardship trips involving 95 dedicated volunteers. Thanks to the organization and hard work of our BWSC member, Kate Wilson, all of the trips went off seamlessly. Together, volunteers contributed 1,577 hours toward campsite inventories, trail improvements, noxious weed pulls, and clean-up efforts. Their collective impact included removing 572 pounds of trash, pulling 322 pounds of weeds, maintaining 26 campsites, and improving 14 miles of trail.
We can’t wait to get back out there in 2026!