To keep up with a trend for organized groups to hold their own trail work days, RFOV is expanding its capacity this year to be ready with the tools and organizational expertise so that established entities can conduct trail maintenance.

More and more business, school, church and outdoor-oriented groups are approaching RFOV asking how they can get involved with their own group work days.

As part of the expansion, RFOV will hire a seasonal field coordinator to work 25 to 30 hours a week from late April to early October in 2011. (See Meeting the Challenge, page 4.)

"These work days and the Adopt-A-Trail efforts help us to involve more volunteers and improve even more miles of trails, while also meeting the interests and volunteer needs of local groups," said RFOV Executive Director David Hamilton. "We encourage organizations, businesses, schools and other groups to consider working with us to add trail work days to their employee volunteer service programs."

There is never a shortage of trail work to keep volunteer groups busy, he added. Last season 10 groups coordinated with RFOV to work various weekdays from May to October on trails from Aspen to Glenwood Springs. The volunteers ranged from Yale alumni to church members to Aspen Middle School students, with the groups working half or full days.

John Rowley, director of human resources at the Aspen Meadows Resort, said Saturdays are busy for the business, so weekdays are better for scheduling what the company designates as "employee wellness" and "volunteer" days. In September, a group of Aspen Meadows employees completed much-needed maintenance on the first few miles of the Rocky Fork Trail north of Ruedi Reservoir.

"It turned into a great team-building exercise, and we could give back to the community," Rowley said, adding that the employees hope to do two work days in 2011. I would highly recommend it to other organizations and businesses," Rowley noted. "It was truly a win-win for our employees from a team-building standpoint, for the trail users and for the environment."

Zach Meyers, director of operations at the Hotel Jerome, said their employees also hope to do two work days this summer after a positive experience on a weekday work day in June. The employees worked on the Sunnyside Trail, which is used by hotel guests.

"It’s just a great opportunity for us to go out and give something back, and everyone really enjoys doing it," Meyers said. "Just to get out and work together on something that our guests can enjoy later is a great way for us to strengthen within our team."

Hamilton said the group work days, in addition to Thursday evening projects, pushed the number of times that volunteers worked in the field last season to a record 35 days, up from 23 days in 2009. He noted that scheduling more than the current 10 to 12 Saturday work days each season is not the best approach because other fun events and activities in the valley compete for volunteer attention.

"We have more than 1,000 miles of public trail in our area that needs maintenance on a regular basis," Hamilton said. "There is a never-ending amount of work to keep our trails open, more enjoyable and sustainable."

Groups interested in scheduling a work day can contact RFOV at 927-8241 or rfov@sopris.net.