In 2025, fourteen local participants ages 16-18 took part representing every public and private Eagle County high school except one. Crews worked four ten hour days Monday through Thursday and earned $18/hr. Each teen received a uniform, gloves, a hard hat, and the tools and training to work safely and effectively.

In the field, VVMTA Trail Conservation Crew leaders set the pace alongside a coordinator from Walking Mountains, with support from staff at the United States Forest Service and Eagle County Open Space. Crew leaders and land managers taught trail skills, safety, and ecology, and shared their own career paths, showing that working in the woods and on trails can be a real job. The teams tackled projects across the valley, from reroutes at Brush Creek Valley Ranch and Open Space to restoration in Gypsum Creek, and heavy maintenance on the Colorado Trail out of Camp Hale.

Highlights from the field:

• Completed trail reroutes at Brush Creek Valley Ranch and Open Space
• Cleaned up and packed out an old hunter camp in Spraddle Creek in Vail
• Decommissioned illegal routes and restored campsites in the Gypsum Creek area
• Cleaned garbage, spent shell casings, and sanded and stained picnic tables at the Two Elk shooting range
• Removed human waste, installed fire rings, and restored illegal campsites along Homestake Creek
• Performed heavy trail maintenance on the Colorado Trail out of Camp Hale

Programs like this only happen with strong partners. Thank you to Walking Mountains, Eagle County Open Space, and the United States Forest Service for your leadership and support in ECYC’s first year.