Every year, the Estes Valley Land Trust monitors more than 170 properties across the Estes Valley that preserve our incredible scenery and critical wildlife habitat. This year, we are looking for 10-15 additional volunteers to hike, photograph and complete short reports, to ensure that these properties remain protected.

“Our conservation easement monitoring program is one-of-a-kind in Colorado,” said Madeleine Green, the land trust’s Stewardship Manager. “Our volunteers do most of the field work and we’re a little short this year.” If you love the outdoors and want to hike for a good cause, monitoring a conservation easement may be a great fit for you. No experience is needed!

Each property is different and the land trust will assign monitoring duties to volunteers based on their interest and desire. Some monitoring events are short and involve hiking on flat ground for less than an hour, while others are more strenuous and may involve a few hours of hiking. “We will tailor the monitoring experience to each volunteer, to make sure everyone has a good time,” said Green.

The land trust will offer a free training session, with lunch provided, in early June and monitors are always partnered with co-monitors, for safety purposes. For more information or to sign up and volunteer with the land trust, please contact Madeleine Green at 970-577-6837 or stewardship@evlandtrust.org.