Trail Crew Gears Up to Tackle Deferred Maintenance Projects on the CDT
By Audra Labert, CDTC Director of Communications
This year, the Continental Divide Trail Coalition (CDTC) and partners are launching one of the biggest efforts since the designation of the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail (CDT)—implementation of work under the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA). GAOA was first passed in 2020 to ensure that public lands are safe, enjoyable, and accessible by funding new and established public lands programs. The funding granted by this legislation is a once-in-a-generation investment in our public lands, expanding capacity to tackle much-needed maintenance on public lands and trails. More about GAOA
It also allowed for a CDTC trail crew to help implement efforts. Though CDTC leads volunteer trail projects with hundreds of volunteer hours contributed each season, the GAOA Trail Crew is the first all-staff trail crew in CDTC’s thirteen years in operation. The GAOA Crew is part of a comprehensive effort over three years to inventory and improve trails and public lands access adjacent to the CDT.
This group of outdoor professionals brings a breadth of experience to make headway on a backlog of deferred trail maintenance along the CDT corridor. “Deferred maintenance” refers to the backlog of trail maintenance that has accumulated over time from limited agency staffing and budgets. The work directed under GAOA is intended to focus on restoring trails to the standard outlined by trail management objectives by improving the trail tread, maintaining drainage structures, and clearing the trail corridor.
Their season kicked off with crew training, which included some classroom time followed by two days of trail work at Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu, New Mexico, on the Kitchen Mesa Trail. One of the “classroom” elements was aligning staff coming from a variety of backgrounds on shared terminology and developing a common language for technical trail terms.
Along with a common language, the GAOA Crew received training about maintenance standards from CDTC’s Field Programs staff, which are derived from the U.S. Forest Service as the CDT’s lead agency for trail management. Trail standards establish a common point of reference for maintenance and construction that creates continuity and ensures that various types of users are taken into consideration, from hikers to stock users, bicycles, or motorized use.
Did you know?
The Gila Wilderness was America’s first designated Wilderness (1924) and predated the Wilderness Act of 1964, which established many of the most well-known wilderness areas—including the Bob Marshall Wilderness at the northern end of the Continental Divide Trail. Wilderness can be designated within any of the public land management agencies, even National Parks. According to the National Park Service, over 80% of national park lands are managed as wilderness.
The initial training work planned for the GAOA was deferred maintenance near Ghost Ranch, but the crew also had the opportunity to get a little more technical by working on rock structures in addition to deferred maintenance tasks. The GAOA Crew then moved on to saw certification training, including cross-cut saw and chainsaw. Trail crews are trained in bucking and felling with both types of saws and assigned certifications based on their level of experience and skill.
Crosscut saws have been a critical tool for generations of trail management and might seem like relics from days gone by, but they are still a critical component of trail maintenance. Though chainsaws offer speed and machine power, about 21% of the CDT is located within designated wilderness, where mechanized use is prohibited. A cross-cut saw library is a valuable part of the trail crew tool cache, and vintage saws are often considered superior to modern makes for quality and keeping an edge.
Fresh from training, the GAOA Crew will start their field season in earnest in the Gila National Forest in New Mexico and begin working their way north. Priority project areas for deferred maintenance have been pre-planned by USFS CDT Administration staff with input from individual management units along the CDT. Though GAOA restoration work is happening in all five CDT states, the CDTC GAOA Trail Crew will focus efforts in New Mexico for 2026.
Follow along with the crew and projects at cdtcoalition.org/great-american-outdoors-act-gaoa
A Landmark Effort
The Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA), signed into law in 2020, represents one of the most significant investments in public lands in U.S. history. By supporting critical maintenance and conservation efforts nationwide, GAOA helps ensure that places like the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail (CDT) remain accessible, safe, and inspiring for all who experience them. For the CDT, this moment is an opportunity to address long-standing challenges, complete remaining gaps, and strengthen the communities connected to the trail. As this work continues, we invite you to stay engaged, follow along, and be part of the ongoing effort to care for and celebrate our public lands.
