GAOA Trail Crew Completes 24 Miles of Maintenance on the Gila National Forest

This May, the Continental Divide Trail Coalition (CDTC) reached an exciting milestone: our first-ever trail crew funded through the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) hit the trail on the Gila National Forest.

After two weeks of training and orientation, the four-person crew completed two eight-day hitches on the Silver City Ranger District, tackling 24 miles of deferred maintenance along the Continental Divide Trail (CDT) between the Bear Mountain Road junction and Black Peak Trailhead, just outside of Silver City. Their focus: improving drainage, widening the trail corridor, and rebuilding tread to keep this stretch of the CDT in great shape for years to come.

In just two hitches, the crew accomplished an incredible amount of work:

• 78 new drainage structures built
  
• 165 existing drainage structures cleared and improved
  
• 1,670 feet of tread reconstructed
  
• 1,475 feet of brush cleared
  
• 14 trees felled to open the corridor
  
• 15 new signs installed (and 20 outdated signs removed)

Passed in 2020 with broad bipartisan support, the Great American Outdoors Act provides dedicated funding to address the multi-billion-dollar deferred maintenance backlog on our national forests, parks, and public lands—including national scenic trails like the CDT.

Deferred maintenance is exactly what it sounds like: necessary upkeep that gets postponed when budgets fall short. Left unaddressed, small problems become big ones—clogged drains erode tread, overgrown brush narrows the corridor, and trails become harder and less safe to travel. GAOA funding allows crews like ours to catch up on that backlog and protect the public’s investment in the trail.

This work was made possible by the recreation staff of the Gila National Forest, funding from the Great American Outdoors Act, and support from an Outdoor Recreation Trails+ Grant from the New Mexico Outdoor Recreation Division (ORD). The Trails+ Grant program invests in trails and outdoor recreation infrastructure that expands access, strengthens local economies, and supports healthy communities across New Mexico.

The crew is now headed north to take on several projects on the Santa Fe National Forest. We can’t wait to share what they accomplish next—stay tuned to the Trail Log and our social channels to follow along.

Want to get your own hands dirty on the CDT? Explore upcoming volunteer opportunities or learn more about our work to complete, protect, and elevate the trail.