A Successful Start to the Austin Kraal Memorial Volunteer Program
The summer of 2013 marked the successful launch of the Austin Kraal Memorial Volunteer Program. Established in honor of one who found refuge in the serenity of the Sawtooth National Recreational Area, the volunteer program brings youth and adults from all over Idaho to help enhance that serenity.
The program kicked off with Stanley locals David Kimpton, Alison Beechert and Lauren Simmonds removing barbed wire from horse pasture fences at the Tuck-A-Way Pasture. The three, with help from their dog Merlin, spent three days clipping and raising barbed wire to allow the antelope that graze in the Stanley basin a passage into the mountains.
Shortly after the Tuck-A-Way project, the Forest Service and the Sawtooth Society hosted a chainsaw and crosscut saw training day. Through this session, people were certified to use a chainsaw and cross cut saw on Forest Service trails. The workshop allowed for locals to then use their skills to help the Forest Service clear our favorite trails and roads of downed trees, a task especially important to those who use the Sawtooth NRA trails in the late spring and early summer.
June brought the first group of youth to the valley. Fifteen youth and six adults from the Magic Valley Boys and Girls Club traveled to the Sawtooth basin for a weekend of work and recreation. The group spent two days putting in trail signs in the Pole Creek area and removing barbed wire fencing in the Obsidian area. At the end of the second day, the Sawtooth Society and Redfish Lake Lodge provided the kids with a boat trip to the Inlet of Redfish Lake where they spent the afternoon exploring the Sawtooths.
As the summer went on, more and more projects were successfully completed. An Eagle Scout group removed fences along the Obsidian allotment to allow for antelope passage. Friends and family of White Otter Outdoor Adventures cleaned the shore of the Salmon River. A group of women from Boise spent a weekend removing trail-stabilizing corduroy and maintaining the Hell Roaring trail. Students from the Stanley Community School helped clean the shores of Redfish Lake (and met Smokey the Bear). And the Sawtooth Brewing Company worked to clean up the Hellroaring Lake campsites and trail. Just to name a few.
Now that snow once again covers the Sawtooth National Recreation Area, most of the projects are on hold until next summer. In the meantime, the Sawtooth Society would like to thank everyone who participated last summer in helping improve the Sawtooth NRA. We would also like to encourage anyone who is interested in spending some time in the mountains next summer, perhaps with a shovel or a pair of wire clippers in hand, to let us know!
