NMVFO plans 20+ volunteer work projects each year. Click here for a printable overview of the 2024 project season, and check back often for additional information posted as it becomes available. To receive updates and detailed information about upcoming projects and events, be sure to sign up for the NMVFO newsletter on the Home page. Public land agencies that are interested in proposing a project should contact our Projects Team (projects@nmvfo.org) for more information and our easy-to-complete project proposal form.
If you’re new to NMVFO, be sure to visit our FAQ page to learn more about what to expect on a project. Project leaders are always happy to answer your questions about specific projects. Have a non-project related question? Send us a message from our Contact page. Pets are not allowed on any NMVFO projects. Minors must be accompanied by a parent or other legal guardian
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South St. Peter’s Dome (Jemez RD)–CANCELED
March 30, 2019 @ 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Contact Leader(s): Larry Benson, L.Benson@nmvfo.org with any questions.
This project has been cancelled due to impassable roads.
Difficulty: 3 Pulaskis
Contact: Project Leader Larry Benson, LawRBenson@aol.com (505-821-7999) to sign up.
The NMVFO has helped maintain and repair this remote and rugged trail for many years, especially after the infamous Las Conchas wildfire of 2011. Photos of last year’s work are available at https://www.flickr.com/photos/78338108@N07/albums/72157668721116028. This year we will hike in 2.5 miles through cliff-lined Sanchez Canyon and up past last year’s work to begin restoring the central portion of the trail—hopefully as far as Picacho Peak. The scenic vistas are unobstructed, and if we’re lucky we may see one of the Bighorn Sheep recently reintroduced in adjacent Cochiti Canyon. Shade will be scarce, and hiking up trail segments with steep grades and switchbacks will be fairly strenuous. Once reaching the unrepaired portion of the trail, we will clear vegetation and any deadfall blocking the trail corridor, shore up washed out sections with rocks, and improve the trail by removing bunch grass, out-sloping the tread along hillsides, cleaning sediment from old water bars, building cairns, and excavating other drainage features as needed. USFS regulations require long pants, long-sleeved shirts, sturdy boots, and work gloves. In addition to carrying a tool, you will need to pack in your own lunch and plenty of water. So bring a day pack, hat, sunscreen, sunglasses and—if precipitation is in the forecast—a rain jacket or poncho. For additional guidance, consult https://nmvfo.org/volunteer/volunteer-faq. Extra bottled water and other drinks will be available from a cooler at the trailhead.
Our meeting place will be at the Pueblo de Cochiti Convenience Store, 1405 Cochiti Highway (NM 22). See https://www.google.com/maps/@35.6473593,-106.3291461,16.25z?hl=en or geo-location 35°38’54.4″N, 106°19’53.6″W. This is a relatively short commute from either Albuquerque or Santa Fe. Take I-25 to Exit 264 at the bottom of La Bajada Hill, then west on NM 16 and north on NM 22 under the massive Cochiti Lake Dam and uphill to the Convenience Store/Gasoline Station on the right. Park in the gravel lot to the left of the store, which has coffee, pastries and other snacks, as well as restrooms. Plan to arrive no later than 8:30 AM, when we will carpool in high-clearance vehicles to the trailhead, which is a few miles up Forest Road 289. (The gate to FR 289 is on the right side of NM 22 about 3/4 mile past the Cochiti Golf Course.) For anyone who would like to stay nearby overnight, the Corps of Engineers operates two campgrounds at Cochiti Lake (minimum fee: $5.00).