Great Burn Conservation Alliance celebrates another successful field season on the Idaho-Montana border • Idaho Capital Sun

Equally impressive is the landscape itself. Joelle is drawn to “the large cedar groves where the trees have survived so many fires and thrived.”

“You can really feel the stories when you walk into a place like this,” she said.

This inspiration is why the Great Burn Conservation Alliance exists.

“Our organization was founded after a group of students from the University of Montana took a backpacking trip here and fell in love,” she said. “The dozens of high-altitude lakes and endemic species such as pika and mountain goats attract people to the country and make them fall in love with the country. I came as a seasonal worker and I don’t want to leave!”

The Conservation Alliance contributes to trail maintenance with a mix of paid trail staff and volunteers committed to improving wilderness access. A particularly impressive project this year was the Hanson Ridge Trail Improvement Project, which brought together volunteers from the Idaho Trails Association and staff from the Great Burn Conservation Alliance to restore a long-overgrown trail that is part of the larger Idaho Centennial Trail.

“Last year I spent 10 hours exploring 2.5 miles of the former trail because it was so overgrown,” Joelle explained. “This year we were able to brush and clear the entire route to get to the ridgeline. When volunteers get involved, it’s impressive to see what they can achieve. At the end of the week it felt great to walk along a trail that we had brought back to life with volunteers.”

Also important to the Conservation Alliance are ecological restoration and stewardship education that ensure the Great Burn’s ecosystems are healthy and treated with the respect they deserve.

“We visit classrooms in satellite cities like Superior and Pierce,” Joelle said. “We present programs to raise awareness about Leave No Trace (LNT) and invasive species. It was our first year offering both classroom and backcountry activities with local youth who now support our invasive surveillance program. This program uses chemical treatments, biological treatments (beetles placed in the area to eat invasive plants), and hand pulling. Our monitoring program compares different chemical treatments and their effectiveness in soil. You can visually tell the difference between a treated area where there are few weeds and a control area that just looks like a patch of weeds.”

Over the course of a field season, the impact left by the Great Burn Conservation Alliance is enormous. In 2024 alone, staff and volunteers spent 822 days (1,265 volunteer hours) in the field, removed 1,254 fallen trees from area trails, removed 258 pounds of weeds, released 4,400 biocontrol beetles, removed 189 pounds of trash, and inventoried weeds 243 miles traveled, interacted with 822 students, and 618 Hiked Ranger miles.

Reflecting on the impact of her work on the three forests where she operates, Joelle said, “We recognize the challenges facing the Forest Service, and we are able to adapt and thrive.” Our partnership is positive and we use our strengths to fill any gaps and serve the public and the country itself.”