2025 Ranger Crew, pictured left to right: Nico Lis, Ben Billand, Anne Dios, Kat McCarver, Evan Hobbes, Jax Gaglianese-Woody, Eric Nussbickel, Victor Perez. Photo by Vicente Ordoñez

How Our Rangers are Gearing Up for Their Tenth Season 

Spring is here, and so are our rangers! 

As spring returns to the trails, the New Mexico Wild Wilderness Ranger Program is gearing up for what promises to be one of our biggest seasons yet. This year marks a significant milestone as the New Mexico Wild Wilderness Ranger Program is heading into its tenth year running. What began in 2017 as a direct partnership with Region 3 of the USDA Forest Service has grown into a robust ecosystem of collaboration with various Forest Service and State partners, protecting the places that make New Mexico unique and improving access to our beloved Wildernesses. 

But before we look ahead, let’s appreciate what our crew accomplished last season, because that work is exactly what makes this spring possible. 

What a Season Looks Like 

During the 2025 field season, eleven New Mexico Wild Rangers proved just how vital this program is. Here is some of what they accomplished: 

• Cleared fallen logs, brushed overgrown vegetation, and improved tread on more than 90 miles of trail across the Santa Fe, Gila, and Carson National Forests. 

• Nearly 1,900 acres of National Forest and State Park lands were treated for invasive plants, including poison hemlock, bull thistle, and Siberian elm. 

• Dismantled user-created campsites against Wilderness regulation and improved habitat around high traffic areas. 

• Removed 1,800+ fallen logs off trails using crosscut saws. 

• Led nine volunteer projects that engaged local communities in public lands stewardship and contributed over 600 hours of support to our work. 

Our stewardship work in 2025 stretched across some of New Mexico’s most iconic landscapes — the areas in the Pecos Wilderness impacted by the 2022 Hermit’s Peak-Calf Canyon fire, the trails of San Pedro Parks Wilderness, the beloved Jordan Hot Springs area along the Middle Fork of the Gila River, State Park land across the Gila area, Trampas and Hidden Lakes in the Carson National Forest, and more. 

Why This Work Matters More Than Ever 

We’re entering a season where New Mexico’s public lands face pressure from multiple directions — rollbacks of roadless area protections, proposed mining in sensitive watersheds, and a federal administration that has shown little interest in the kind of careful, community-rooted stewardship our rangers provide every day. 

When a ranger spends eight days in the backcountry clearing a trail, they’re not just making it easier for others who use the trails. They’re showing that these places are worth caring for. 

Ranger Spotlight: Meet Lead Ranger Kat McCarver 

After three seasons with our crew, Lead Ranger Kat knows what it takes to steward New Mexico’s beautiful places. For Kat, public lands are fundamentally inclusive spaces that belong to everyone. “I think of it as a living museum,” she said, “where cultural preservation can educate, parts of it offer opportunity for fun through recreation, and it’s a place for landscapes and wildlife to thrive.“ 

As the program heads into its tenth season, Kat wants the public to better understand the reality of the work. Wilderness Rangers operate on foot, backpacking miles to remote worksites. They don’tcarry guns; they carry crosscut saws. And every fallen log moves differently. “This season, we will continue trying to predict that movement so we can keep trails safe for you,“ she said.

What’s Ahead This Summer 

This spring and summer, our growing ranger crew will continue restoring trail systems across the Hermit’s Peak-Calf Canyon burn scar, expand invasive plant removal work in the Gila, and take on new projects across New Mexico’s wilderness areas. And thanks to an expanding ecosystem of partnerships — including the USDA Forest Service, the NM Outdoor Recreation Division, the NM Department of Agriculture, the National Forest Foundation, and others — we’re able to reach more landscapes than ever before. 

We’ll also be hosting ranger-led volunteer projects throughout the season, and we’d love for you to join us! Whether you are a backpacker or a first-time hiker, there’s a place for you on the trail with us.  

Want to get involved? Sign up for our newsletter, follow us on social media, and keep an eye on nmwild.org/events for upcoming volunteer projects near you.