Forest Helpers Contribution to the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest is Amazing

Volunteerism is alive and well — at least around our neck of the woods. The Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest recently took stock of all the hours put in by volunteers this year, and the total is impressive.

“It came to over 12,400 hours in 2007 alone,” Steve Egeline, the Forest Service’s district ranger in Butte, said in a recent press release. “That’s the equivalent of six people working 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year.” That’s pretty amazing, when you think about it — enough people donating time and muscle to make up the equivalent of six full-time, year-round positions. And the work is far from easy. Just hiking the trails in the summer heat is a challenge, and these folks grab shovels and axes to do the hard work of maintaining them.

Full Story: http://www.mtstandard.com/articles/2007/12/12/opinion_top/20071212_opinion_top.txt