1
match
Live
$1,320 raised by 14 donors
1% complete
$100,000 Goal
If you’ve hiked lately in Eagle and Summit Counties Wilderness Area, you’ve seen the difference stewardship makes:
• A trail that’s clear instead of blocked by deadfall
• A dry path instead of a trench of mud
• A safe bridge instead of a dangerous creek crossing
• Signs that guide rather than confuse
Those moments don’t happen by accident.
Much of the Eagle Summit Wilderness Alliance’s work is invisible and essential.
We keep people on the trail.
We keep ecosystems protected.
We keep Wilderness truly wild.
ESWA must raise $100,000 to protect our Wilderness in 2026.
Why? Government Funding Cuts! Our local U.S. Forest Service Ranger Districts in Eagle and Summit Counties have asked ESWA to fund three summer Wilderness Rangers ($20,000 each) in partnership with Rocky Mountain Youth Corps, and two major trail projects need $40,000 in gap funding.
Without this support, these positions and projects will not happen.
These rangers matter.
They assess trail conditions.
They identify and prioritize projects.
They supervise restoration work.
They provide essential presence and enforcement at busy camping areas.
Fewer rangers = fewer trail assessments, fewer projects, and reduced wilderness protection when it’s needed most.
Help protect these places today.
Your support powers the U.S. Forest Service, ESWA volunteer rangers, sawyers, trail crews, and stewardship work our Wilderness depends on.
Click here to see more about us on the Eagle Summit Wilderness Alliance website!
Help the Wilderness today with a donation! Click here to learn more about the impact of your donations!
You can also donate via our website instead of Colorado Gives here!
Eagle Summit Wilderness Association (ESWA) is an official partner of the US Forest Service (USFS), and our mission is to protect, preserve, and maintain the 4 Wilderness area between Eagle and Summit Counties. We are 100% volunteer-based, and cover Eagles Nest, Holy Cross, Ptarmigan Peak, and part of the Flat Tops Wilderness. With about 200 active members, we achieve our mission by boots-on-the-ground field programs that focus on stewardship and education. Given significant cuts to the USFS governmental budget, they need our help more than ever, so we need YOU!!
Every summer, our Volunteer Wilderness Rangers patrol over 400+ miles of designated Wilderness trails. We serve as official volunteer representatives of the US Forest Service, engaging with and educating the public, promoting Leave No Trace principles, wildfire mitigation, and providing crucial statistical information to the USFS. In 2025, we volunteered over 2,000 hours on 347 patrols, covered over 3,000 Wilderness miles, and had over 11,000 visit encounters, including substantive conversations about backcountry travel and fire mitigation with 6,760!
Our Volunteer Sawyers partner with the USFS to clear 18 Wilderness trails of fallen logs every summer. These trails go deep into the Wilderness, where chainsaws are not allowed. In 2025, we certified 9 new sawyers and spent 706 hours clearing over 610 trees!
Our Trail Projects Crew has been hard at work this summer. We partnered with the USFS to rebuild a large bridge over Missouri Creek. This was a complex 2-week project comprising 33-foot-long logs on top of 8-foot beams. We also just completed a 2-year project on Meadow Creek, building a boardwalk, a bridge, 23 check steps, and 12 water diversions! These major projects are funded through grants ESWA applies for, and are partially matched by volunteer hours and donations! We also have 4 overnight Llama trips every summer to reach deep into the backcountry. In 2025, we restored dozens of campsites and removed over 120 illegal campfires.
Our Advocacy team works with government agencies and other partners to protect and preserve the Wilderness for future generations. Major accomplishments include the recent protection of the local and native Bighorn Sheep herd!
Organization name
Eagle Summit Wilderness Alliance
other names
ESWA, Friends of Eagles Nest Wilderness
1994
Tax id (EIN)
84-1305851
Category
Environment
Organization Size
Small Organization
Address
PO Box 4504Mailing
PO Box 4504Headquarters
334 Hillside Dr.Summit County, CO, US
Eagle County, CO, US