The Brains and Brawn of public lands volunteers

The Brains and Brawn of public lands volunteers

Oct 10, 2024

Photo by Cindy Gallo, BLM Utah. Sue and Jim Johnston stand on a trail they maintain outside Kanab, Utah. KANAB, Utah- Jim Johnston is used to being voluntold for many projects by his wife, Sue.

"My wife is the organizer and I'm the laborer," said Jim.

Stewardship of public lands comes naturally for this pair. Before moving to Kanab in 2009, the couple lived and recreated in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, for decades.

"We did some of that same type of work up in Jackson," Jim recalled.

He's no stranger to getting his hands dirty for public good. "I was in the fence business, a little construction company, so we were involved in the trails and fencing along trails, building bridges. It was kind of an easy transition to do the same thing here, but there was nothing organized."

Enter the brains and the organizer, Sue.

"How we really got involved in this is when the bike club started," Sue explained, "and what I found is I'd never met such an amazing group of volunteers."

Photo by BLM Utah. The Tilted Mesa trail near Kanab, Utah, is world-renowned with mountain bikers.

The two took their passion for keeping public lands beautiful and expanded it. Weekend cleanups with their mountain biking club turned into major maintenance projects at beloved sites like Tilted Mesa. The two were key in developing and creating multiple trails around Kanab, including the Raven and Roadrunner trails.

Sue has dreams for more.

"The whole goal is to have volunteers maintaining these trails and actually have them adopt sections of trail," Sue explained.

That's where the Kanab Adopt-A-Trail program comes in. Still in its infancy, Sue is working hard to launch an organized program for keeping trails in the Kanab Field Office functional for years to come.

"Cleaning up trash and dog poop, that's part of it," said Sue. "It is for maintaining a sustainable trail as far as aesthetics and the physical stability of the trail."

The Johnstons have spent 10 years in stewardship of Kanab Field Office trails. Their work has been integral in the development and maintenance of several recreational hiking and mountain biking trails. It's their reasons for volunteering that contributed to their receipt of this year's BLM Outstanding Volunteer Achievement Award.

Photo by Cindy Gallo, BLM Utah. Jim and Sue Johnston show a bridge they built from found materials for better recreational access.

"I like beauty," Sue enthused. "We've always picked up trash. I think we both really enjoy the beauty and I want the beauty to stay. Jim really likes to see what he can get done."

Jim agreed. "I like to build something and stand back and say, well that's pretty cool."

For more information on the Adopt-A-Trail program, contact the Kanab Field Office.