Friends of Allegheny Wilderness will host Stewardship Days on April 21-22 in the proposed Minister Valley Wilderness in the Allegheny National Forest in Warren County.

Volunteer work crews will be dismantling fire rings and rock furniture, scattering ash and firewood piles, packing out litter, pulling nails out of trees and conducting other related activities.

The goal will be to transform the area from having the appearance of a trashy overused developed recreation type of destination, to the untouched sacred nature reserve that the proposed Minister Valley Wilderness is intended to be, bringing it closer to untrammeled Leave No Trace standards.

Hikers will leave from the Minister Road North Country Trail trailhead on Saturday morning, spend Saturday night in the proposed wilderness, and hike out on Sunday afternoon after completing our work.

Minimal tools such as shovels, trash bags, and elbow grease are all that will need to accomplish these goals,in order to help perpetuate the rustic wilderness character of the national treasure North Country Trail.

And of course, no power tools such as chainsaws are permitted in wilderness, so there will be no specialized training needed in that regard.

There is no charge to join this program, but participants will need to bring all of their own food, water and/or water filtration, camping equipment, and come fully prepared for any weather conditions we may encounter.

Trail stewardship is a fun and rewarding way to intimately experience the natural beauty of the proposed Minister Valley Wilderness first-hand, and help give back to America’s National Wilderness Preservation System that is such an important treasure for everyone!

Click Here and Click Here to read about Stewardship Days activities in past years.

Please contact Friends of Allegheny Wilderness if you would like to sign up, or with any questions you may have, or send email to: info@pawild.org.

For more information on programs, initiatives and other upcoming events, visit the Friends of Allegheny Wilderness website.  Click Here to support their work.

[Posted: April 5, 2018]

4/9/2018