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The New Mexico Volunteers for the Outdoors (NMVFO) is an all volunteer, action oriented, non-political, nonprofit organization that promotes public involvement and education of the public in the maintenance, improvement, and upkeep of New Mexico's public lands for recreational use. NMVFO is dedicated to improving outdoor recreational facilities in New Mexico. Since 1982, NMVFO has been organizing, managing, promoting, and securing volunteers to work on outdoor recreation service projects. The NMVFO is a 501(c)3 corporation in the state of New Mexico.
NMVFO is a premier volunteer trail maintenance group in the state of New Mexico. We host one-day, weekend, and longer work trips from March through November across the state of New Mexico. A variety of work is done depending on the particular project. We often build or maintain hiking trails, paint visitor centers, stabilize archeological sites, remove barbed wire from wilderness areas, improve wildlife habitat, and a host of other projects. Day projects are usually planned on a weekend at sites relatively near major metropolitan areas. Weekend projects usually involve camping or backpacking to more remote areas. Longer trips often involve backpacking or horse packing into remote wilderness areas.
NMVFO works hand in hand with various agencies and trail groups throughout the state. In the past we have partnered on projects with the United States Forest Service (USFS), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Continental Divide Trail Alliance (CDTA), New Mexico Friends of the Sandia Mountains, Albuquerque Open Space Division, New Mexico State Parks, National Monuments in the state, and various other non-profit and local organizations. Our volunteers come from across New Mexico and are frequently joined by visitors from other states and countries. They are a diverse group, ranging from teenagers to retirees and representing every walk of life.
New Mexico Volunteers for the Outdoors (NMVFO) was organized in May 1982 as part of the National Volunteer Project (NVP) of the Appalachian Mountain Club. It undertakes projects to preserve and improve outdoor recreational facilities in partnership with governmental agencies by taking advantage of a vital American resource – the willingness and ability of volunteers to tackle and solve problems.
Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC), one of the nation’s oldest outdoor recreation and conservation organization based in Boston, has a long record of volunteer stewardship of natural resources. It set up a three-year national project with a grant from the Richard King Mellon Foundation to share its experience with other groups across the country.
The first of six organizations formed as part of the project was the NMVFO, which was set up with the help of AMC staff member Roger Moore. Roger provided liaison with AMC and direction for local members before turning the group over to the guidance of the NMVFO board of directors and a full-time executive director, Karen Voight, in the fall of 1983. In March 1984, the State of New Mexico granted NMVFO a certificate of incorporation as a nonprofit organization. The transition from a funded to an all-volunteer organization was tenuous in the early years. In fact, not all of the sister organizations that AMC set up survived this transition.
The NMVFO membership approved a change in the organization’s structure in November 1984 and the board of directors was given the responsibility of setting policy, overseeing all projects and financial activities, and appointing program coordinators to handle specific assignments. In November 1991, the NMVFO membership approved minor changes to the organizations By-Laws to update the way the board of directors are appointed and how amendments to the By-Laws are handled.
In 1984 an “Adopt-A-Trail Handbook”, a guide to volunteer trail maintenance in the southwest was written and edited by NMVFO, and published by the University of New Mexico. This handbook was completed under a contract with the New Mexico Natural Resources Department.
Many people were involved with the early development and growth of the organization. A few key people were Allen Reed, the first Chairperson, and Bill Stamm, one of the first board members. Kirk Minnick was instrumental in putting together the first database of the volunteers followed by Tony Mattson. Tony Mattson and Dave Westerfield generated VFO presentation slide shows. Tony Mattson set up the first web site. Jan Underwood worked on the newsletter publication and took a lot of photos of the projects, which were used heavily in presentations.
Since inception, NMVFO’s achievements have been recognized often. The following is a partial list of the formal recognition we have received:
1983 – Denver Bennett Memorial award from the New Mexico Recreation and Parks Association for being an outstanding recreational organization.
1984 – Certificate of Appreciation from the City of Albuquerque for our efforts to preserve the “Bosque” (Cottonwood trees along the Rio Grande river) and help create the Rio Grande Valley State Park.
1985 – Certificate of a Participating Shareholder in the future of Albuquerque from the Albuquerque Community Foundation.
1985 - Award of Merit from the Keep New Mexico Beautiful Inc. for the Adopt-A-Trail Program.
1986 - Certificate of Merit from the Take Pride in America Program.
1986 - Plaque for Outstanding Public Service in volunteer efforts to preserve the Rio Grande Gorge National Recreation Trails, Taos Resource Area, Bureau of Land Management.
1986 - Certificate of Appreciation for Civic Beautification by the City of Albuquerque for improvement and maintenance of recreational areas had for fostering environmental awareness.
1986 - National Award for contributing to the conservation and management of natural and cultural resources of the United States through volunteer service from the Department of the Interior.
1987 - Certificate of Recognition from the Take Pride in America Program.
1987 - Certificate of Appreciation for promoting stewardship of America’s natural and cultural resources from the Department of the Interior and Keep America Beautiful, Inc. Presented in Albuquerque by Interior Secretary Hodel.
1988 - Citation for Outstanding Service to parks and recreation from the New Mexico Recreation and Parks Association.
1988 - Plaque recognizing efforts to restore the La Junta trail in the Rio Grande Wild Scenic River Area was installed at the trailhead of La Junta by Bureau of Land Management.
1989 - Plaque recognizing outstanding support and contribution to the park and recreation movement from The Southwest Region of the National Recreation & Park Association.
1989 – Award of Merit for contribution to the urban quality of Albuquerque through our volunteer efforts, a partnership has been created between the citizens and public land agencies of New Mexico for the maintenance and management of our outdoors from The Albuquerque Conservation Association.
1990 - Certificate of Appreciation for significant contribution of services as a volunteer in the national forests from the Cibola National Forest.
1990 – Partners in Forest Management Plaque for Cub Spring Redevelopment from the Cibola National Forest.
1992 - Partnership Award between us and the Camino Real Ranger District from the Carson National Forest.
1992 - Certificate of Appreciation for Espirito Santo Project in the Rio Puerco Resource Area from the Bureau of Land Management.
1992-93 - Volunteer Service Award for outstanding commitment to the stewardship of America’s public lands and natural and cultural resources from US Department of the Interior.
1993 - Certificate of Appreciation for sponsorship of the third annual run for the mountain from the Cibola National Forest.
1993 - Certificate of Recognition for outstanding contributions to the natural and cultural resources of New Mexico from New Mexico Governor Bruce King.
1994 - Certificate of Appreciation for providing visual enhancements and security to campgrounds of the Quemado Lake Recreation Area from the US Department of Agriculture.
1997 - Plaque recognizing our efforts in trail maintenance “With Deepest Appreciation” from the Girl Scouts.
2001 - Certificate of Appreciation for continued dedication and valuable service to the backcountry resources and the recreational programs from the Gila National Forest.
Land Ethic and Conservation Award for excellence in enhancement of wilderness and trail resources on the Sandia and Magdalena Ranger Districts.