Volunteering

The FRVC was established in 1994 as a fisheries conservation group, to protect and monitor 11 wild trout streams and 4 tributaries of these streams in the Angeles and San Bernardino Forests through 15 regular stream patrols by trained FRVC Volunteers. The primary purpose of the patrols is to interact with forest visitors, providing information and educating on camping, fire, fishing, pollution and safety regulations, as well as responding to emergency situations. Additional patrol tasks include the removal of illegal fire rings, graffiti, trash, recreational dams and servicing and maintaining angler survey boxes and signage. The FRVC also assists the Forest Service and the California Department of Fish & Wildlife with a variety of projects, which include, documenting damage to resources, invasive plant removal, stream cleanup projects, electro-fishing surveys, aquatic insect studies, fish recovery, stream surveys, and water quality sampling and testing. For more information please contact Dave Baumgarter.

Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) clubs and organizations in partnership with the San Bernardino National Forest adopt trails and routes and the group provides the maintenance needed to sustain recreational use by the public throughout the operating season. Local ranger districts decide which trails or routes should be adopted and the Adopt-A-Trail Coordinator makes the route assignments based on the group’s request and trail needs. Each trail is different, but to the right is a list of the types of maintenance that can be required.

Volunteers meet at least once a month from March-October to engage in a variety of ecological restoration activities to restore disturbed lands on the San Bernardino National Forest. Activities include greenhouse work, collecting and dispersing native seeds, and planting native trees, shrubs and nectar rich species in the forest. Volunteers also help water and maintain existing sites forest-wide. For more information please contact (909)382-2809 or visit the Forest Service Green Thumbs webpage.

Help tell our story: find, study and preserve or promote archaeological sites, historical buildings, and archived materials. For more information contact (909)382-2661.

Members patrol the San Jacinto and Santa Rosa Wildernesses. FSVA Wilderness Volunteers, on foot and horseback, serve as the eyes and ears of the Forest Service, providing information to wilderness visitors, maintaining trails and campsites, and reporting any problems they encounter.

Friends of the Desert Mountains protects open space in the Coachella Valley and surrounding mountains, and acts as the official nonprofit partner of the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument, by acquiring and preserving land, cleaning up trash and invasive species, and researching the effects of climate change on our desert. We connect people to the land by building and restoring hiking trails and providing educational programs for all ages, so that together we can share and protect the natural gifts that surround us, especially the rich biodiversity and cultural history of the Monument. For more information please contact us at (760) 568-9918.

Volunteers work to support district recreation facilities and opportunities in the Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear Lake areas. They work with district staff, assisting them with their duties. They organize clean-up and graffiti removal projects and they are trained to provide visitors with Forest information. For more information, contact the Discovery Center at (909)382-2790.

Volunteers work on parts of the 2,600 mile long Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail (PCT) both as trail adopters and through regularly scheduled weekend projects (1-4 days) and service trips (5-10 days). The PCTA, in cooperation with the FS, NPS, BLM and California State Parks, is also the primary source for information about the PCT. For more info visit their website.

They present interpretive events and tours at the Heap's Peak Arboretum. They also operates a retail outlet and sell Adventure Passes. For more info go to their website

Volunteers provide information and interpretation to visitors, develop publications, lead nature walks, present evening programs, construct displays, repair and build trails, patrol the San Gorgonio Wilderness, and operate the Barton Flats Visitor Center and Big Falls Information Center. Volunteers attend a day-long training workshop every year in May. SGWA sells maps and other publications and has published a book on the San Gorgonio Wilderness.

Volunteers assist the Forest with through several major volunteer programs. Children's Forest Volunteers are youth from 11 to 17 that serve as naturalists and assist with interpretive programs, forest restoration and greenhouse work. Adults assist volunteers and mentor youth volunteers. Fire Lookout Hosts watch for fire and provide interpretation visitor information at lookout towers on Butler Peak, Keller Peak, Strawberry Peak, Black Mountain, Tahquitz Peak, Morton Peak, and Red Mountain. Discovery Center Volunteers greet visitors at the Big Bear Discovery Center, provide information, present interpretive programs, use skills to educate visitors on forest stewardship, and enjoy the outdoors while giving back to the community. Required training offered year-round. Non-motorized Adopt-a-Trail provides opportunities for volunteer working with mountain bike groups to maintain trails. One group working with them that can be contacted directly is the Big Bear Valley Trails Foundation (link title to www.trailsfoundation.org). The Foundation is a broad base of unified stakeholders committed to creating, enhancing, preserving and promoting non-motorized use of Big Bear Valley trails and roadways for the enjoyment and transportation of residents and visitors Off-Highway Vehicle Volunteers ride the roads and trails, use kiosks at staging areas to provide visitors with safety and access messages, maintain and monitor resources, and educate youth. Off-Highway Education Trailer volunteers staff a mobile interactive educational exhibit that travels to schools, community events and industry shows. The Foundation also provides a variety of interpretive services, partnerships, and fundraising activities.

The program's mission is to extend and enhance the US Forest Service wildfire prevention and forest heritage programs. Among a variety of activities, volunteer teams manage a 1924 US Forest Service Model T, assist with Smokey Bear, assist with logistical support, support the Airtanker Base public viewing area. In addition, volunteers patrol on mountain bikes and serve as ambassadors at the local ski resorts.