OVANDO — On packed horses and mules, Backcountry Horsemen volunteers ascended into the wilderness on a trail surrounded by fresh wildflowers and burnt timber.

The trail to Lake Otatsy near the North Fork of the Blackfoot made for a 15-mile round trip on the start of their two-day trip. Every so often, volunteers dismounted their horses to do what they were there for — saw away fallen trees and debris to improve the path for themselves and for all future recreationists.

It’s a needed service as trails see increased use in the area. And it’s a service the Backcountry Horsemen have been happy to provide since starting 50 years ago in Montana’s Flathead Valley with a focus on advocating and creating greater trail access. The organization has since expanded to 37 states since its inception.

The chapter that cleared the trails in the mountains bordering the Bob Marshall Wilderness was one of 17 chapters in Montana, with around 917 members total enrolled in the organization.

The trail-clearing project was one of several the group has done or will do this year. That includes tree-thinning projects around a historic lookout and a campsite to better prepare for future wildfires, and packing gravel for the U.S. Forest Service to help repair a trail to Heart Lake near Superior.

“These projects really give us a strong sense of purpose for what we do and what we can accomplish as an organization,” Mission Valley Chapter President Mark Potter said.

Potter, 72, joined the Backcountry Horsemen in 2015 after retiring the year before. A lifelong hunter, he purchased a couple mules as it became harder to carry his gear just on his back. He got further mentoring on the use of mules, and after hearing colleagues mention the Backcountry Horsemen, his passion developed into their mission.

“They really make you feel like you’re part of a family,” Potter said.

The organization put more than 2,000 miles on Montana trails while volunteering last year. In total, the Montana Chapter of the Backcountry Horsemen provided an estimated $1,031,544 in value with the services they offered, according to U.S. Forest Service calculations.

They most often collaborate with the Forest Service, taking projects that staff doesn’t have capacity to accomplish. Superior District Trails Manager Rachel Ryan, with whom the chapter collaborates, said the district has only two permanent staff for trail clearing and six in the summer. It’s not always enough to keep up with trail maintenance.

“The biggest value they offer is just adding their support to us,” Ryan said. “They’re able to take on some of these extra projects that our workforce itself can’t always handle and they are still very important projects that need to be completed. They’re a group that is always willing to try new things and work where they’re needed.”

Ryan said the trail clearing has become even more beneficial to them recently. Trails in the area have seen increased demand since the start of COVID-19.

“Out here in Superior we didn’t get as much of the traffic out on our trails,” Ryan said. “But when COVID hit, everyone was going outside. That’s held since 2020. People wanted to go outside and be able to do things. Now it’s just starting to be more of a hobby for people and people are back in the outdoors and are enjoying it again. I think it’s super awesome.”

While more people are out on the trails, Vice Chair of the Montana Backcountry Horsemen Mack Long has noted declining enrollment within the organization. He’s seeking out new members with hopes of growing to the roughly 1,300 members it was pre-pandemic and perhaps beyond that.

Long, 68, said rising upkeep costs are making it harder to maintain horses or mules.

“When you’re in your late teens, 20s, or even 30s, you’re just trying to get things started in life and trying to get a good place to live and a job and support a family,” Long said. “Sometimes this is a little extra.”

Alongside its education and outreach efforts to hopefully get younger interest in the organization, members of the organizations teach youth to ride horses, as well as invite others on some of their service trips that might not require horses to reach the areas.

Long joined the organization in 1986 and is in line to become the state chair following his wife, who was the chair 10 years ago. He thought it was important to work together with the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service, knowing those agencies had more problems to fix out there than they had the resources to do so on a trail system that has only grown since he’s started.

For instance, the trail the chapter went on the North Fork of the Blackfoot could soon become protected wilderness with the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act — an act reintroduced in July by Sen. Jon Tester intended to protect the Blackfoot River and expand outdoor recreation. Long and the organization have advocated for the act for years.

“The main points of active advocacy for wild places hasn’t changed since I’ve started,” Long said.

In Long’s 37 years of being a part of the organization, what has stood out most to him is the continued camaraderie the group has brought.

“There’s the work side of Backcountry Horsemen, but there’s also a fun side,” Long said. “If you decide to take off and go for a one, two, three or week-long ride, we have places that we can go and do that. Being able to do that with friends and people that you enjoy being around is priceless. I think that’s probably the single most enjoyable part of it. I enjoy doing the work, but it’s always nice to be able to really enjoy what’s here.”