The USFS has a great FAQ that details the process along with a nice long list of regulations that is required for clubs or individuals who wish to perform maintenance on their favorite trails. It involves an officially signed volunteer agreement. This still doesn’t mean one can just go out and perform work on your local trails. Site specific approval is required from your local ranger district.
Volunteer Agreements – The Forest Service completes a Volunteer Agreement with every volunteer to document the service he or she will perform. There are two types of Volunteer Agreements.
The Professional Trail Builders Association (PTBA) has a great resource page HERE for multiple sources of
Here is a link to the 2007 USFS Trail Construction and Maintenance Notebook
The USFS wants to make sure you use the most current techniques when maintaining and constructing trails. Here is a great factoid from the handbook.
Dips Are In, Bars Are Out
For existing trails with water problems, we encourage the use of rolling grade dips or knicks instead of waterbars. Here’s why. By design, water hits the waterbar and is turned. The water slows down and sediment drops in the drain. Waterbars commonly fail when sediment fills the drain. Water tops the waterbar and continues down the tread. The waterbar becomes useless. You can build a good rolling grade dip quicker than you can install a waterbar, and a rolling grade dip works better.
