Last month, 80 volunteers from WyoTech's Laramie campus spent the weekend helping the U.S. Forest Service prepare the nearby Yellow Pine Campground for the coming tourist season. The Forest Service had originally planned for a three-day project, but WyoTech provided so many able-bodied volunteers they were able to complete the job in just two.
Work consisted mostly of manual labor, which included clearing previously cut trees and dismantling an aging restroom facility to make way for a new one. No power tools were involved.
"The volunteers showed up at 8 a.m. Saturday, despite the cold temperature and the wind," said Aaron Voos, a Forest Service spokesman. "They worked hard and got a lot of things done. We left around 3 p.m. We worked about four hours on Sunday. We had so many volunteers that we finished early."
The Forest Service and WyoTech plan to work together to prepare other camping and recreation areas in the Pole Mountain area southeast of Laramie. "We are hoping this is just a beginning with the volunteer force at WyoTech. We want to build that up, and they will be able to help us out with more projects in the campgrounds. There has been a big push to partner with them and reach out to them for help," Voos said. "It is nice to see them taking an interest in the community and helping out because they choose to come out and volunteer."
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