Volunteering
As the leading organization in our battle to preserve our right to ride horses on public lands, Back Country Horsemen of America knows the fight is futile unless there are trails to ride. That’s why they spend thousands of hours each year cleaning, maintaining, and building trails on public lands across the country. Please join our team of volunteers and find a local chapter near you and your favorite places to ride.
Volunteer Service Reporting
Volunteerism is one of the most important activities Back Country Horsemen can use in our effort to perpetuate enjoyable common-sense use of pack and saddle stock in the backcountry. A central point of our mission statement is to assist government agencies in maintenance and management of public lands. The hours and value of volunteer service by Back Country Horsemen is consistently under reported. The past 28-year total for BCHA volunteer service is $ 190.4 million, a value that gives BCHA national representatives significant leverage when engaging with the Public Land management agencies and other user groups in policy discussions about trail access and maintenance.
Each chapter and State organization Volunteer Hours Coordinator (VHC) or committee responsible for reporting the hours that members work and other expenses they incur during their service. BCHA provides a Microsoft Excel Workbook to aid in the reporting of Volunteer efforts by the BCH chapters and States. Detailed guidelines for reporting the Volunteer effort are provided along with a PowerPoint presentation. These guidelines are designed to help the VHC set up a program for reporting in their chapter.
Double Diamond Award
Each year at the national BCHA board meeting, this award is presented to BCHA chapters for an exceptional volunteer project and/or educational program completed during the previous year. The efforts eligible for recognition can include, but not limited to, trail maintenance, trail construction, trailhead construction, educational programs, and youth programs.
Applications are accepted from any chapter/unit for a volunteer project or educational program that was completed during the calendar year January 1st to December 31st and must be received before February 20th of the current year by sending an email to: Volunteer@bcha.org .
No applications received after February 20th will be considered.
The BCHA Volunteer Hours Committee appointed by the National Chair of BCHA will decide the winner or winners. The award will be presented at the BCHA National Board Annual Banquet. For questions, please call 360-620-2802.
Volunteer Service Hours
In 2023, BCHA members donated over 230,700 volunteer hours from 31 different states with a dollar value of just over $11 million. 12,315 stock animals’ hours (horses and mules) were used with volunteers traveling over 1.1 million miles to locations to do volunteer work.
The total volunteer hours donated over the past 29 years was 7,181,193 with a dollar value of $200,440,313.
Here are the number of hours and their calculated value for the work that BCHA members have done over the last 27 years. The total for 28 years is 6,950,429 hours for a total donated dollar value of $200,440,313 Wow!! Thank you BCHA Members for all your hard work.
| Year | Hours | Value |
|
2023 |
230,700 | over $12 million |
|
2022 |
261,386 | $12,295,550 |
| 2021 | 207,805 | $9,389,714 |
| 2020 | 196,480 | $8,458,153 |
| 2019 | 218,617 | $10,440,000 |
| 2018 | 322,125 | $12,170,827 |
| 2017 | 324,154 | $12,987,807 |
| 2016 | 341,503 | $13,335,692 |
| 2015 | 357,668 | $13,552,457 |
| 2014 | 360,112 | $13,712,241 |
| 2013 | 367,161 | $13,972,950 |
| 2012 | 373,381 | $12,515,563 |
| 2011 | 326,347 | $10,913,278 |
| 2010 | 315,442 | $11,942,130 |
| 2009 | 345,690 | $7,490,864 |
| Year | Hours | Value |
| 2008 | 286,153 | $6,613,643 |
| 2007 | 236,847 | $5,619,738 |
| 2006 | 141,175 | $3,695,000 |
| 2005 | 165,113 | $3,847,000 |
| 2004 | 204,700 | $5,450,000 |
| 2003 | 136,161 | $3,420,000 |
| 2002 | 108,919 | $1,735,600 |
| 2001 | 128,200 | $2,001,000 |
| 2000 | 154,600 | $2,834,000 |
| 1999 | 87,300 | $1,802,000 |
| 1998 | 105,370 | $2,658,000 |
| 1997 | 92,300 | $1,790,000 |
| 1996 | 74,410 | $1,456,000 |
| 1995 | 61,424 | $896,000 |
