Notices and Highlights
Everyone
– We love our mountains!
– Volunteer opportunities
– Forest Service seeking volunteers for help with Tijeras Pueblo site and museum
– Forest Service revives Visitor Orientation Program
– FOSM repaints National Scenic Byway sign
– Check out our new backpacking webpage
– FOSM volunteers help Menaul School students with service project
– Forest Service announces surveys on the Cibola and Gila National Forests
Members
– In Memoriam – former member Paul Torno passes
– Welcome our new members
– Volunteer opportunities
– Report volunteer hours
Click on a link above to go to details below. You may need to scroll back up slightly to see the topic header. Click on the up arrow (^) at bottom right of page to return here.
We Love Our Mountains*
*Technically, it’s Sandia Mountain (singular), but we use the plural because of the northern and southern peaks.
Whether you are a hiker, mountain biker, cross-country skier, trail runner, or you just enjoy being in the Sandias, you know that our mountains are one of nature’s special gifts.
Have you ever wondered what you could do to help protect our mountains? Do you want to learn more about the animals and plants you find there? Do you like to meet people who share your concern for the Sandia and Manzanita Mountains?
Welcome! Please explore our website to learn more about the goals and many activities of the Friends of the Sandia Mountains (FOSM). We likely have volunteer opportunities that match your interests and abilities.
Click here to learn about the fascinating geological history of the Sandias as well as some unique features of our beloved mountains including Sandia Peak Aerial Tramway, Ten 3 restaurant, 84 medallion trees, and sadly more than a dozen aircraft crash sites.
New to Albuquerque or just new to the Sandias? Explore the many recreational opportunities our mountains offer. Please carefully read the Safety section.
Please check out our La Luz Trail webpage if you are planning to hike this iconic but sometimes dangerous trail.
Weather and Road Conditions
Volunteer Opportunities
About Us
Who We Are
Our History
Trail Construction
Description
Reports and Photos
General Projects
Description
Reports and Photos
More About Us
Our Board of Directors
Our Awards and Recognition
Trail Maintenance
Description
Reports and Photos
Other Activities
Painting and Graffiti Removal
Youth Outreach
Visitor Orientation
Join Friends of the Sandia Mountains
if you enjoy the outdoors and want to give something back!
Our volunteer work focuses on single-day activities in the Sandia Ranger District. If you are looking for opportunities ranging across New Mexico and often involving multi-day projects, check out our partner organization New Mexico Volunteers for the Outdoors (NMVFO) at https://nmvfo.org.
An easy way to get involved is to join Cibola Trail Rangers, an email group consisting of hikers, bikers, XC skiers, horsemen, etc., who frequent the trails in the Sandia Ranger District and are interested in exchanging information on trail conditions on both an immediate and continuing basis. The group includes FOSM members trained to correct reported problems.
Please report corrective actions as well as problems so the FOSM trail maintenance crew doesn’t hike to fix a problem that no longer exists.
FOSM member Sally Lowder maintains a comprehensive database of reported trees and their disposition.
Forest Service Seeks Volunteers for Help with Tijeras Pueblo Site and Museum
FOSM’s board of directors has agreed to assist the Forest Service in administering a volunteer program to support continued management of the Tijeras museum and associated interpretive site. Click here for details.
Forest Service Seeks Volunteers to Provide Visitor Orientation at two Locations
Sandia Ranger District is seeking to revive its vistor orientation program halted by the closure of the Crest House and the pandemic. FOSM members are encouraged to volunteer to serve either at the Interpretive Hut at the Doc Long Picnic Area or at the lower Tram terminal. Hours are flexible, and training will be provided.
Details are availble here.
NM 14 Drivers Greeted by Freshly Painted Sign at San Antonito Roundabout
Thanks and congratulations to the FOSM paint crew led by Sam Beard for brightening up the National Scenic Byway sign recently reinstalled near the new traffic circle on Highway 14.
New Webpage Provides Backpacking Guidance
Click on the above image to check out our new webpage created with the help of Canyon Young, Sandia Ranger District Trails & Wilderness Program Manager.
FOSM Volunteers Help Menaul School with Service Project
Friends of the Sandia Mountains partnered with Menaul School on February 11 to remove trash and locate graffiti in the Foothills trail system south of the Embudo Trailhead on both City Open Space and Cibola National Forest lands. The activity was a part of the schoolís annual “Mission Week” during which students participate outside the classroom in a community service project. Lou Romero, FOSM Volunteer Youth Programs Coordinator, and Hannah Scanlon of the Menaul faculty organized the event.
Twenty-eight sophomore students and 5 faculty members were divided into four groups accompanied by 5 FOSM volunteers for 2-hour hikes. Frequent short breaks enabled students and adults to discuss a variety of educational topics including geology; plants; wildlife; trail etiquette, signage, and maintenance; GPS usage; electrical transmission; and fresh and waste-water management. Objectives and histories of City Open Space, National Forest lands, and the Sandia Mountains Wilderness Area also were discussed.
Details and photos from the activity can be found here here.
Special thanks to Lou and Hannah for organizing such a fun and rewarding event. (Planning began in mid-December.) Thanks also to Mike Madden, Sim Cook, Sam Beard, Kerry Jones, and Cliff Giles for serving as guides.
Public Surveys on the Cibola and Gila National Forests
ALBUQUERQUE, NM – September 25, 2025 – Beginning October 1, the public may encounter contract employees conducting public surveys on the Gila National Forest and Cibola National Forest & Grasslands in developed and dispersed recreation sites and along forest service roads. Surveys will be conducted through September 30, 2026.
The National Visitor Use Monitoring survey is a Forest Service program designed to estimate how many people actually recreate on national forests and grasslands, what activities they engage in while there, and how satisfied people were with their visit. These surveys are conducted on a national forest every five years.
Contract employees will be out in all types of weather conditions, wearing bright orange vests and be near a sign that reads “Traffic Survey Ahead”.
Surveys are voluntary and all responses are confidential; names are not included, and interviews last about 10 minutes.
Questions asked include where you recreated on the forest; how many people traveled with you; how long you were on the forest; what other recreation sites you visited while on the forest, and how satisfied you are with the facilities and services provided. About a third of survey participants will be asked to complete a confidential survey on recreation spending during their trip to measure the economic impact to local communities.
Information about the National Visitor Use Monitoring program can be found at https://www.fs.usda.gov/about-agency/nvum.
Member Messages
In Memoriam
Thanks, especially to Sally and Bob Lowder, for helping identify former members of Friends of the Sandia Mountains (or New Mexico Friends of the Forest) whom we’ve remembered with photos and links to their obituaries on our new webpage. Please send your suggested additions and favorite memories to webmaster@friendsofthesandias.org for sharing on the page.
Thanks to Dan Benton for information about the recent passing of long-time FOSM member Paul Torno in Grinnell, Iowa. Paul is survived by his wife Sharon. His obituary can be found by clicking here or on the adjacent photo.
Rest in Peace, Paul.
Welcome, New Members!
Alex Brittenham – February 19
Stephen Forrest – January 30
Kay Mayoora – January 30
Cindy Roper – January 17
Ken Sexe – January 3
Rogulja Wolf – December 14
Dennis Kellogg – December 13
William Childs – December 12
Laurie Lacey* – December 5
Aaron Brooks – October 17
William Gruner – October 13
Dana Price – October 11
Don Fisher* – October 8
Deb C. Hall – September 12
Megan Batchelor – September 1
Nelly Taveras – August 31
Christopher Cudia – August 26
Douglas Binder – August 19
Susan Morro* – August 8
*Life sponsor
Volunteer Opportunities
Paint Crew Leader – Thanks, Anne Hickman for your years of faithful service as leader of the paint crew. Anne has stepped down due to other commitments. Please use the form on the referenced pages if you would be interested in assuming this leadership position.
Tijeras Pueblo – SRD is seeking volunteers to help with Tijeras Pueblo site and museum. Click here for details.
Visitor Orientation – FOSM members are encouraged to volunteer to provide visitor orientation either at the Interpretive Hut at the Doc Long Picnic Area or at the lower Tram terminal. Hours are flexible, and training will be provided. Details are availble here.
Report Volunteer Hours
Expect a monthly call for hours going forward during Forest Service fiscal year 2026 (October-September).
*The weekly crew leaders (Bob, Sam, Laura) have already provided their crew’s hours by individual into our FY2026 FOSM hours tracker, so if you signed an attendance sheet, your hours are already covered.
*Basically, report any and all individual time spent in a FOSM activity which pertains to the District.
Additional guidelines for reporting hours can be found here.
Last updated 6 hours ago