Supporting Sandia Ranger District Since 1997
Notices and Highlights
Everyone
– We love our mountains!
– FOSM volunteers lend a hand to Mountainair Ranger District
– Forest Service and FOSM volunteers complete North Faulty Trail reroute
– Slides and recording from September 2 membership meeting available
Members
– Voting for FY 2026 officers and board members open through September 19
– Welcome our new members
– Paint crew leader needed
– Time to report August hours
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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
If you enjoy the outdoors and want to give something back,
join Friends of the Sandia Mountains!
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.
We Love Our Mountains*
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.
*Technically, it’s Sandia Mountain (singular), but we often use the plural to recognize the existence of northern and southern peaks.
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 too often dangerous trail.
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.
Take the Tram to the Top⏤an Unforgettable Experience!
Sandia Peak Tramway makes the top of the mountain easily accessible and one-way hikes of La Luz Trail possible, but be sure to check their website before starting your journey.
Weather and Road Conditions
FOSM Volunteers Lend a Hand to Mountainair Ranger District
On Tuesday, September 9, at the request of the Mountainair Ranger District, the FOSM paint crew of Pauline Ho, Rick Buss, and Sam Beard painted the large Cibola National Forest sign located on Forest Road 55 a few miles west of Tajique. This village is about 30 miles south of the Sandia Ranger Station.
Mountainair District Ranger Shawn Martin responded to Sam’s project report as follows:
Thank you Sam and FOSM volunteers for your time and excellent facelift of the sign west of Tajique. This one was on our list for replacement, but those signs are very expensive and this new paint job will definitely help extend the life until we can get it replaced. I really appreciate you extending your “friendship” down into the Manzano Mountains!
Job well done, Pauline, Rick, and Sam!
Forest Service and FOSM Volunteers Complete North Faulty Trail Reroute Project
Eric Russell using handsaw for final clearing of stumps from new trail
The old trail disappearing into oak and grass
September 5, 2025 – FOSM crew leader Laura Leon announced completion of a project to improve the south end of what has now been officially designated as North Faulty Trail (No. 197). The project started way back in February. Laura reported, “… 19 different FOSM volunteers spent time working on these reroutes, with about 10 volunteers per week which comes out to about 1300 hours of grinding work.” The effort, spread over 21 Thursday work sessions, was done with and under the leadership of Sandia Ranger District (SRD) personnel Canyon Young, Jen Medina-Gray, and Chris Secor. A huge Thank You and Congratulations to everyone who contributed!
September 8, 2025 – Sandia Ranger District Trails & Wilderness Program Manager Canyon Young sent a very gracious and detailed message to the FOSM crew recognizing and thanking them for their efforts on the project. In addition to providing background information regarding the project, Canyon also shared insight into future improvements for this and other trails on the mountain.
Slides and Recording Available from September 2 Membership Meeting
Member Messages
FOSM 2025-26 Election Ballot & Bios
Hello FOSM Members:
Please see the attached FOSM 2025-26 Election Ballot of candidates for Officers and Board of Directors.
Notice that Susan Gregory, Sam Beard, Sim Cook, and Byron Garner are not on the ballot. They have a second year to serve, of their two-year term and comprised this year’s Nominating Committee. Thank you Susan, for Chairing this year’s Nominating Committee!
Most of the candidates are incumbents, whose term has expired, but wish to run for re-election. Incumbent bios can be found on our website: https://friendsofthesandias.org/board-of-directors/. For the four new candidates, Kerry Jones, Scott Dietrich, Cliff Giles, and Laura Leon, see the attached bio sheet.
To keep things simple, if you are in favor of all candidates listed on the ballot, and have no “write-ins”, then do nothing, and your vote will be counted ‘FOR’ all candidates listed.
The FOSM Annual Meeting of the Membership will be held Tuesday October 7, 2025 at 6:00 PM at the Tijeras Ranger Station. If no ‘write-ins’ are received, a vote by members present at that meeting will be taken to elect those names on the ballot by acclamation.
Remember – Only current FOSM members are eligible to vote.
If you wish to submit your vote electronically, please email your ballot to info@friendsofthesandias.org no later than September 19, 2025. If you wish to mail-in a paper ballot, please print the attached ballot, and mail it according to the instructions therein.
We appreciate the contributions of our Officers & Board Members who are stepping down at the end of September. Vice President Cliff Giles is stepping down after serving for five years, and Treasurer Jeff Young is stepping down after one year. Steve Roholt and Joe Meade are stepping down as At-Large board members after serving for four and two years respectively.
Kerry Jones, Scott Dietrich and Laura Leon are new candidates. All others are incumbents, with the exception of Cliff Giles who is stepping down as Vice President and running for an At-Large position.
Respectfully,
Mike Madden, President
Friends of the Sandia Mountains
Welcome, New FOSM Members!
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
Iris Meyer-Guthman – July 12
Jon Cooper – June 2
Bart Vanden Plas – May 29
Jay Wulf – May 23
Scott Forman – May 5
Nancy Gloman – April 27
John Braly* – April 11
Bill Perkins – March 31
Ira (Bud) Bickford – March 19
Noel Wagner – March 15
Craig Tucker – March 11
Roger Squires – March 11
Richard Fagioli – March 3
Jim Houle – March 3
John McNett – March 2
Carolyn Grady – March 2
*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.
Time to Report Volunteer Hours for August
Expect a monthly call for hours going forward during Forest Service fiscal year 2025 (October-September).
*The weekly crew leaders (Bob, Sam, Laura) have already provided their crew’s hours by individual into our FY2025 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.
