June meant it was time for us old-timers to once again enjoy being around a delightful group of hard-working young adults. Each year at about this time Talking Talons Youth Leadership (TTYL), Sandia Ranger District, and FOSM partner to provide an opportunity for a half-dozen or so TTYL participants to gain boots-on-the-ground experience working in the Cibola National Forest.
This yearβs activities focused on a major project to restore dilapidated fencing around Kiwanis Meadow on Sandia Crest. Ninety-four sections of fence, 11 feet each, were completed in the fence project for a total of 1034 feet of barrier around the meadow with 330 feet on the south end near the cliο¬ and 704 feet on the north end. Layout of the fence was done by Canyon Young, Sandia Ranger District Trails and Wilderness Program Manager. Joelle Hertel, FOSM Special Projects Lead, ordered the buck-and-rail fence materials and associated hardware from United Wood Products in Longmont, Colorado, at a cost of approximately $13,000. FOSM was able to purchase these materials thanks to a generous bequest from the estate of Dr. Charles Wood.
Click on a date below to read the project report for that activity. Click on a photo to enlarge it.
May 29, 2025 – Lou Romero, FOSM’s youth outreach coordinator, held a training workshop with this year’s TTYL crew.
May 30, 2025 – A trailer-truck load of pressure-treated materials was off-loaded at the Sandia Ranger Station.
June 3, 2025 – TTYL crew members fabricated bucks for new Kiwanis Meadow fence.
June 5, 2025 – TTYL crew members helped the FOSM trail construction crew led by Laura Leon perform trail improvements in the Kiwanis Meadow area.
June 9, 2025 – TTYL crew members helped Joelle and Sam Beard stage materials, install sections of the new fence, and obliterate old user trails through the meadow.
June 10, 2025 – TTYL crew members helped Joelle and Sam Beard stage materials, install sections of the new fence, and obliterate old user trails through the meadow.
June 11, 2025 – TTYL crew members helped the FOSM general projects crew and Kaitlin Velarde (SRD intern) complete installation of most of the new fence.
June 12, 2025 – TTYL crew members helped Laura Leon and the FOSM trail construction crew extend the Wagon Trail in Sulphur Canyon Picnic Area.
June 16, 2025 – The TTYL crew assisted Joelle Hertel and Sam Beard with several small tasks on the last day of the Kiwanis Meadow Fence Project.
June 18, 2025 – The TTYL/YCC crew helped FOSM process firewood from an Englemann spruce log at the Kiwanis Meadow Road gate at Sandia Crest.
July 17, 2025 β FOSM Maps & Signage Chair Jamey Browning created and installed three beautiful signs on the new Kiwanis Meadow fence ββ¦to acknowledge construction by the Forest Service, TTYL, and FOSM using materials provided by FOSM thanks to a generous bequest from the estate of Dr. Charles Wood.β
The new signs are located near the eastern end of the south fence, on the west fence behind the Animals, Plants & People sign, and on the north fence behind the Meadow Neighborhood Interpretive sign.
