The group of local volunteers working with Friends of Mount Evans and Lost Creek Wildernesses supports the US Forest Service to protect the 74,401 acre Mount Evans and 119,790 acre Lost Creek Wilderness Areas, two of the closest Wilderness areas to the Denver and Colorado Springs Metropolitan areas. LeeLambert is the Executive Director and the group's website is www.fomelc.org.

The group consists of hikers, backcountry equestrians and a llama packer. While they hike or ride in the wilderness they conduct various activities such as maintaining trails, inventorying and controlling invasive plants, and talking with wilderness visitors about regulations and techniques to minimize impacts from backcountry camping. In addition, the volunteers collect data on the ecological condition of the wilderness as an integral part of the monitoring programs conducted by the Forest Service's Clear Creek, South Platte and South Park Ranger Districts.

One such program is the "Ozone Shelf Monitoring" which is conducted around the edges of the two wilderness areas. The goal of ozone monitoring is to track ozone air pollution which, in addition to contributing to greenhouse gasses and global warming, is threatening forest ecosystems. Volunteers hike in to and collect and restock filters at several monitoring stations located near the wilderness areas every two weeks. The data collected helps State and Federal agencies to make management decisions to hopefully avoid damage to the local and global environment.

In light of recent Forest Service budget cuts and increased work loads caused by fires and pine beetle infestations, the Friends of Mount Evans and Lost Creek are now key players to help protect and monitor our precious wilderness in our backyard. The values of wilderness including quality recreation, solitude, wildlife habitat, and air quality are legacies that should be left for future generations.