Just half an hour from Madison, the Montrose Segment connects a large segment of the state's population with a world-class recreation opportunity. The Trail here touches a time long before the Wisconsin Glaciation, winding past bedrock ridges and rocky outcrops.

A new 2/3-mile section of the Montrose Segment is open for business after a weekend of hard work and plenty of fun May 3rd-6th. We thank the 90 volunteers who helped out a total of 1,600 hours constructing tread on steep cross slope, building native eastern red cedar and black locust retaining walls, and hand picking bags of invasive garlic mustard, as well as cutting, treating with pesticide, stumping, and dragging honeysuckle, buckthorn, and black locust invaders away to open expansive views and take strides towards restoring a healthy vegetative balance.

You can now walk over two miles off road on the Montrose Segment. Make a virtual visit to the segment by going to the Dane County Chapter's webpage, or visit in real life (click here for directions to the trailhead).

Join us in renovating the Jerry Lake Segment! The third Mobile Skills Crew project of the year will be taking place in Taylor County Tuesday, May 15th through Sunday, May 20th — at six days long, the longest trail building project scheduled for the year. You don't have to come for the whole time, but trust us, you'll want to.

Volunteers will be teaming up with staff to build a reroute, improve signage, and build a 67-foot bridge in the Chequamegon National Forest. You could be one of them! There are all kinds of roles, from greeting and kitchen crew to trail building and signage. Training is provided, and all ages are welcome. Meals and a place to pitch a tent are provided free to all volunteers.

If you can't make it to the Jerry Lake Segment this time, join us again August 23rd-26th — same place, different time. Click here to learn more about both projects, and to register if you're planning to attend.

The newest installment in the IATA's Trail Notebook Series is here! It's all about the how and why of building and maintaining trail structures, from kiosks and benches to bridges and rock walls, with everything in between. Handy diagrams and resources can be found in the back of the book and great photo illustrations are scattered throughout. The book is available free for download at http://www.iceagetrail.org/resources-for-iata-leaders — look in "Trail Construction and Maintenance." Hard copies are available on request.

During a trail building and maintenance project April 20th-22nd, 129 volunteers and three IATA staff members made significant improvements to the Merrimac Segment in Sauk County. Some of the weekend's accomplishments:

• 1/2-mile-long section of the trail from STH 113 and CTH DL rerouted
• Two 36-foot-long clear span bridges built
• 191 feet of boardwalk built
• Four timber cribs built
• One rock retaining wall built
• Invasive species removed from the area
• Maintenance performed on already-existing sections of trail
• 129 volunteers kept well-fed with homemade meals at base camp and sack lunches in the field.

Interested in being a part of upcoming trail improvements? Check out the Mobile Skills Crew calendar at http://mobileskills.iceagetrail.org/mobile-skills-crew-calendar to find out where and when to join us!

The spring 2012 issue of Mammoth Tales incorrectly listed the date of the Lodi Valley Chapter's National Trails Day Mammoth Fun Run and Hike as June 22nd. The correct date is June 2nd, as it appears in the online calendar. (For more details, check out the event listing there.)

Click on the image above to download a copy of the registration form.

Behold. All of the statewide trail building projects for this year are now open for registration. Click here to see them.

Yes, the dates were posted already. But go back there now, and you'll see that you can now sign up. Also, we've added some tantalizing details about each project, like:

"Gorgeous campsite at Kathryn Lake will be a big attraction."

"If you’ve never been in the mighty Baraboo Range at the peak of the fall colors, this is the time to see it."

"...and yes, you’re reading this correctly, there’s over 1,000 feet of boardwalk to build!"

Read a bit about each event and then, if you like, follow the link to register. (Why register? If you know you'll be there, registering well in advance helps the IATA plan events with your needs in mind. Plus, it's also good for you, because you'll get a confirmation email just before the event with any last-minute info you should know.)