Group volunteers time to help Colorado Parks and Wildlife maintain trails

Overgrown weeds and sunflowers have become a problem for people who enjoy the trails at Lake Pueblo State Park, but one group is taking on the tall task to help out Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

The Lake Pueblo Trail Builders Association said heavy rain the past couple months has led to a field of sunflowers at the state park.

Association member Stephen Jurewicz said the sunflowers and weeds in the field can leave a mark on your body.

“It will just basically rub up on your shins and your forearms and just tear them up and give you a rash,” he said.

The group traded its bikes for gardening tools in order to make the trails at Lake Pueblo clean and safe.

“I just look at it like I’m helping myself, helping my friends being able to get out here and enjoy the ride,” Jurewicz said.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife said volunteers are important for its agency. Volunteers provided more than 300,000 hours of work in 2013 at all the parks. The agency doesn’t receive money from the Colorado general fund and it relies on the park fees. With more than 10,000 acres of land at Lake Pueblo State Park, the agency said it can use all the help it can get.

The association tries to go out every month to maintain the trails.