How one Colorado town employs llamas to help with trail maintenance

DENVER (KDVR) — Keeping up on trail maintenance on Colorado’s many trails is a hefty job for humans, and llamas are stepping in to help rangers in Leadville.

The Leadville District has four wilderness areas containing nine 14ers and over 300 miles of trails. This summer, crews are working on multiple projects including wilderness trail bridge maintenance and replacement, two trail reroutes, sign installations, wilderness control, lake clean-up efforts and various other maintenance tasks.

The llamas are named Wyatt and Junior, and they joined the team in June to help crews with work through August.

“Well trained llamas are docile, easy to handle and transport, low maintenance and walk at a similar pace as their human coworkers, which make them great additions to the wilderness trail crew,” a press release from the U.S. Forest Service reads.

According to the Forest Service, llamas are accustomed to living and working at high elevations because they are native to the Andes Mountains in South America, which makes them great helpers for mountain trail work in Colorado.

Plus, llamas are in the camelid family, meaning they are two-toed with toenails covering each padded toe, not hooves. This makes them lighter on the land, which the Forest Service said is “important for traveling in sensitive high alpine tundra and other fragile terrain.”

Motorized equipment is not allowed in wilderness areas, so crews use llamas instead to help pack tools and supplies.

“Llamas relieve our wilderness crew of some of the extra pack weight necessary for the four-day hitches they work throughout the summer,” Wilderness Ranger and Llama Program Manager Kate DeMorest said in the release. “Having llamas carry the weight of tools, personal protective equipment, group camping gear, and other materials is very helpful.”

DeMorest said each llama can carry up to one-third of their weight, which is typically around 60-80 pounds. The Forest Service said she had worked with llamas in the past and wanted to bring their help and expertise to Leadville. The program has been in the making since 2021, and the Forest Service said it has been a great success and the district plans to continue the program in the future.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX21 News Colorado.