Cinder Path Land Trust The Acre Ledger · kept in public Sponsor an acre

Durango, Colorado Acre sponsorship · trail easements · volunteer work days · memorial benches Entries recorded by hand

A public ledger of care · Volume one, kept open

Keep an acre on the books.

Cinder Path Land Trust keeps the ground it looks after around Durango on one public ledger. Each sponsored acre is a line entered by hand, and each recurring sponsorship is a standing entry that returns on its own.

Sponsor an acre Read the ledger

The ledger · Acre lines

Sponsorship is not a donation. It is a standing entry.

Every acre the trust looks after carries one line in the book: what it is, and what the year asks of it. Lines are opened in the order they are asked for and held there while the sponsorship stands.

  1. 001 Trailhead acre Tread raked, brush cut back from the gate, drainage checked after every work day.
  2. 002 Creekside acre Bank walked for cutting, the crossing kept to foot traffic, willows noted each season.
  3. 003 Ridge acre Boundary posts checked in spring, corners marked and photographed for the file.
  4. 004 Meadow acre Weeds mapped and reported; mowing left until the seed has set.
  5. 005 Fence-line acre Wire, gates and posts checked along the easement line and recorded.
  6. 006 Aspen acre Regrowth counted inside the fence; browse damage written down while it is fresh.
  7. 007 Bench acre Seat and footing checked, the short spur trail kept clear of overgrowth.
  8. 008 North draw acre Winter access noted; tracks and cut fences recorded on the easement line.

A line stays open until a sponsor asks for it. No plaques, no tiers — only the order it was entered in. Begin a standing entry

Volunteers clearing a narrow trail with hand tools among pine trees
Plate 01 — A volunteer work day on a trust path. Hours become lines.

Work days are listed, tooled and led. Every hour worked is entered in the same week it is given.

Field notes · Margin annotations

Stewardship, noted in the margin.

Notes are kept beside the lines they belong to — short, plain, unsentimental. They record what the work actually is: lines walked, gates checked, hours given, ground held.

Note 01

On easement lines

A trail easement is a promise written into a deed. Keeping it means walking the line each season, checking the gate, and writing down whatever changed since the last visit.

Note 02

On volunteer work days

The trust lists the day, brings the tools, and leads the work. Hands on the ground in the morning; the hours entered before anyone goes home.

Note 03

On sponsored acres

A sponsored acre is not a plaque. It is a share of the year's work, carried at a steady pace and entered where anyone can read it.

Note 04

On memorial benches

A bench is a seat on ground the trust keeps, with its upkeep carried like any other line — placed, checked, and noted.

A wire gate and weathered post on a fenceline crossing open meadow ground
Plate 02 — A gate line on an easement, checked and noted.
A weathered wooden bench on a grassy hillside above a wide valley
Plate 03 — A bench on trust ground, kept over the long term.

Programs · Ways in

Four ways the ledger is kept.

Acre sponsorship is the standing entry. The rest of the work runs beside it — easements held, trails worked, landowner conversations opened, benches placed and tended.

A wooden boundary stake with faded flagging tape in dry grass
Plate 04 — A boundary line on an open acre.
  1. 01

    Trail easement stewardship

    Easements held and walked. Lines checked, gates noted, and conditions written down where the record can be read.

  2. 02

    Volunteer trail work days

    Scheduled days on the paths the trust keeps. Tools and leadership provided; every hour worked becomes a line in the ledger.

  3. 03

    Conservation easement inquiries

    For landowners thinking about an easement on their ground. An inquiry begins as a conversation, and nothing is entered until it is agreed.

  4. 04

    Memorial bench program

    A bench on trust land, placed and then cared for over the long term — seated, checked, and noted like any other line.

Standing order · Recurring entry

Enter a standing order.

A standing order is the plainest version of support: acres chosen by you, entered again each month without ceremony. Set it once, and the line stays in the book.

  • EntryOne acre or several
  • FrequencyRecurring, monthly
  • RecordCarried in the ledger, in the open
Sponsor an acre Ask about an easement

Acre sponsorships, easements, work days and bench placements are all entered the same way: in order, and in the open.