Often camping at the historic Sunlight Ranger Station, taking advantage of their equine infrastructure and nearby mountain trails, Powell resident Frank Fagan and his family struck up a friendship with the station's campground hosts Del and Cindy Ouimet.

Fagan, seemingly a somewhat grumpy, aging cowboy, is known for having the ability to start a conversation with just about anyone, eventually shedding his hard outer shell and revealing an engaging, caring, softy of a backcountry expert. The three got to talking and while taking a walk around the property it was apparent the more than 115-year-old station's corrals were in desperate need of renovation.

That's when a lightbulb went off in Fagan's head.

As a member of the Shoshone Back Country Horsemen, a group of local equine trail cleaning volunteers, Fagan suggested they adopt the project to rebuild the structures. The organization accepted the challenge and began negotiating with Forest Service officials to take on the job. It was a win/win proposal for the U.S. Forest Service.

The organization offered to buy all the supplies and provide a team of committed men and women volunteers to renovate the crumbling corrals. The group of makeshift carpenters asked for nothing but a chance to make a difference for visitors coming to the Forest for its more than 1,500 miles of trails.

"The public just needs to supply their own hay and get in line [to make a reservation] with everybody else. The cabin is rented out months in advance," Fagan said.

Chapters are active in 31 states consisting of roughly 13,000 members who are dedicated to keeping trails open for all on our public lands. There are more than 200 chapters across the country. The Shoshone members are known as the hardest working chapter of Back Country Horsemen of America, clearing more than 100 miles of trail per year and often offering to assist with multiple infrastructure projects.

As a matter of fact, if you've secured a horse in a Forest Service corral — whether made of metal or wood — the Horsemen built it. Add to that the installation of fire rings at forest camp sites and multiple other proposed projects. It's a great partnership, said Casey McQuiston, district ranger of the Wapiti, Clarks Fork and Greybull Ranger districts.

"The longstanding partnership between the Back Country Horsemen of America and the U.S. Forest Service plays a key role in maintaining trails, improving access to wilderness and backcountry areas, and managing remote public lands," McQuiston said. "The corral repair at the historic Sunlight Ranger Station highlights this strong, mutually beneficial partnership."

The Forest Service values this continued partnership, which helps expand recreation access and sustain critical infrastructure in remote areas, he said.

The first buildings at the Sunlight Ranger Station were constructed in 1905 and completed in 1909 by rangers J.W. Nelson and J.K. Rollinson. The site expanded over time to include a ranger dwelling built in 1934, a bunkhouse and office built in 1930, additional bunkhouse and warehouse space built in 1936, and a root cellar added in 1950. The site now has available rental cabins for visitors, which comes with the use of the corrals.

Fagan was particularly pleased with the help of T&T Inc., of Crandall, and other nonmember volunteers who showed up to help secure the corrals for decades to come. Shoshone National Forest Trails Coordinator A'naka Smith also joined the horsemen to help with the project through the weekend.

There are others who might not be part of the organization, but that also contributed to the project said Horsemen Service Coordinator and Powell resident Howard Sanders. Metal corral panels and gates are constructed by student members of the Northwest College welding club.

"When we do the corral panels, we work with the welding club at the college. We've been doing that since 2016," Sanders said. "We tell them how many panels we need, how many feed bunks we need and  how many gates we need; they purchase the materials. Then, we pay them for the material and they build it all for us. Then we give a donation to their club."

The process is expensive, yet the horsemen pay for 100% of the projects. Wood corrals cost about $2,000 for materials. Metal projects are two and a half times more expensive at about $5,000, Sanders said. No donated funds pay for gas, food, vet bills and feed. All of those expenses are covered by organization members themselves.

The horsemen are still using donated funds from when David Rael was a Wyoming Game and Fish commissioner. Rael had donated three commissioner tags to the horsemen to be auctioned off to the highest bidder. The donations brought in many thousands to the group's coffers. However, they haven't received a commissioner's tag since Rael left the commission after he served as president.

The ranger station corral project was finished from start to finish, including receiving permission to build from the Forest Service and waiting for good weather, in about a year.

"They were really tickled that we wanted to shape it up rather than let it go to pieces," Sanders said.

It will also be a welcome improvement for the horsemen, as they are hosting the Wyoming Back Country Horsemen of America State Rendezvous, which is planned for July at the Ranger Station. There are seven chapters across the state.

The next SBCH Meeting will be May 21 at Park Co. Weed & Pest, 1067 Road 13, Powell, just off U.S. Highway 14A. A potluck dinner is planned at 6 p.m. with the meeting to follow.