Hanging Lake Trail will be closed to the public Sept. 9-10 as volunteers work to improve the 1.2 miles of trail leading to the lake and Spouting Rock.

The volunteers, brought together by nonprofit groups Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado and Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers, will restore heavily impacted areas and structures, constructing highly technical check steps, water bars, staircases and retaining rock walls.

The volunteer project comes amid headlines of graffiti and blatant violations of posted rules, including incidents of people swimming in the fragile alpine lake. These infractions, along with 160,000-plus annual visitors, have made the restoration project a high priority for demonstrating how volunteers can effectively address Colorado’s growing maintenance needs from overuse and lack of sustainable funding for public lands.

The Forest Service last week announced a plan to limit visitors to the lake and require permits to help combat the damage.

The U.S. Forest Service’s Eagle-Holy Cross Ranger District, which manages the area, has long relied on volunteer organizations to address a backlog of maintenance needs in the area and across the state.

Read the full story at PostIndependent.com.