A Legacy on the Landscape: One Woman's Vision Lives on at Mount Tipton near Kingman

Some people leave their mark on a community through buildings or monuments. Octogenarian Sue Baughman helped leave hers in the rugged peaks and jagged rock formations of the Mount Tipton Wilderness above the desert near Dolan Springs, Arizona.

Known affectionately as "Itchy Foot" Baughman, Sue founded the Dolan Springs Trail System in August 2008, bringing together friends, neighbors, and volunteers who shared her enthusiasm for outdoor recreation and community service. What began as an effort to develop local trails grew into an organization that has spent nearly two decades connecting people to public lands and to one another.

That legacy was on display when volunteers from the organization joined Bureau of Land Management (BLM) employees from the Kingman Field Office for a National Public Lands Day project at the Lower Indian Spring wilderness access point in the Mount Tipton Wilderness. Together they replaced an aging visitor information kiosk and maintained portions of a nearby trail, continuing a tradition of service that Sue helped establish 18 years earlier.

The Dolan Springs Trail System was established in August 2008 to support recreation, education, charitable activities and community involvement. An early milestone involved 480 acres of BLM-managed land leased near the northern end of the Mount Tipton Wilderness, providing a foundation for developing a recreational trail system in the rugged Cerbat Mountains. Sue worked alongside friends and volunteers to turn that opportunity into something the entire community could enjoy.

Over the years, their efforts helped establish additional trails and expand recreational opportunities for hikers, joggers, horseback riders, mountain bikers and nature enthusiasts. The organization also took on trail maintenance, roadside cleanup and other volunteer projects intended to improve the community. 

Sue also recognized that trails could bring people together. The organization’s founding vision emphasized friendship, understanding and opportunities for all members of the community to participate. Today, the Dolan Springs Trail System helps maintain approximately eight miles of trails and organizes group hikes, off-highway vehicle outings, barbecues and recreational trips throughout the region. The organization also supports other local groups through charitable activities, while giving residents opportunities to explore the outdoors, stay active and build friendships.

Sue's vision also helped establish a tradition of cooperation between community volunteers and public land managers. Matthew Driscoll, an outdoor recreation planner with the BLM Kingman Field Office, has worked in the area since 2012 and has seen the value of that relationship firsthand. He credits Sue with being a driving force behind the development of local trails and the volunteer efforts that have supported them.

That partnership continues today through projects such as the Lower Indian Spring kiosk replacement. In the Mount Tipton Wilderness, the BLM and local volunteers work together to maintain visitor information and recreational access points. Some wilderness access points follow historic vehicle routes that existed before the area's wilderness designation in 1990. 

Over time, the BLM established visitor information kiosks and registration stations at several of these locations. As those facilities have aged, the Kingman Field Office has undertaken a broader effort to replace kiosks and improve visitor information throughout the area. Driscoll and other BLM employees have worked to make the improvements cost-effective, including fabricating durable metal kiosks from available materials when practical.

At Lower Indian Spring, the replacement kiosk provides visitor information and registration, while trail maintenance improves recreational access to the surrounding area. The project may seem modest, but its benefits will continue long after the volunteers have packed their tools and headed home. It demonstrates the value of partnerships that combine local knowledge, volunteer commitment and BLM land management expertise.

At Lower Indian Spring, the work also reflects the ethos of the BLM's All Americans Outside initiative, encouraging people to experience public lands, learn about them and lend a hand in caring for them. That same tradition of community involvement supports the EXPLORE Act's emphasis on outdoor recreation and partnerships.

For the volunteers, the project was another opportunity to care for a landscape that provided years of recreation, friendship and shared experiences. The trails Sue Baughman and fellow volunteers helped establish continue to welcome visitors, and the organization they built continues to bring people together.

The new kiosk at Lower Indian Spring is another visible result of that commitment. But Sue’s greater accomplishment cannot be measured simply in acres, miles of trails or structures installed. It lives in the people who continue to gather, explore and care for these public lands.

Inspired to give back to your public lands? Visit Volunteer.gov to find opportunities to volunteer, support stewardship projects and make a difference in your community.