DENVER – A piece of Colorado’s Eagles Nest Wilderness has been restored to its historic condition because of the hard work of 18 prison inmates. The group removed an ugly blight: a mining building from the 1950s.

Because heavy machinery isn’t allowed on Rock Creek Trail, Ken Waugh, an officer with the Dillon Ranger District, hooked up with Colorado Correctional Industries, which specializes in the kind of old-school manual labor required. Waugh called the project a “win-win” for conservationists and the crew of volunteers.

“They do feel like they want to give back and provide a high-quality job and to do something that’s important,” Waugh said. “That comes out in the quality of their work. They know they get to be out there in this fantastic place rather than behind bars in prison.”

The crew worked during the day and camped under the stars at night. They dismantled the building using only hand tools, and they hiked an average of 16 miles a day, hauling cinder blocks and metal to the trailhead northwest of Silverthorne.

On weekends, they went back to prison in Buena Vista.

Erik Wayland, a trail crew boss with Colorado Correctional Industries, receives applications from inmates wanting to volunteer on projects. He accepts only non-violent offenders within a few years of release. He said a lot of the inmates have never spent time in the wilderness.

“Now, most of them say ‘I’m going to come back here with my kids,’ or ‘I’m going to come back here with my parents,’” Wayland said. “They want to show that they were able to do something positive in their lives and in such a beautiful area, and it made a huge impact on them.”

Wayland said inmates are paid $7.60 a day on overnight projects. He said several were congratulated by hikers who came from the nearby trail, drawn by the noise. The project at Eagles Nest began in early July and wrapped up late last week.