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In-depth report · 16 min · 17 sources · October 31, 2026

Tracking trail volunteer hours: what to record, and what it's for

By Francis Lessard, founder of Sentinel

Tracking trail volunteer hours: what to record, and what it's for

Quebec's snowmobile federation, the FCMQ, relies on 4,500 volunteers in its member clubs who devote more than 800,000 hours a year to maintaining trails, installing signage and negotiating land-use permissions (FCMQ). On the Appalachian Trail, 4,592 volunteers gave 155,256 hours during federal fiscal year 2025, a contribution the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) puts at US$5.4 million (ATC, 2025).

Those figures exist because someone, at the end of every work day, wrote down who was there and for how long. That sheet is what you will be asked for in a grant application, to get your volunteers covered if someone is hurt, or to show a municipality what your network would cost it without them.

This guide gathers what funders, insurance schemes and accounting standards ask for in Canada, the United States and France, then the choices to make before you start counting. It complements our article on structuring a trail maintenance team, which covers recruiting and retention. Sources are listed at the end. This is not legal or accounting advice: your funders and your insurer have the final word.

For grants

In the United States, hours count as match

The Recreational Trails Program (RTP), the federal trail funding program, pays 80% of a project's cost in most states; the rest, the non-federal share, falls to the project sponsor. The law allows the fair market value of donated services to be credited to that share (23 U.S.C. 206), and the Federal Highway Administration specifies that those services include volunteer labor (FHWA). One limit to know: volunteer hours reduce the cash match you need, they are never reimbursed. The federal payment stays capped at what was actually spent (FHWA, 1999).

The federal grants regulation sets several conditions, including these: the contribution must be verifiable in the recipient's records and must not already be counted toward another federal award (2 CFR 200.306). The states that run the program then spell out what they want to see. Washington State requires seven items for each volunteer: name, contact information, dates of service, worksite, description of the work, hours, and the signature of the volunteer or crew leader (RCO, Manual 8). Oregon asks for nearly the same list and accepts electronic signatures (OPRD, 2026). Virginia wants a daily timesheet with every entry signed by the volunteer (DCR Virginia).

The rate varies by state too: $24 an hour for contributions made since January 1, 2026 in Washington (RCO), $35.76 for unskilled labor in New Hampshire (NH Bureau of Trails), Independent Sector's state rate in Virginia. A volunteer doing the work of their trade, an electrician or an excavator operator, can be counted at a higher rate if you can justify it. The federal regulation then asks for a rate consistent with what the organization pays for similar work, or with the local labor market if it has no one in that trade (2 CFR 200.306(e)). New Hampshire asks for proof of pay for this, usually a pay stub; without it, the hours are counted at the unskilled rate.

In Canada, hours are reported more often than they are valued

Several major Canadian programs do not accept volunteer time as a contribution to project cost. Trans Canada Trail says it plainly: although it is of great value, volunteer time is not eligible. It still recommends tracking the hours during the project and including them in the project description (Trans Canada Trail). In Quebec, the Ministry of Education's program for developing the Sentier national excludes in-kind commitments or contributions and only accepts expenses paid to a third party (PAFSNQ, 2025-2027, in French). The federal Active Transportation Fund guide likewise excludes goods and services received as donations or in kind; its call for projects is now closed (Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada).

Others accept it, each at its own rate. The MRC de La Matapédia, a Quebec regional county municipality, recognizes volunteer work at $15 an hour, within a cap of 25% of the minimum required contribution that it shares with other in-kind contributions such as loaned premises or equipment (MRC de La Matapédia, 2025, in French). The MRC de Sept-Rivières, in its community living environment stream, uses the minimum wage plus $2 an hour and asks for the number of volunteers, their tasks and the expected number of hours (MRC de Sept-Rivières, 2025, in French). In Alberta, the small stream of the Community Facility Enhancement Program counts $20 an hour for unskilled labour, $40 for a ticketed trade and $120 for heavy equipment with its operator, but excludes travel time and mileage to pick up materials, as well as time spent on fundraising, grant applications, meetings and planning (Alberta). The Ontario Trillium Foundation asks its grantees to report the number of volunteers and the volunteer hours contributed, and to keep all records related to the grant for six years (Ontario Trillium Foundation).

In France, volunteer work goes into the project budget

The French grant application form for associations (CERFA no. 12156) has lines for voluntary contributions in kind, volunteer work among them (service-public.fr, in French). For stream 2 of the Fund for the Development of Associative Life (FDVA), the 2026 guidance note for the Gard department states that these contributions can be part of the required 20% co-financing (SDJES du Gard, 2026, in French). The guide from the ministry responsible for associations recommends keeping supporting records: the volunteer's name, the nature and quantity of the work, the value used, and the name of the person in charge (associations.gouv.fr, in French).

For insurance

In Quebec, CNESST coverage is calculated on hours

A volunteer is not automatically covered by the CNESST, Quebec's workers' compensation board, if they are injured; coverage is optional and the organization applies for it (CNESST, in French). The law requires a declaration of the nature of the organization's activities and of the volunteer work, the number of volunteers expected during the year, the average duration of their work and the period to be covered (Act respecting industrial accidents and occupational diseases, s. 13, in French). After that, the CNESST asks you to keep a detailed list of your covered volunteers, with their name, role and number of hours, which it may audit. The premium is calculated on the minimum wage in effect on December 31 multiplied by the total hours of those volunteers (CNESST, in French).

Rando Québec, the province's hiking federation, draws the practical conclusion for its members: keep a log of hours and tasks during the year, by type of declared activity, to fill in the year-end declaration. For organizations with no employees, where registration is optional, the federation recommends covering at least the regular volunteers, because trail building can carry risks from hand tools and the forest environment (Rando Québec, in French). Elsewhere in Canada, the schemes differ. In Manitoba, a non-profit or charitable organization can apply to have its volunteers covered; if the board admits them, they are deemed to be its workers (Manitoba Workers Compensation Act, s. 75.1). In Ontario, the WSIB says volunteers are not generally covered (WSIB).

In the United States, the agreement and the record define coverage on federal land

A Forest Service volunteer is considered a federal employee for tort claims and for work-injury compensation (16 U.S.C. 558e); the same holds in national parks (54 U.S.C. 102301). The Forest Service's volunteer coordinator guide stresses the agreement signed before service begins: it contains the service description and the duty hours, and both become "extremely important" in the event of an injury (USFS). For a group that volunteers together consistently on the same project, such as a monthly trail crew, the Forest Service asks that the volunteer program's timekeeping system capture the dates and hours of service of each member (USFS).

The ATC spells it out for its clubs: the volunteer services agreement must be completed and signed by every participant, even for projects lasting only a few hours. On National Park Service sections, the volunteer must also be listed in the club's records as a member, on the work trip roster, or under another agreement. In every case, the club must keep good, accurate written records, including for volunteers who are not members. Travel in personal vehicles to and from the work site is not covered (ATC).

In France, a list of names filed in advance

Public-interest organizations can take out workplace accident insurance for their volunteers with the local health insurance fund (Social Security Code, art. L743-2, in French). The application includes a list of volunteers by name, grouped by type of activity, which can only be changed during the first fifteen days of the month before each calendar quarter (art. R743-4 and following, in French). At the French hiking federation, the FFRandonnée, the official trail marker card only insures marking and maintenance work when it is done under a mission order from the department's trails committee (FFRandonnée, in French).

To show what donated work is worth

In the United States, the reference is the value published each spring by Independent Sector and the University of Maryland's Do Good Institute: $36.14 an hour for 2025, a preliminary estimate announced on April 21, 2026, up from $34.79 for 2024. It starts from the average hourly earnings of production and non-supervisory workers on private non-farm payrolls, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and adds 15.3% for fringe benefits (methodology). It is also published by state, from $17.99 in Puerto Rico to $54.77 in the District of Columbia (Independent Sector, 2026). Independent Sector itself warns that this average is not designed for special cases such as specialized work (FAQ). It is the value the ATC applied to its 2025 hours, at the 2024 rate published in April 2025.

In Canada, there is no equivalent official hourly rate; we found none from Statistics Canada or Volunteer Canada. Statistics Canada does publish the total economic value of volunteering: $31.7 billion in 2023 for Canada, of which $4.7 billion in Quebec (Statistics Canada, table 36-10-0618-01). Volunteer Canada points out the limit of the exercise: multiplying hours by a rate doesn't show the impact of the work (Volunteer Canada). A total of hours is more convincing when it travels with the work done: the kilometres cleared, the culverts replaced, the signs put back up.

In France, the accounting standard for associations (ANC regulation no. 2018-06) classifies volunteer work as a voluntary contribution in kind. It has these contributions valued and recorded when they are essential to understanding the organization's activity and the association can identify and value them; otherwise, the association explains in the notes to its accounts why it does not, and describes the nature and scale of these contributions, for example the number of volunteers (ANC, 2026 compilation, in French). No text sets a rate scale. The ministry cites methods ranging from the hourly minimum wage (SMIC) to replacement value (associations.gouv.fr, in French), and the ANC's commentary on the regulation asks for verifiable bases, drawn for example from timesheets or work records, and for valuation practices that are transparent and applied consistently. For reference, the gross hourly SMIC has been €12.31 since June 1, 2026 (service-public.fr, in French).

Organizations that have been counting for a long time use the figures with their public partners. In its 2025 report to Congress, the Continental Divide Trail Coalition adds its 17,305 volunteer hours from 2024, valued at $579,544, to $1.44 million in private funding, then compares that $2.02 million total with the $295,000 allocation it received from the Forest Service: $6.80 for every federal dollar (CDTC, 2025). The Maine Appalachian Trail Club reminds its volunteers that their hours help it compete for funding from the National Park Service and other sources (MATC).

To recognize volunteers

Each organization picks its own unit. The Washington Trails Association counts work parties: a personalized green hard hat after the fifth, then further milestones up to more than a thousand (WTA). In the United States, 250 hours of service, which can accumulate over several years, with participating federal agencies can earn a volunteer the annual federal lands pass; the National Park Service notes that volunteers are responsible for tracking their own hours (NPS). The FCMQ sets aside one dollar from each trail permit sold for a program to recognize and thank volunteers and, with Kimpex, draws gift certificates each year among its 4,500 volunteers (FCMQ). In every case, you need a reliable record to know who has reached which milestone.

What to record

Putting the requirements above side by side, the same basics come up almost everywhere:

  • the name of each person present (Washington State also asks for a way to reach them);
  • the date;
  • the place: the trail, the section or the worksite;
  • the work done, in a few words;
  • each person's hours;
  • a signature, from the volunteer, the crew leader or the project manager, depending on the funder.

Two additions make the record much more useful. The first is a work category: the ATC has its clubs break their hours down into field work, trail management, training, corridor monitoring, administration, outreach and advocacy (MATC). It publishes 155,256 hours without travel and advocacy, and 202,319 hours including them (ATC, 2025). The second is the person's trade, if you plan to value skilled work at its own rate.

Questions to settle before the first work day

Does travel time count?

This is where practices differ most. The Finger Lakes Trail Conference asks volunteers to include their travel time (FLTC, 2023). The North Country Trail Association makes it a separate category, from home to the project site and back (NCTA). The National Park Service excludes commuting between home and the duty station (NPS, Reference Manual 7). For the RTP, Washington and Oregon let you claim either travel time or mileage, never both. There is no single right answer: check what your main funder asks for, and record travel separately so you can add it or leave it out depending on the report.

Training and administration?

They often count, but not everywhere. The ATC includes 8,647 hours of training in its total, 5.5% of its 2025 hours. The National Park Service counts approved training. On the other hand, Alberta excludes meetings, planning and grant applications, and Oregon excludes time spent completing progress reports and reimbursement requests for the grant.

Who records, and when?

At the Finger Lakes Trail Conference, the project leader reports the hours for the whole crew, to avoid hours being missed or counted twice. At the Green Mountain Club, each volunteer fills out a report after every outing (GMC). The North Country Trail Association accepts both: an individual report, or a total reported for the whole group. Either way works. A season rebuilt from memory in December, on the other hand, satisfies neither a funder who wants verifiable records nor the list the CNESST can ask for.

How long should records be kept?

Three years after the final financial report under the US federal rule (2 CFR 200.334), but states can require more for the RTP: six years after closeout in Oregon, nine years in Washington for a project with federal funds. Six years for the Ontario Trillium Foundation.

Whatever your answers to these questions, write them down and apply them all season. Oregon requires that a single valuation method be used throughout a project, and the ANC's guidance asks French associations for the same consistency.

In Sentinel

In Sentinel, time is logged on a task or on a checklist trail, for a whole crew in a single entry, even with no signal (Log time on a task). Each entry keeps the date, the task with its trail and project, the description, the people, and who made the entry. A work role for your volunteers keeps their hours apart from payroll: leave it with no cost, or give it the rate your funder uses, frozen at the time of each entry. People without an account, such as a subcontractor, and rented machines are added with their role. The Timesheets section groups hours by person, role, project or task, closes periods and exports an Excel file with one row per entry. Signatures stay on your funder's sheet, if it requires them.

Sources

Further reading

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