Once a month, a small army of volunteers armed with pickaxes, shovels, rakes, chainsaws and other tools head into the Pequonnock River Valley Park system.

But they are not vandals. They are nature lovers who perform monthly maintenance for free.

Rich Coffey leads the group of mountain bike riders and hikers into the trails of what is commonly known as the Trumbull valley. His team is the Trumbull Trail Coalition, a broad mix of individuals that bring a diverse knowledge base in outdoor trail management.

Coffey's passion for the 382-acre state park started with mountain biking as a way to maintain his health and spend time with his son. This has given him a very strong and nurturing connection to the park that can be seen in him and his team as well.

"This is some of the most diverse terrain in the state, people come from all over to ride here," Coffey says as he leads the team into the woods. Carrying their tools into the park, the volunteers agree.

Coffey then introduces me to Tom Ebersold, who, along with helping on the trail, works mostly on vegetation management. His job is to cut away invasive plants and he talks about the bittersweet and burning bush while walking.

"These don't do anyone any good," he says, stopping every few yards to kick a loose rock out of the way or sawing at something.

A group has split off to tackle some trees that fell so I tag along with Coffey and his party for the meantime. As we hike further in he begins talking about the plan for the morning.

"We focus on sustainability, making sure the trail will stay in its given condition, shape and contour," Coffey said, adding that much of the work being done now is in anticipation of spring.

As we walk along he points out work that has been done in the past and to my eyes it looks untouched, until Coffey points out the alterations that have been coved to hide their effort. The work combats erosion or trails that become water logged. The next step is to go over the modification and keep it looking natural.

Coffey and his crew are focusing on three areas that require increased drainage along the white trail. "We look at the existing contour and make low impact adjustments, we have to be careful not to do too much," Coffey said.

He and his crew also survey areas called "fall lines" and assess water pooling or erosion, then look at natural angles to make the adjustments using techniques such as nicks, channels, reroutes or armoring. These are used in conjunction with traps and spoons, which draw or collect runoff and divert water to a heavily rooted area to lessen further damage. Some more complex areas of flooding have to be managed with drain wells and large runoff channels.

The first section is tackled with shovels pick axes, raked over and then resurveyed by the group. Tools are collected and accounted for, then it's off to the next section.

Coffey walks athletically through the trail and gives me a piece of history on seemingly every rock and stream as we walk down the old earthen dam to the drained lake floor.  Coffey has recently finished reblazing the trails and mapping them out.

"Some of the older trails can get confusing, going from one color to the next. We had to redo most of it," he said.

We come to a stretch of path that has frozen along its entire length, making it very difficult to bike across. The troop huddles up to make a plan of attack as several bikers have to dismount due to the ice.

I have to go and Coffey and his associates head to the splinter group by following the sound of the chainsaw. As much as the sound is a compass, the blue marks blazed on the trees keep me on track. As the tearing sound gets louder, I see the team among several giant fractured trees. The trees are broken about fifteen feet up and their remaining mass lies across the trails.

"We cut through at the path and then the rest of the log can be used to ride on," says one of the crew.

These natural obstacles have to be pushed and maneuvered from the path and give novice riders and hikers a road to travel while giving the more extreme bikers a challenge. Further down the trail is a large oak that has been up rooted across the path and some other members are deciding how to tackle that.

I follow the blue trail along the stream edge and turn left back towards the trailhead. As the sound of the rushing water fades, a family of four, the youngest just barely walking, pass me and ask how the trails are.

 "They're just fine," I can say with confidence. This trail is here for the public and the members of the Trumbull Trail Coalition ensure that the system will be here for future generations.