GRAND JUNCTION, Colo -- US Senator Mark Udall spent the Labor Day holiday touring Western Colorado. He spent time Monday at the Colorado National Monument, taking a look at what federal stimulus money has paid for.

Trail crews took him on a short hike near the Visitor's Center. He got to see the work they have been doing to repair eroded trails. They are making the trails safer and more pleasant for people to use.

All of the crew members were given jobs at the Monument thanks to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The Monument has received about $250,000 in federal stimulus funding since early 2009.

"Here on the Monument, we've seen some investments that will go a long way to attracting more visitors and keeping this the special place that it is," Udall says.

Some of these trails haven't seen close attention in decades, which means erosion and heavy foot traffic have taken their toll.

"The stimulus funding that we received at the Monument allowed us to hire local workers and to create a trail crew for the first time in about 40 years," Monument Superintendent Joan Anzelmo explains.

Conrad Clements leads that crew. He came to the Colorado Nationa Monument from Rocky Mountain National Park in order to work on this project.

"We've been working on about three different trails but our primary focus has been on the Monument Canyon Trail, which is one of our historical and most widely used and popular trails," Clements says.

Clements is one of nearly twenty people who have worked on trail projects over the last year and a half.

"They were hired locally from Grand Junction. Some of them had a little bit of trail experience but for the most part we started off with a crew that had limited trail experience," Clements explains.

But after working through the hot summer, cold winter and the first nine months of 2010, the crew has gotten trail work down to a science. The project wraps up later this month. But, Clements says there's more work to be done.

"We have at least ten years worth of wok on the trails here," he explains.

Senator Mark Udall believes projects like this are crucial for keeping The Colorado National Monument among the top tourist destinations in the state.

"There's potential to expand the Monument in the right way, and there's conversation about turning it into a National Park. But, at the heart of all this we want to ensure that the park has the resources it needs, and has the kind of personnel I met here today," Udall says.

Monument Superintendent Joan Anzelmo says the Monument will continue to work on trails as funds allow. They will use some of the entry fee money for trail projects and compete for funding within the National Park System.

Udall's visit to the Monument is part of his effort to learn more about the economics of the Western Slope. He wants to know about the problems, but also wants to hear ideas for putting people back to work. After leaving Grand Junction, the Udall traveled to Olathe to learn more about the area's agricultural industry.