Thank you land managers, for making 2023 a great year
2023 was the 30th anniversary of our trail maintenance program, and we got a lot of work done, thanks to our rich partnerships with dozens of land managers across the state. We are so grateful for the support provided by our agency partners. Here are some highlights from 2023!
2023 was the 30th anniversary of our trail maintenance program, and we got a lot of work done, thanks to our rich partnerships with dozens of land managers across the state.
Photo courtesy Joshua Orendorf.
We can't do any trail work without support from our land manager partners. Each year, they strategize with us about which trail projects will maximize our ability to improve Washington's trail system. Once we determine where we'll work, they provide our crews with cozy campsites, boat support for some trips, tools, and even in-person work so you can hike clear trails year after year.
We are so grateful for the support provided by our agency partners. Here are some highlights from 2023; we can't wait for the work they'll help us accomplish in 2024.
Federal Partners
U.S. FOREST SERVICE
The forest service received an influx of funding thanks to the Great American Outdoors Act several years ago, and since then, the forests in Washington have funneled some of that funding to WTA. The increased funding means more work on trails: 67,207 hours last year, specifically!
Chelan Lakeshore. Photo by Dawn Rorvik.
The Colville National Forest increased their financial support for WTA's work, and Olympic National Forest offered several trips for shared-identity groups so WTA can continue exposing the joy of trail work to more people.
Home to the Alpine Lakes Wilderness and the wildly popular Enchantments, the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest offered our Lost Trails Found crew several weeks of robust logout work in the Schneider Springs Fire area, giving the professional crew a chance to experience and rehab a part of the state that hasn't seen trail work in years.
Our Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie and Gifford Pinchot partnerships provided us dozens of gorgeous locations to work, but also both forests collaborated with us to create trails or vision plans for the sustainable future of those areas.
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
Home to some of Washington's most recognized landscapes, our national parks provided WTA trail crews with gorgeous campsites and scenic project locations last year (as they do every year).
Longtime partners Mount Rainier and Olympic national parks provided locations for dozens of day work parties as well as overnight trips. Plus they helped us make shared-identity events possible. Olympic also supported cross-user, future-focused collaborative work like the Olympic Peninsula Outdoor Recreation Collaborative.
Mount Rainier National Park. Photo by Bob Zimmerman.
And we were thrilled to return to North Cascades National Park for our 30th anniversary, after a 7-year hiatus from working there. The projects were substantive, and the crews had a ton of fun. We can't wait to come back.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife
A partnership with the national wildlife refuge system brought in a new type of volunteer opportunity this year: trailhead ambassadors. These folks were stationed at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge this year, though WTA did have ambassadors on several state lands as well.
Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge. Photo by Bob Adler.
Tribal Governments
Our ongoing partnership with the Yakama Nation allowed us to do a lot of recovery work from the Cougar Creek fire near Mount Adams, and restore access to hiking trails in the area. A new partnership with the Kalispel Tribe created a unique opportunity we hope to repeat: A frontcountry BCRT to improve a trail in a community forest owned and managed by the tribe. This project met our goals of accessibility and established a great new partnership with a new-to-WTA land manager.
State Partners
WASHINGTON STATE PARKS, Department of Natural Resources, Department of Fish and Wildlife
Mailbox Peak, Mount Si, Beacon Rock, Mount Spokane and Deception Pass — all these popular locations are on state land, and they all require lots of work to stay up to snuff for hikers.
Beacon Rock State Park. Photo by James Alexander.
Ongoing support from Washington State Parks helped our crews complete 14,556 hours of trail work from Cape Disappointment to Mount Spokane; Beacon Rock to Deception Pass State Park. Plus, an agreement this year with Dash Point State Park connected our Emerging Leaders Program participants with park staff, where they learned about not only trail work, but about community engagement to understand how best to improve the trail system there for the people visiting it.
The Department of Natural Resource offered unique opportunities for our Lost Trails Found pro-crew to stay in the popular Gothic Basin while they provided trail maintenance work on the trails in that area. And an agreement with the Department of Fish and Wildlife stationed trailhead ambassadors at boat launches and trailheads in central Washington, spreading knowledge about responsible recreation and how to hike sustainably.
Our partners at the Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Fish and Wildlife and Washington State Parks made the work we're doing for Trails Rebooted possible in 2023, and we're excited to see where we go in 2024.
Local Partners
COUNTY PARKS and City Parks and utilities
Did you know that Washington's most popular trail is actually managed by Seattle Public Utilities?
Glendale Forest. Photo by Kaci Darsow.
Local partners are some of our closest collaborators for our Trails Next Door work, since these locations have trail systems typically just a handful of miles from city centers.
King County Parks, one of our strongest and longest-term partners, have been key in our work at Glendale, one of our main Trails Next Door focus areas.
Our city park partners have provided work locations all over the state on popular areas like Little Mountain Park in Mount Vernon, Sharpe Park in Anacortes, Behrens Woods in Vancouver, even Rattlesnake Ledge out near North Bend.
FRIENDS OF ORGANIZATIONS, NONPROFITS and other specialty partners
Our fellow nonprofit partners and hyperlocal organizations are key to providing genuine connections to people who live and work in the areas we're improving trails.
From the Columbia River Gorge to Eastern Washington, Eatonville to San Juan Island, we want to say thanks to these folks for another year of collaboration.
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