Upper Cowlitz Valley Trails Coalition: a Team-up of Hikers, Mountain Bikers and Equestrians
Historically, hikers, horseback riders and mountain bikers haven’t always shared the same goals about using trails. WTA and our trail maintenance partners in Southwest Washington are a part of ongoing work to change that. By Joseph Gonzalez
Historically, hikers, horseback riders and mountain bikers haven’t always shared the same goals about using trails. WTA and our trail maintenance partners in Southwest Washington are a part of ongoing work to change that.
The coalition, composed of WTA, Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance (EMBA), Orogenesis, Packwood Trail Project (PTP) and Back Country Horsemen of Washington (BCHW) exists to meet the needs of hikers, equestrians and mountain bikers alike across the state. This dedicated group of combined trail users advocates for lands by hosting joint events and trainings to develop the Cowlitz Ranger District into a more modern trails system. The district, located in Gifford Pinchot National Forest, is currently underfunded and stretched thin.
Trails organizations go further working together, and building a bridge correctly ensures it's strong enough to accommodate all trail users.
While conversations of forming a coalition began as early as 2018, the organizations didn’t unify under a charter until 2020. Before that, each organization had teams working in the national forest, but we largely joined forces on an ad hoc basis (EMBA and BCHW had worked together in the Green River Valley as early as 2018). Creating joint events, hosting trainings and engaging with each organization’s volunteer communities has helped align values toward a common goal.
Together, these organizations recently hosted the Cispus collaborative chainsaw training. Trail users from the coalition taught chainsaw skills and safety, and refreshed our respective communities on the latest policies. Environments like these help deepen relationships between the hiking, riding and biking communities that recreate in Gifford Pinchot National Forest. This was the second year in the row the coalition hosted this event.
“Prior to events like these, I might only get five people at a work party. Or none! When we started meeting regularly, it felt like The Fellowship of the Ring: like the elves, dwarves and men in the movie, we all had our differences, but we were uniting for the common good,” says Ryan Ojerio, WTA’s southwest regional manager.
Decades ago — in the 60s, 70s and 80s — the cultural landscape of trails was different. Trail users felt siloed from other communities they shared the trails with, with a tendency for more of an “us” and “them” 'mentality. Breaking down “us” vs. “them” thinking is hard when trail planning conversations are framed as competition between types of people, rather than how a trail system could be designed to optimize experiences for a diversity of activities. After all, plenty of people use trails in more than one way.
Before and after of work done at 4th of July trail. Photo courtesy of EMBA.
Besides teaching hard trail skills, these coalition-hosted joint trainings serve as a vehicle to expose trail users to other trail communities. Working together on the same team towards a common goal to improve trail systems is the easiest, most direct way to learn that most of the time, we all want the same thing. In this case, to steward trails and provide access to the land.
“It’s important to ask what your organizational shared values are,” says Ryan. “Almost every project I work on has volunteers who wear multiple hats — they also volunteer with the Chinook Trails Association, Mount Saint Helens Institute or some other organization passionate about trails.”
Sharing knowledge and resources is an integral part of collaborating on trail projects. Photo by Karin Plagens
Each person’s chosen ways of enjoying trails will evolve throughout our lifetime. Regardless of how trail users enjoy these lands — on foot, hoof or tire — we share similar goals: to protect trails for future enjoyment. Lack of federal funding and climate change pose existential risks to these trails we all love. Uniting our strengths, like in the Upper Cowlitz Valley Trails Coalition, helps unify our goals, broadens our vision and creates a larger sense of community to shape the future of trail work and preserve our trails.
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