Oregon Natural Desert Association – $24,310
Oregon Badlands Wilderness and Reynolds Pond Trail Accessibility Improvements
This funding was used to fund a new 3/4 mile accessible trail and bridge to Reynolds Pond, improve signage and fencing at Badlands Rock Trailhead, decommission user-created trails, and monitor/maintain 50 miles of trail and 3 trailheads.
ONDA engaged 67 volunteers and contributed 505 hours of volunteer service over 2 years to successfully complete this project.
Bend Park & Recreation District – $43,560
Shevlin Park Trail Improvement Project
This funding was used for trail improvements within Shevlin Park, including seal coating Fremont Road Trails, a 1.7 mile long asphalt trail, construction of 1,000 feet of new single-track to improve connectivity, updating trailheads with bike racks and kiosk maps and replacing 9 picnic tables along Tumalo Creek with accessible tables.
Central Oregon Trail Alliance – $119,075
Building Trail Maintenance Volunteer Skills & Capacity
This funding was used to hire a part-time trail maintenance coordinator (TMC) for 2 years. The TMC improved COTA’s trail maintenance capacity by developing repeatable processes for sustainable trail maintenance and providing education to trail maintenance volunteers. The Trail Maintenance Coordinator grew volunteer base from 854 to 1,616 as well as increasing the trained crew leaders from 13 to 62.
Dirty Freehub – $24,076
Creation of 30 Gravel Bike Trail/Routes and Guides
This funding supported increasing Deschutes County’s recreational capacity by building a comprehensive set of gravel route guides to address rider safety, accessibility, and sustainability. Dirty Freehub created 30 digital route guides that provide downloadable GPS routes and wayfinding, share historical and cultural information and Leave No Trace principles.
These guides also invite community engagement and volunteerism. During this timeframe, Dirty Freehub started the Dirty Roads Crew, an effort that engaged 55 volunteers who gave over 650 volunteer hours to keep gravel routes free of fallen trees and in rideable condition.
Deschutes Land Trust – $80,444
Spectre Ranch Acquisition Project
This funding went toward the purchase of Deschutes Land Trust’s latest property acquisition, the 1,100 acre Spectre Ranch, which has transitioned into the Paulina Nature Reserve. The property is located along Paulina Creek adjacent to the Newberry National Volcanic Monument. The purchased land conserved will eventually be made available for recreation.
Discover Your Forest – $80,000
Deschutes National Forest Stewards Program
This funding was used to kick start a trail ambassador program, Forest Stewards, to share trail sustainability, and increase messaging around responsible recreation and wildfire risk reduction at high-use areas on the Forest. The program trained 29 Forest Stewards who volunteered a total of 3,014 hours and made 7,182 contacts at 11 trailheads and trails throughout the winter and summer.
Friends of the Central Cascade Wilderness – $13,140
Green Lakes Trailhead Wilderness Host Hut
This funding was used to purchase materials and construct a mobile hut for Wilderness trailhead ambassadors at Green Lakes Trailhead and Devils Lake Trailhead. This structure houses volunteers to share Wilderness information to trail users about trails, Leave No Trace, local restrictions and regulations, all of which ensures that the quality of visitor experience to these trails remains high.
Oregon Equestrian Trails – $45,610
Horse Camp Corral Replacements at Chief Paulina and Three Creek Meadows
This funding was used to replace wooden horse corrals with steel corrals to improve functionality, safety, and sustainability of horse corrals at these two popular locations.The renovation reduced safety issues and the need for future maintenance due to their steel construction.
US Forest Service – $92,527
Newberry National Volcanic Monument Trails Enhancements
This grant funded engineering surveys and designs resulting in construction plans to improve and extend the accessible trail
portion of the Trail of Molten Lands to meet accessibility standards located in the Newberry National Volcanic Monument.
