Mission Statement
Evergreen creates and protects sustainable mountain biking opportunities in Washington.
Who Are We?
Evergreen is Washington States largest mountain bike advocacy and trail building group. Created in 1989 as a grassroots solution to local trail networks closing to riders, Evergreen (formerly BBTC) became a viable force in the trail building and advocacy community. Due to the progression and growth of the sport, the past decade has lent itself to the expansion of the organization. Evergreen has 3 paid full time staff, one part time staff member, and an expansive network of dedicated volunteers ready to assemble, build and advocate throughout the year.
Evergreen boasts of:
- A network of over 5000 members/contributors.
- Over 7000 volunteer hours annually.
- Over 500 individual volunteers annually.
- Over 700 rides led per year.
- Over 200 Mountain Bike Bootcamp graduates introduced to the sport and the culture.
Evergreen focuses on:
Advocacy:Â Evergreen advocates for trail access and funding with city, county, state, and federal officials. In addition, we coordinate volunteers to protect, maintain, and build single and shared use trails and mountain bike parks.
Education:Â Evergreen educates the public on the benefits of mountain biking and how to safely and responsibly ride off road.
Recreation:Â Evergreen provides recreational activities to anyone who wants to go mountain biking. Our web site hosts a ride calendar that opens up group rides exposing interested riders to new trails and new friends.
Evergreen started in 1988 when several mountain bicyclists joined together in response to trail closures that were rapidly occurring in the Northwest. This group, originally called Concerned Off Road Bicyclists Association (CORBA), officially incorporated with Washington State as a non-profit in April 1989. By the spring of 1990 another mountain bike group had formed, the Backcountry Bicycle Trails Club (BBTC), which was also working on mountain bike access issues. By June 1990 these two groups merged and adopted the latter name.
Originally oriented towards political advocacy, the club has expanded over the years to focus on education and facilitate recreation. Hundreds of riders have acquired trail care skills, responsible riding techniques, and trail safety knowledge through the trailwork parties, educational sessions, communication methods (website, newsletter, action alerts), and group rides offered year-round. The BBTC has become very well known within the riding scene for providing access to organized group rides, and within the external community for its strong foundation and solid reputation based on training, commitment, and follow through.
As an organization, we are proud of our successful shift from a reactive stance, fighting for public trail access, to a proactive approach geared towards building positive, cooperative relationships with federal agencies, public & private land owners/managers, environmental organizations, and other trail user-groups, while consistently taking care of the trails we ride on!
Become an Evergreen Member and Help Make Washington a Better Place to Ride!
