Help Protect and Increase Trails in Washington State

Things have gotten much better for mountain bikers since the 1980’s when a group of riders first formed BBTC – now Evergreen – in response to local trails closing to mountain bikes. But those days are not gone.

Mountain bike trails are still under threat almost daily, and the only reason we’re not losing access is because of Evergreen (keep reading for details).

Of course, these days it’s not all about protecting access to trails - Evergreen is also often advocating for the right to build new trails to meet growing demand.  And we’re pretty successful at that too!  But it takes more than manpower to keep the wheels of bureaucracy rolling in our favor… We need your support!

To meet all of our 2013 goals we need to raise a total of $97,000 by the end of the year. So far we’ve secured $66,400 via grants and donations –which is a great start!  But, this means we still need to raise another $30,600 by December 31st to fully fund our advocacy, trails and education programs in 2013! Please donate today so we can make sure you always have plenty of trails to ride.

If you’ve already donated, THANK YOU! We couldn’t do what we do without you.

In 2012, thanks to your support and our advocacy work, we:  

• Established a first ever agreement with the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest resulting in a Forest Service proposal to build 50 miles of front country trail, much of it mountain bike specific, in Number Two Canyon right outside Wenatchee.

• Successfully fought for protection of funding for recreational trails.  We worked with other recreationists to ensure that funding sources such as the federal Recreational Trails Program (RTP), state Non-highway and Off-road Vehicle Account (NOVA), and county Community Partnership Grant (CPG) are preserved.

• Worked to reverse the trail closures at the North Fork Nooksack trails in Whatcom County. So far we’ve received 100% legislator support from the affected districts and recently walked the trails with DNR staff to discuss steps for reopening.

• Saw the Wild Olympics plan come to fruition with protection for many MTB trails.  After years of negotiations by Evergreen, the most important MTB trails on the Olympic National Forest (incl. Lower SF Skokomish, West Fork Humptulips, Lower Big Quilcene and more) are now outside of the proposed Wilderness and will remain open to riding.  This plan will protect the wild areas we love, often via Wild and Scenic River designations, while still allowing access.

• Added three new regional chapters (Eastern WA, Methow, and Yacolt).These new chapters, in addition to our Central WA chapter, strengthen our representation of mountain bikers and our ability to get more done statewide.

• Regularly mobilized our members to effectively speak out about potential new trails, and advocacy and access issues statewide including: Mt Spokane, Lake Whatcom, Wellington Hills Sports Park, RTP funding, WA State Parks, Snoqualmie Corridor and North Fork Nooksack.

It’s been a great year, and we’re thrilled with what we’ve accomplished. But because advocacy work never ends, we’ve got a lot of work to do in 2013 too.

While manpower and numbers are critical, we also need your financial support to get the job done.  Please donate today so we can meet our goals for creating and maintaining access to trails statewide next year.

 

 

Advocacy Goals for 2013:

• Review and respond to the next phase of the Forest Plan Revisions for Okanogan-Wenatchee and Colville National Forests to ensure we retain access to trails.  In 2011 we led the mountain bike community involvement in the first phase of the Plan revision.  In 2013 the draft EIS will be released by the Forest Service and our involvement will be more important than ever or we will lose mountain bike access to hundreds of miles of backcountry trails.

• Strengthen our relationship with State Parks to get more MTB trails built.  State Parks are becoming a key area for growth for mountain bike access and trails in Washington. We will be leading a meeting with Director Hoch to address specific opportunities at parks such as Mount Spokane, Moran, Larrabee, Squilchuck, Olallie and more.

• Reopen the trails at the North Fork Nooksack in Whatcom County. We remain hopeful that we can work with DNRto find a compromise that meets their statutory obligations while reopening trails which are not creating adverse impacts.

• Continue representing the interests of mountain bikers statewide by working with an alphabet soup of organizations, committees, user groups, associations and government agencies including:COG, NOVA, RTP, SCORP, Big Tent, YBIP, SUAC, IRC, RAC, OA, etc.  Having a mountain bike presence “at the table” is critically important to making sure we are heard.

• Continue leveraging our trail maintenance and volunteer work to increase our credibility as trail users and bring value to public land managers. Showing we can build and maintain sustainable trails makes it easier to negotiate for opening or creating even more trails for bikes.

• Work with DNR to implement the Snoqualmie Corridor Recreation Plan and ensure that expanding the network of mountain bike trails is a top priority.  This plan, involving recreation groups including two Evergreen representatives, is scheduled to be completed this year, and in 2013 the focus will shift to implementation. The opportunities here are incredible!

Times are changing and more people are starting to see mountain biking as the low-impact, healthy, benefit to communities that it truly is. But unless we continue to tirelessly advocate for access the tide will turn against our sport once again.  As I mentioned earlier, we still need to raise another $30,600 by December 31st to meet our goals.

 

Please donate today so we can continue protecting trails, and advocating for mountain bike access, statewide!

Again, a big THANK YOU to everyone who has donated so far, and to our sponsors including:

 

If maintaining access to the trails we’ve got – and gaining access to new trails – is important to you, please donate online today. No amount is too small (or large) to help.  

 

Not comfortable donating online via our secure system?

1. Mail a check, made out to Evergreen, to 418 NE 72nd Street, Seattle, WA 98115. Please include your mailing address and email so we can send you a tax receipt.
2. Call the Evergreen World Headquarters at (206) 524-2900and pay via credit card.

Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, and your donation is 100% tax deductible.

Thank you again for your ongoing support! See you on the trails…

 

Sincerely,

 

Executive Director

Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance

 

P.S. Does your company match donations to nonprofits? If so, please report your match to your employer or contact our office so that we may further leverage your generous support.