Thank You, Land Managers!

Despite a lot of challenges in 2020, our trail maintenance program accomplished plenty last year. And none of it would have been possible without support from our agency partners. After all, without them, we wouldn't have trails to work on.

Our land manager partners made trail work possible in 2020. Photo by Jim Clute.

We rely on strong relationships with land managers across the state every year. But in 2020, they went above and beyond to ensure trail work got done. In some cases this meant quick adaptability around projects or job site locations. Making on-the-ground projects happen meant Washington's trail system was safer in a year when hiking was one of the only things we could do.

Their energy wasn't just directed at ensuring trail maintenance got done, though.

In the early days of the pandemic, we collaborated with them to develop and roll out COVID-19 protocols so we could perform trail maintenance while keeping our crews healthy. Being able to offer volunteer opportunities last year meant not only getting projects completed, we were also able to provide volunteers with safe social interaction during an isolating year.

Adaptability and open communication with our partners meant WTA safely engaged 1,836 volunteers who delivered more than 75,700 hours of trail work in 2020.

Because of support from agency partners, last year WTA was able to pilot projects like the Leadership and Inclusion crew — our first paid trail crew. Photo by Britt Lȇ. 

Land managers also made further accommodations by acknowledging the limitations COVID had put on our contracts, and renegotiating them. Thanks to this sort of flexibility, we were able to pilot a new program — the Leadership and Inclusion crew.

Made up of six folks who have an interest in starting or continuing careers in the outdoors, this is WTA's very first paid trail crew. Their daily fieldwork this summer improved trails at popular locations like Mount Rainier, Deception Pass State Park, and most recently, Discovery Park.

In addition to financial flexibility from land managers, funding from the Office of Recreation and Conservation (RCO), National Forest Foundation (NFF) and National Wilderness Stewardship Alliance (NWSA) made our work this year possible.

We are so grateful for your flexibility, understanding and adaptability. Thank you to all of the land managers who partnered with us in 2020!

City Parks

• Bellingham Parks and Recreation
• City of Sammamish Parks
• City of Vancouver
• Metro Parks Tacoma
• Mount Vernon Parks and Rec
• Seattle Parks and Recreation

County Parks

• Clark County Parks
• King County Parks
• Kitsap County Parks
• Skagit County Parks and Recreation
• Spokane County Parks and Recreation
• Whatcom County Parks and Rec

Friends Of Organizations and nonprofits

• Friends of the Columbia Gorge Land Trust
• Mount St. Helens Institute (MSHI)

National Park Service

• Mount Rainier National Park
• Olympic National Park

Tribal Governments

• Yakama Nation

Universites and Colleges

• Washington State University - Vancouver

US Department of Fish and Wildlife

• Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

US Forest Service

• Colville National Forest
• Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area
• Gifford Pinchot National Forest
• Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest
• Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest
• Olympic National Forest
• Umatilla National Forest

Washington State Department of Natural Resources

• DNR Northwest Region
• DNR Olympic Region
• DNR Pacific Cascade Region
• DNR South Puget Sound Region

Washington State Parks

• Beacon Rock State Park
• Deception Pass State Park
• Dosewallips State Park
• Kopachuck State Park
• Larrabee State Park
• Moran State Park
• Mount Spokane State Park
• Riverside State Park

Our land managers rock, too. Photo by Stasia Honnold.