A total of 48 programs were selected, receiving nearly $550,000 in funding
May 20, 2021
By Kali Kotoski
The National Forest System Trail Stewardship Partnership Funding program has announced 48 projects that will receive funding for the year.
The program received 92 proposals in total, equaling over $1,000,000 in funding requests. The 48 selected proposals will receive $547,689 in funding with grants typically ranging from $2,000 to $20,000. Projects were proposed in all of the Forest Service Regions with eight regions being selected.
“We were able to fund more than half of the projects which contained over 80 percent of the potential accomplishments from all the projects submitted,” said Randy Welsh, Executive Director of the National Wilderness Stewardship Alliance. “We look forward to a lot of wonderful volunteer engagement and trail maintenance work to be completed this summer and fall.”
The selected projects return on investment (from cash and in-kind contributions) is roughly 5-to-1. The projects are expected to be completed between May and December of 2021.
The National Forest System Trail Stewardship Partner Funding Program is intended to encourage and support volunteer and stewardship group trail maintenance and reduce the trail deferred maintenance backlog on the National Forest System. The program directly supports the implementation of the National Trails Strategy, which has a goal of doubling volunteer trail work in the next decade.
The National Forest System Trail Stewardship Partner Funding program is sponsored and managed by the USDA Forest Service, in collaboration with the National Wilderness Stewardship Alliance, American Trails, American Hiking Society, Back Country Horsemen of America, International Mountain Bicycling Association, American Motorcyclist Association, and the National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council.
Organizations Receiving NFS Trail Partner Funding in 2021
| American Endurance Ride | Nevada County Woods Riders |
| Arnold Rim Trail | New Mexico Volunteers for the Outdoors |
| Ascend Wilderness Experience | Northeast Tennessee Economic Development |
| BCHA – Gila | Overland Mountain Bike |
| BCHA San Joaquin-Sierra | Potomac Appalachian Trail Club |
| BCHA Virginia Highlands | Roaring Fork Outdoors Volunteers |
| Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation | Routt County Riders |
| Camp Grier | Santa Fe Fat Tire Society |
| Colorado Fourteeners | Selway-Bitterroot Frank Church Foundation |
| Continental Divide Trail Coalition | Silver Threaders Club |
| Cottonwood Foundation | Sonoran Desert Mountain Bicyclists |
| Durango Trails | Source One Serenity |
| Enchanted Circle Trails | Toulomne River Trust |
| Friends of Panthertown | Tucson Off-Road Cyclists |
| Friends of Pathways | Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado |
| Green Mountain Club | Wallowa Mountain Hells Canyon |
| Headwaters Trail Alliance | Washington Trail Association |
| Idaho Trails Association | White Mountain Trail Collective |
| LaVeta Trails | Wild Alabama |
| Love in Motion, Puerto Rico | Wild Arizona |
| Mammoth Lake Recreation | Wildlands Restoration 1 |
| Mountain Bike the Tetons | Wounded Soldiers and Families |
| National Forest Foundation – Gunnison CO | Yavapai Trails |
| National Forest Foundation – Sawtooth | Yosemite South Gate Trails |
Additional information on the Trail Partner Funding can be found at www.wildernessalliance.org/funding_programs.