|
State Organizations and Local Trail Groups:
Once a trail is built, its long-term success hinges upon the formation of an ongoing, private "Friends of the Trail" organization. Regardless of the competency of the trail managing agency, opportunities always abound for a group of active volunteers to provide assistance--whether through muscle power or political power--that will noticeably improve a trail. The most important function of a friends organization is to act as an advocate for the trail, defending it when necessary and promoting it the rest of the time.
Ideally, whenever a public hearing is held on anything remotely related to the trail facility--a nearby road project, the state's policy on parks, local open space preservation, bicycle policies and air pollution reduction--a "Friends of the Trail" representative should testify and speak on behalf of the trail. Friends also should attend any meeting or hearing concerned with funding for the trail. Funding decisions are highly responsive to public pressure, and money is generally allocated to projects with high public visibility.
Friends groups provide many other services to trails around the country, including physical labor such as "Adopt-a-Trail" litter clean-up, sweeping, brush-cutting, painting, minor bridge repair and construction of support facilities such as benches, picnic tables and kiosks. Friends groups can also act as surveillance to report problems, dangers or inappropriate activities taking place on or near the trail. Fundraising to pay for trail structures (bridges), amenities (such as trail-side rest areas) or threatened adjacent properties of environmental significance that are not included in the regular budget for the trail may also be managed by the friends groups. Additionally, friends groups can create maps, newsletters and other information to educate users and improve the quality of their experience on the trail and promote the trail as a tourist destination throughout the state and region.
The trail managing agency should be careful to maintain legal separation from a Friends group--the trail manager, for instance, should not be an officer or a board member of the Friends. However, the two entities should communicate closely and freely, and coordinate activities and programs so they do not duplicate efforts or pursue divergent goals.
Ideally, a friends group would grow out of the citizen organization that promoted the conversion of the trail. Making this transition, however, often involves the gradual replacement of the original visionary board members and activists with a more broad-based leadership comprised of people from mainstream tourism, corporate, financial and service agency communities. Sometimes changing the group's mission from creating the trail to supporting it can be painful for the original board members, so it should be handled gradually and diplomatically. Other times, the old leadership is only too glad to turn over the work to the next generation!
|
