Thanks to a $75,000 grant, the Portland-based Northwest Trail Alliance (NWTA) will purchase a new machine that will enable them to build more trails more easily. The grant is from the federal government’s Recreational Trails Program (which is funded through the gas tax) and it was administered by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department.
Allow me to introduce you to the $75,000*, Oregon-made, Single Track ST240…
(Photo © J. Maus)
The NWTA applied for the a grant back in January and just received confirmation of their award this week. The OPRD grant required a 20% matching donation and NWTA President Tom Archer said they’ve already raised $15,000 thanks to member donations and several fundraising events. They plan to take delivery of the ST240 by May of next year.
Archers says they’ve already got plans to use the machine to build trails at Stub Stewart State Park, Sandy Ridge, and maybe even on the proposed new pump track at Mill Park in East Portland.
The purchase of the ST240 is just one part of NWTA’s new Trail Development Partnership Program. The program will also include an extensive trail building training as well as an expanded partnership with land managers and other agency partners around the region. Far from being something anyone can just hope on and blaze a trail with, Joe Rykowski, the new program’s interim director, says all operators will be required to show proof of certification in a sustainable trail building course and the ST240 can only be used to build trails that have been formally approved.
http://nw-trail.org/forum/trail-care-trail-building/trail-building-resources/2312
Having the expertise and resources to build sustainable mountain bike trails — instead of having to rely on cash-strapped public agencies and land managers to do it — removes a major hurdle in creating new places to ride. On that note, later this month the International Mountain Bicycling Association will bring their Trailbuilding School to Portland
Learn more about the Trail Development Partnership Program on NWTA’s website and watch a video of the ST240 in action below…
*CORRECTION: The original version of this story listed the price of the ST240 as $94,000. The actual price is $75,000. The $94,000 figure includes purchase of the machine, a trailer to haul the machine, some accessories, and the initial operator training for 10 people. I regret the error.
Demo of ST 240 trail construction machine by Barrett Brown from Joe Rykowski on Vimeo.