Opt-In for Trails

SUPPORTING OUR TRAILS

Opt-In for Trails raises funds for priceless network

BY JESSE JAMES McTIGUE

Think of a favorite memory in Telluride.

Let me guess. You’re on a trail.

For many of us, major life moments, or the act of processing them, have happened on trails — dates, engagements, connecting with friends, grieving, considering careers, developing ideas, analyzing parental choices. Trails are an integral part of mountain life and that’s aside from the physical benefits, the workouts, the training, the racing, the summits and the PRs we reach on them.

We can’t put a price tag on our trails, which has never been clearer than in the last year when we turned to them for all the reasons listed above, plus for a bit of normalcy, a bit of sanity.

The fact is, though, the creation and maintenance of the trails network in and above this valley require funding. According to Heidi Lauterbach, the director of the Telluride Mountain Club, a nonprofit that advocates for outdoor recreation, “It can cost upwards of $35,000 to construct 1 mile of trail. People don’t realize how expensive these trail projects are. And, in the Telluride area, there is no perpetual funding source for trails.”

Lauterbach explains that the costs for trails extend well beyond the build; that’s actually the easy part. Just to propose a trail, different organizations work together to research, plan and flag. Additionally, she notes, trails on public lands must go through review under the National Environmental Policy Act, which includes public comment before the trail is even approved.

The mountain club, for instance, is currently working with the United States Forest Service to build a replacement bridge on the eastern part of the popular Jud Wiebe trail where it crosses Cornet Creek. The estimated cost is $160,000.

Funding for trails comes from a host of entities, governmental and private, including grants, but Lauterbach emphasizes that none is a perpetual source of funding.

To address this problem, the mountain club examined what other mountain communities did to make up for the shortfall. The best example they found, says Lauterbach, was Crested Butte’s 1-percent additional sales tax allocated for trails and open space, which is voluntary. In other words, patrons have the right to opt out.

The mountain club has launched a flexible model for Telluride, the Opt-In for Trails initiative, that encourages local businesses to choose to opt in in a way that works best for them. Look at what participating local businesses are doing and it’s evident they’re getting pretty creative to support trail projects in Telluride.

Stronghouse Brew Pub, for example, donated $1 for every pint of beer sold on Tuesdays during the winter. Box Canyon Bicycles offers a “round up” option, which allows the customer to round their bill up to the next dollar on all bike rentals. Jagged Edge Mountain Gear sells mountain club hats and donates the proceeds. And, the Telluride Tourism Board and Between the Covers donate proceeds from the sale of the Telluride calendar.

Says Lauterbach, “The hope for the Opt-In for Trails program is that if we all work together, we’ll be able to improve and maintain the place we love well into the future.” For more information on participating businesses and the work of the Telluride Mountain Club, go to telluridemountainclub.org/opt-in-for-trails/.

SHOW THE LOVE

Want to show our local trails some love while enjoying the outdoors? The Telluride Tourism Board has partnered with the Telluride Mountain Club to organize a series of clean-up weekends for trails June 18-20, July 9-11, July 30-Aug. 1, Aug. 6-8 and Aug. 20-22 with Aug. 21 specific to Mountain Village. Stop by the mountain club’s booth at the Telluride Farmers’ Market on the Fridays of these weekends for gloves and trash bags. For more information, go to telluride.com/community-clean-up.