THIS MATTERS
As much as we already love our rail-trails, they’re about to get even better. ➼ It’s hard to believe now, but when the Mon River Trails Conservancy (MRTC) first formed in 1991 to create the region’s beloved rail-trail network, the group had to persuade skeptical city leaders that anyone would use it. There wasn’t ever really any doubt. As soon as the conservancy opened its first two sections in 1998, one along the Monongahela River and one high up on Deckers Creek, the trails inspired riverfront revitalization and a blossoming of outdoor 18
Morgantown • Aug/Sept 2015
events. The rest is living history. MRTC’s 50 miles of trail—20 miles along Deckers Creek, part of which runs through a wild, rocky gorge, and 30 nearly flat miles along the Mon River—is used by everyone from birders and bicycle commuters to school athletes in training and hospital patients getting physical therapy. “We’ve basically developed a 365acre linear park,” says MRTC Executive Director Ella Belling—that is, MRTC’s trail network is huge. It’s one of the
largest managed by a nonprofit organization anywhere in To give back the nation, to the trail that and all the gives so much to more rare for Morgantown, visit having both montrails.org and urban and click “Join Us.” rural sections. The secret to MRTC’s success is a less visible network: The organization is widely consulted for its savvy in forming government partnerships, in motivating an active volunteer membership, and in growing the Deckers Creek Half Marathon annual tourism fundraiser that this year drew 640 participants from 25 states and netted more than $20,000. Few organizations have done as much over the past quarter-century for Morgantown’s charm, livability, and health. Now though, our mature trail system is making new connections— internally with city neighborhoods and
Support Your Trails
Ella Belling
A Longer Journey SUPPORTThis