.jpg)
News » COTA Receives Recreational Trails Program Grant
Posted on 12/17/2009 by jwhite
The Central Oregon Trail Alliance (COTA) is pleased to announce that we have received the go-ahead for a large grant from the Federal Highways Administration for the Recreational Trails Program, administered by Oregon State Parks. This Grant provides partial funding for the Wanoga Mountain Bike Event area, a project which will create 35 miles of new multiple-use trail that COTA and the USFS have spent the last seven years developing.
The Grant will reimburse COTA for up to $56,000, covering two thirds of the total project budget of $84,000. The remainder in matching funds must be raised by COTA through corporate sponsorships, individual donors and memberships. The funds are going to be used to purchase equipment, tools, trail head kiosks, materials and signs to develop a state-of-the-art trail system. The Wanoga Trails will provide links to Edison Snow Park, Swampy Lakes and other Century Drive Trail heads, as well as the Deschutes River. These trails will improve the connections to recreational access for the communities of Deschutes River Woods, Sunriver and Bend.
COTA will be relying on it’s supporters and volunteers even more as this project progresses due to the fact that many trails outside the Wanoga area will also need the usual regular maintenance. This grant funds only the Wanoga area, and it will last only two years. Of course, COTA’s major focus will be on completing the trails and related facilities in the Wanoga area but we will continue to maintain some 280 miles of other trails as well. COTA has implemented a detailed Adopt-a-Trail program and is aggressively ensuring all the Trail Stewards have appropriate training and certifications to perform the necessary work on their particular trail. We are not spread thin, but we are busy. Your support is crucial for your trails!
COTA is greatly indebted to our major corporate supporters over the past several years. The Wanoga Project and most of COTA’s efforts have been funded substantially by The Willard L. Eccles Foundation, REI, U.S. Bank, Seventh Mountain Resort, Bend’s Big Fat Tour, Xterra Trail Run Nationals, High Cascades 100, WebCyclery, Pine Mountain Sports, Footzone Bend, Sunnyside Sports, Cog Wild Bicycle Tours, Hutch’s Bicycles, Steep Planet, Deschutes Brewery, 92/7 FM, Thule, Silver Moon Brewing, Active Therapeutics, Feedback Graphics, McMenamin’s, Adventure Maps, Trinity Bikes, Chinook Technology Consultants, and many, many others.
Dozens of people worked many hours to apply for this RTP Grant, especially Kent Howes, Woody Starr, Chris Kratsch, Paul Thomasberg and Jade Mayer of COTA but many others contributed support which helped COTA’s proposal rise above the rest. We also owe a sincere debt of thanks to the following people and entities for the generous and complimentary letters of support which were included in the successful RTP Grant Proposal:
U.S. Senator Ron Wyden
Shane Jeffries, Disctrict Ranger, Bend/Fort Rock Ranger District - USFS
Bruce Ronning, Bend Metro Parks & Recreation District
Bob Woodward, Chairman of the Board, Bend Metro Parks & Recreation District
Tim Casey, Executive Director - Bend Chamber of Commerce
Alana Audette, President & CEO – Central Oregon Visitor’s Association
The Deschutes County Ad Hoc Committee on Recreation Assets
Ryan Levering, Outreach Specialist – REI Bend
Teague Hatfield, FootZone Bend
Cynthia Kane, PhD - Clear Choice Health Plans
Susan Bonacker, Sunnyside Sports
Melanie Fisher, Cog Wild Bicycle Tours
Mike McMackin, Hutch’s Bicycles
Paul Thomasberg, Mountain Bike Hall of Fame inductee
Kim Curley, Community Outreach, Commute Options for Central Oregon
Henry Abel, WebCyclery
Kreg Lindberg, President, DogPAC
COTA’s Mission:
The Central Oregon Trail Alliance is dedicated to the stewardship of sustainable, multiple use trails and to preserving access for mountain bikers through advocacy, education and promoting responsible trail use.