Crew Leaders

Welcome to the Crew Leader Home Page!

Below you will find all pages and documents you'll need to fulfill your role as a Crew Leader.
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Qualifications:

  • Complete COTA training program (or receive exemption).

  • 1-2 years of prior trail work experience.

  • Basic trail knowledge in all aspects of trail maintenance, hand building new trails, finish work behind machines on machine built new trail construction, and managing people with positive attitude and appreciation of volunteer work.​

  • Must be a current dues-paying COTA member.

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​Interested in becoming a crew leader? Contact us: Here

Training Dates will be posted here. Please check back in February 2025 for spring training dates.

Expectations

You represent COTA when leading crews. How you act is as important as the work you do. Treat everyone with respect.

  • Be a model of safety and trail etiquette.

  • Participate in at least one Trail Love event each year.

  • Participate in and/or lead at least 4 regularly-scheduled work events each year.

  • Complete regular maintenance on trails (Brushing, drainage, treadwork).

  • May lead specialized work after consultation with your staff liaison (Trails Program Director for Crook County, Redmond, Madras, and Sisters; Trails Program Coordinator for Bend and SoDeCo). Such work may include rock work, trail realignment, trail design, machine work, jump building and repair, wooden technical feature inspection and repair, etc.

  • Participate in at least one training opportunity per year.

  • Support and educate volunteers while doing trail work to grow their skills.

  • Log all individual volunteer hours and trail work event hours.

Responsibilities

All trail work must be pre-approved by that chapter’s staff liaison prior to doing work. In particular, don’t plan a work project on a trail in another chapter without talking to your staff liaison.

  • Ensure trail work conforms with the existing character of the trail.

  • Don’t modify or disparage someone else’s trail work. Talk to the person about it, if you can do so respectfully, and come to a mutual agreement on any changes, or talk to your staff liaison.

  • No one adopts or owns a particular trail. We work as a team to scout and divide work according to skill, interest, and availability. That said, people do concentrate on particular trails and develop deep knowledge of those trails. Coordinate with your staff liaison to avoid stepping on someone’s toes.