The Conservation and Natural Resources Advisory Council s Review and Recommendations Regarding DCNR s Role and Responsibilities with Trail Maintenance in Pennsylvania December 3, 2008 Clifford C. David, Jr. Chairman Kurt Leitholf Executive Director Joan Dupes Administrative Asst. - 0 -
Project Introduction In 2007, in conjunction with the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), the Conservation and Natural Resources Advisory Council (CNRAC) conducted a year-long study of Pennsylvania s Trails and Greenways Program. The findings and resultant recommendations from CNRAC were presented to DCNR. As we reviewed the findings of that trails study, we recognized that the issue of trail maintenance came up repeatedly in the many conversations held across the state. The importance and use of trails in our communities, and across the Commonwealth, is apparent. The value in the diversity of trails in Pennsylvania has been highlighted in such recent conferences as the Governor s Outdoor Conference and reinforced during the Trails and Greenways Summits hosted annually by DCNR. Recognizing the key role played by trails in the provision of outdoor recreation, CNRAC carried out an interview process in an attempt to identify those major issues affecting trail designers, trail constructors, trail supporters and trail users, as it applied to trail maintenance. Through this process we have tried to identify those areas that still need focused attention, and which require cooperative efforts in developing solutions. With this report we will be communicating those key points made by those interviewed, and attempt to identify those areas where DCNR is, or should be, trying to address for the future. We will also be offering a series of recommendations to DCNR as way to address these consistently-identified trail maintenance issues. - 1 -
Review Process and Presentation A series of interviews were conducted with individuals identified as being directly associated with: the design and/or construction of trails; the maintenance of these trails; the responsibility of promoting and marketing these trails; the financial support of the trails; and/or the use of these areas. The interview process began in April and concluded with input received from the Trails and Greenways Summit held in late September. A listing of those individuals contributing directly to this process is provided in Appendix A. In this report, CNRAC reports key findings, presents its own set of key recommendations, and ultimately presents a vision statement for DCNR s role in trail maintenance. The key findings section summarizes those ideas, concerns, and recommendations presented to the interviewers. It is the hope of the Council that this report will lead to more detailed and focused discussion, and then action, by DCNR in addressing the trail maintenance needs of its local and regional partners. As always, the Council stands ready to assist the Department by researching specific findings and/or actions, and then in moving these recommendations forward. - 2 -
Key Findings - Consistent design criteria for trail creation is necessary. Recognizing that trails need to be designed for different uses, it is important that the intended use of those new trails be identified upfront, and that those trails are designed to a statewide or national standard. There are several key components to this issue. a) Certified trail designers need to be available to provide training. These trainers need to be available to serve many different types of communities of trail users. b) Funding, or financial assistance, needs to be made available in order to support these trail design trainers. c) Specific user-type trail maintenance manuals should be reviewed and integrated into statewide training programs; and d) Improper trail design leads to larger maintenance problems in the future. - Financial assistance is needed in providing trail maintenance. There are a number of local models available that provide examples of how communities or trail groups are providing for, or supporting trail maintenance. But those models may not be transferable to all situations and varieties of options need to be offered. Some of these options include: a) the use of a percentage of a local or state tax for trail maintenance; b) as a key component of future statewide bond referendum; c) the continued use of federal Recreational Trail funding; and d) the development of local trail corporations or coalitions that search for, and provide, trail maintenance financial support. - Assistance is needed in providing trail maintenance labor. Most trails require some level of, and continuity in, manual labor. Trail organizations commonly are in need of additional sources of this labor force. Some potential sources of assistance are: a) swing crews funded by state agencies such as DCNR, or through private industry, that are available to provide hands-on training and assistance for trail maintenance; b) community service provided through school districts community service requirements; c) local/regional volunteer service organizations that can provide trail maintenance assistance (i.e., scouting programs); - 3 -
d) youth programs such as the Student Conservation Association and Conservation Corps; e) the PA Department of Corrections, or adjudicated youth organizations; and f) local governments that through multi-municipal agreements provide trail maintenance support. - Assistance is needed in identifying potential volunteers for trail maintenance. Most trail systems do not have the luxury of not needing volunteers to provide trail maintenance assistance. Regardless of the type of trail, maintenance of trails is necessary in order to ensure the user of the trail that it is, and will be, a safe and clean avenue for exercise and enjoyment of the outdoors. Some ways to attract or identify volunteer assistance is through: a) service requirements of local educational systems; b) advertisement in local college/university want ads or bulletin boards; c) through advertisement in user-group material; d) through a commonly-developed trail bulletin board website, perhaps through a DCNR want ads section; e) community newsletters; f) Get Outdoor PA programming, or the iconserve program; and g) local AARP chapters. - Agency coordination and cooperation is needed. Many comments and observations focused on problems encountered when agencies (both internally and with others) did not communicate and/or plan or agree, on trail development. Agencies need to: a) show leadership and promote cooperation in establishing standards for trail design, construction, maintenance, and marketing; b) plan to make connections for future trails; c) assist, or provide financial support for others, in the maintenance of trails; and d) develop a Trails Clearinghouse for information on the web. - All trail partners need to share information in a timely fashion. Some opportunities presently exist to share information some examples being trails and recreation newsletters and services, peer-to-peer programs, and the aforementioned Trails and Greenways Summit. But a timely, interactive medium is necessary to communicate real-time concerns and issues among trail planners and users. - 4 -
Suggestions for this service included: a) a Trails Clearinghouse, perhaps hosted by DCNR; b) identification of a Trail Coordinator at the state level, with direct contact availability; and c) better advertisement, promotion, and support for DCNR s peer-to-peer program. - 5 -
Key Recommendations - Form a statewide Trail User Advisory Committee that is represented by: designated state and national agencies, major trail user and trail provider groups, and local government. This group should meet on a regular basis on a date, and at a place mutually agreed upon. A defined mission should be provided up front and should be reinforced and supported by the action of the committee s participants and representatives. The goal of the committee should be to promote the planning, development, maintenance, and marketing of Pennsylvania s trails systems. This advisory committee should foster the coordination and cooperation in trail policy between agencies. The committee should be required to report annually to the state legislature and the Governor s office progress made in the development, promotion and maintenance of PA s trails network. - Continue to develop and promote a comprehensive Trails Clearinghouse website. This website should include: a) a statewide system of various trail layers, that is interactive and allows timely and coordinated updates to the data base; b) an ability to provide daily updates on the conditions and/or status of trails; c) an index of specialized user group websites and their e-mail addresses; d) a forum for information exchange and public announcements; e) a want-ads section for volunteers, jobs, or equipment needed; f) a schedule of training opportunities; g) an index of training manuals; and h) referrals for possible service/maintenance providers, such as local Department of Corrections affiliates, or school districts requiring service projects for their students. - Identify and coordinate sources of dedicated funding for trails. Previous sources of funding for trail planning and construction have been in decline over the last several years, and are not expected to return to previous funding levels. Funding resources for trail maintenance were never plentiful. If - 6 -
Pennsylvania wishes to play a role in supporting or expanding the existing network of trails, we will need to look at innovative approaches for their sustainability. For example, if a portion of the recent state forest gas lease sale were used to start a trail maintenance fund, DCNR could have a source of funds to distribute in a competitive grant process, from interest generated from the fund. - Continue to produce and provide hard copy trail maps. Users of trails still prefer to have maps in hand, or within easy viewing distance, when using a trail that they are unfamiliar with. These maps should provide contact information for input by users into present trail maintenance information. These trail maps could be presented in some of the following ways: a) by map dispensers at trailheads. A deposit box for volunteer contributions for the printing of the maps could be provided; b) through the regular posting of maps along the trail; c) through the purchase of detailed maps from user group or trail organizations beforehand; or d) printed from information provided on the DCNR Trails Clearinghouse website. Happier trail users may lead to future trail ownership, which may ultimately lead to future maintenance providers. - Assist in providing trail maintenance and trail design training. DCNR has provided a great service to Pennsylvania by heavily investing in the planning and construction of a wonderful trails network. In order to protect this historical investment, DCNR should assist in providing trail maintenance training. This assistance could take a number of forms: a) gathering and providing access to all training manuals on a DCNR Trails Clearinghouse website; b) providing a forum on that website for trails maintenance experiences and the sharing of information; c) promoting the peer-to-peer program, and providing connections between user groups with experience and those without; d) providing trail maintenance funding for user groups; e) by providing connections for those who have trail maintenance equipment, with those that don t; f) organizing maintenance activities with youth groups/organizations as a way to promote future trail stewardship; and - 7 -
g) providing funding or support for the development of statewide or regional swing crews that can provide hands-on training for trail groups, user groups, and/or local government, on trail maintenance. These crews should be able to work on publicly or privately owned lands. - Require that all future DCNR trail grant applications include a supportable and wellthought out plan for future maintenance. To protect future investments of funding to new trail building, DCNR should require that all grant applicants for new trail connections, extensions, and/or improvements provide a comprehensive maintenance plan for that trail with welldefined and supportable evidence that indicates that sufficient thought was put into the sustainability and future maintenance of that trail. DCNR should develop, define, and present, in consultation with its partners, those acceptable standards in its grant application form. - Continue to educate Pennsylvania s local government officials about the value of trails, and their responsibilities in maintaining these trails. Trails that exist in local communities provide a large number of benefits to those communities. Those benefits need to be explained in ways that can be understood by local government officials. This educational process is tedious, timeconsuming, and never-ending. DCNR can assist in this effort by: a) providing materials to local officials that clearly explain the multiple benefits of trails, such as economic impact studies. These explanations should include as much local detail as possible; b) encouraging and assisting local staff in making such presentations to local officials; c) promoting Trail Days, where local officials are taken out on trails so that they experience the recreational/educational/historical opportunities provided by them, and to discuss the issues affecting the trails; d) providing materials to partners making these presentations to local officials; and e) making or sponsoring regular trail presentations at statewide gathering of local officials. - 8 -
- Show leadership by establishing a statewide vision for the trails network, and making difficult decisions about the need for existing and future trails. The more trails that we have, the greater the need will be for people and equipment to maintain these trails. DCNR, as a way of protecting their investment, should be looking at ways to determine the need for existing and future trails, and by determining the number of new trails that will be financially supported, and can be maintained for the long-term. In order for DCNR to show leadership regarding trail maintenance we offer the following vision statement to the Department Vision Statement DCNR will show trail leadership by hosting and supporting a Trail User Advisory Committee that will provide input, assistance and guidance to state and national agencies, and will promote the development of consistency in trail policy, trail maintenance training and funding support, trail signage, marketing of trails, trail design and construction, mapping, and through the development and maintenance of a Trails Clearinghouse website. - 9 -
Appendix A Individuals Interviewed Name Matt Beaver Kevin Groves Joe Healey Karen Lutz Jeff Johns Frank Maguire Dennis Scholl Malcolm Sias Vanyla Tierney Gwen Wills David Wright Organization/Representation Bureau of Forestry, DCNR Friends of the Wissahickon Keystone Trails Association Appalachian Trail Conservancy Bureau of State Parks, DCNR International Mountain Biking Association Delaware and Lehigh Trail National Heritage Corridor Westmoreland County Department of Parks and Recreation Bureau of Recreation and Conservation, DCNR Pennsylvania Equine Council Allegheny County Department of Public Works Special thanks to the participants of the Trails and Greenways Summit held at Pocono Manor on September 29 and 30 for their input into this subject. - 10 -