Who's Who in Trail Maintenance
Who's behind WTA's great trail work to maintain our state's best hiking trails? Check out this 'Who's Who in Trail Maintenance' to find out.
WTA's trail maintenance program, the largest state-based program of its kind, coordinated over 2,000 volunteers last year who gave more than 83,000 hours on 148 trails on Washington's public lands. Now a new year has begun, and so does another season on trail. Our dedicated staff and crew leaders have already begun scoping trails for damage, collaborating with agencies to identify and prioritize trail projects, recruiting volunteers, and coordinating the first of over 700 work parties we expect to complete by the end of the year.
Who's behind all this great trail work to maintain our state's best hiking trails? Check out this 'Who's Who in Trail Maintenance' to find out:
WTA's Volunteer
Coordinator, Alyssa Kreider, keeps
track of the more than 2,000 volunteers who help out on trail every year. She
helps
them through the
entire volunteer process from signing up
for a work party to
recognition for their
efforts. She also manages the
on-line schedule and
compiles reports for land
managers. In her five years at WTA, she has spent more than 200 days in the
field working alongside these volunteers. Alyssa grew up in Ohio and learned to love hiking through an annual trek to
the Great Smoky Mountains, where she summited
the Chimney Tops multiple times as a youth. Her favorite hike is the Weden Creek
Trail in the Darrington Ranger District.
Alan
Carter Mortimer is WTA's Field
Director, and of all the WTA office staff, he logs the most hours in the woods
(and in his truck.)
Alan oversees the planning and implementation of trail
construction and maintenance projects. He works closely with land managers and
sets up projects on the ground, and coordinates with crew leaders to ensure
everything is in place for the volunteers when they arrive. He also trains
volunteer crew leaders for the trail maintenance program. Alan has been a
volunteer with Washington Trails Association for 11 years and a crew leader
since 1998. Alan's favorite hike is the Copper Pass -
Twisp Pass loop on the Okanogan National
Forest.
Jenni
Blake is WTA's Trail
Programs Director, and has the responsibility of keeping our growing trail
maintenance program on course. She supervises staff, sets the schedule and makes
arrangements with land managers about work parties. Jenni has worked in
wilderness, recreation and trails most of her adult life. She began her outdoor
career volunteering for the Payette
National Forest in Central Idaho on a two person, self supported trail
maintenance team. Her favorite hike is the up Stafford Creek towards Navajo Pass.
WTA's Program
Coordinator is Tim Van Beek. Tim
has been crew leading Volunteer Vacations around the state for WTA since 2005.
This year Tim stepped from his
role as crew leader into the role of Project Coordinator for WTA’s Volunteer
Vacation program. He works closely with the various land management agencies to
come up with a set of up 32 projects that will not only address important
trail needs, but will also entice a crew of 12 volunteers to spend a week in the
back country. His favorite hike is
High Divide by Mt.
Baker or anywhere in the
Enchantments.
Krista
Dooley is WTA's Youth
Programs Coordinator. She handles WTA's youth and family outreach, including the
Families Go Hiking clinics and guided hikes. Krista also coordinates WTA's
schedule and logistics for
the Youth
Volunteer
Vacation
program, a growing summer
program which now includes nine week-long Frontcountry “Beginner” and four Backcountry “Advanced” trips for teens. Krista enjoys hiking
anywhere in the Goat Rocks Wilderness.
William
Scrafford is WTA's Southwest
Washington Regional Coordinator. Will
supports our growing
volunteer and membership base in the Vancouver and Portland areas through outreach at
local events, coordinating round-table discussions with local volunteers and
crew leaders, and scheduling trail maintenance work parties. Will works
closely with land
managers in the Gifford Pinchot National
Forest, Columbia River Gorge Nat’l Scenic Area and various State
Parks such as Beacon Rock and Cape Disappointment, to find projects that address hiker
interests in that region. His favorite hike is
the Falls Creek Falls Trail in the Wind River Recreation Area of the Gifford Pinchot National
Forest.
Mike Owens is WTA's Chief Crew Leader. He leads the mid-week trail crews throughout the year and has a strong following of volunteers who come back time and again because of his fun work parties. Mike led 161 crews last year and has more 1,400 days on the trail under his belt. Chances are you'll see him if you sign up for a work party Tuesday through Friday. And you're sure to have a good time.
WTA’s trail maintenance program is truly a volunteer-driven program. WTA could not accomplish such an ambitious schedule without the help from a trained and dedicated volunteer crew leader base. Last year, 119 crew leaders gave several days of their time - 100 of whom gave five or more days. This is essential for WTA work parties to maintain a ratio of 8 new “green hat” volunteers to each experienced WTA crew leader.
To be in touch with any of our trail maintenance staff persons, see WTA's contact page.
