Trail Tracks YAVAPAI TRAILS ASSOCIATION

SUMMER 2020

PRESIDENT'S COLUMN

Ann Hendrickson, YTA President’s Message – Summer 2020

ANN HENDRICKSON AN INTRODUCTION TO OUR NEW PRESIDENT

Following in the footsteps of George Sheats is like taking the ball from Tom Brady and becoming the new quarterback! George has imprinted on the City of Prescott, and he has left behind a legacy of contributions to the many organizations in Prescott that he so generously supported both with manpower and financial support. I am two years new to Arizona; however, I have a long history of being associated with trails. I spent over a decade as a Board member and a volunteer trail crew leader of the Appalachian Trail and Mountain-to-Sea trail in North Carolina. Building partnerships on a city, county, state, tribal, and intrastate level is a skill that was needed in managing a segment of a 2,193-mile-long trail. Twelve years ago, I was intrigued by a class entitled “Yes, Virginia, you too can build a rock staircase.”It was my introduction to trail work, and I have been hooked ever since. After years of hiking on mountain trails around the world, I had not really thought about how or why they were built. I now know the sweat equity, time and expense that go into building even a mile of new trail. As a volunteer, I cannot imagine a more satisfying and rewarding experience. Frosting on the cake is the friendships that are built with kindred souls working with you. The greater Prescott community has everything I was looking for: mountains, trails, and a fine community of people. I joined the volunteer Over the Hill Gang trail maintenance crew, and then discovered YTA, and deemed it to be the organization with the most history of advocacy, experience, and sense of purpose. With a background of working on footpaths, I have totally embraced our multi-purpose non-motorized trails. I am so impressed with how well all user groups not only get along together on the trail, but also work well together making decisions about the trail. The same can be said for the different land managers, whether it is the cities, or the forest staff. I am so proud of Yavapai County for our network of trails and the opportunity to participate on a couple different levels. Working on the Mountain-To-Sea Trail Going forward, our organization faces many challenges. Our trails are recording record numbers of users, demand for more trails, and not enough resources to go around. YTA will continue to have a strong priority relationship with the Circle Trail that we spearheaded less than three decades ago. Raising funds for the devealopment of the Peavine rail-to-trail in Chino Valley is another priority that will ultimately result in the connection of the rail-to-trail from Prescott Valley to Chino Valley. One more new initiative for YTA to give back and foster new trail volunteers is the “Trail Adoption” of the Ranch 62 trail. As an organization, we will take the responsibility of maintaining a segment of this trail. Our Prescott Circle Trail Challenge program is in its second year and is extremely popular with all user groups.  Please join me in working hard to further the efforts that YTA has set out to accomplish. We need volunteers to help the organization, we need more trail volunteers, and of course we need financial support as well. Please email me your thoughts and suggestions at: [email protected]. Or look for me on the trail, in my hiking boots, on my mountain bike, or working with trail tools.

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CHINO VALLEY PEAVINE ACF PROJECT 2019-2020 The YTA Chino Valley ACF 2019-2020 project is complete. Two benches have been installed in two locations on the trail. Two trail counters have been installed as of 03/2020. Readings for March and April indicate 1) a 40% increase in trail usage in April over March; 2) Currently (per counters at two trail access points) there are roughly 100 individuals using the trail a day and 3) it is projected that this segment of trail will experience 35,000 to 40,000 users in 2020. In March, the bridge at 4N was repaired. Iron railings were fabricated (75 ft.) and installed. The erosion at all 4 corners was mitigated with treated timbers installed with ½ inch rebar, and backfilled with rock. Three loads of Select 1” A Bond were delivered and partially spread to improve the surface condition of the bridge. All the equipment and deliveries used in this project were donated. 250 volunteer hours by the Over the Hill Gang trail crew provided all the “in-kind” labor.  Please watch for updates on our work and how you can help make the dream of a rail-to-trail system connecting Prescott Valley, Prescott and Chino Valley become a reality. All donations earmarked for this project are greatly appreciated. (Yavapai Trails is a non-profit 501 C-3 organization) Currently we are seeking donations for more benches along the trail. The benches installed, with a donor’s plaque, memorial, or organizational name cost $800.00. YTA is also seeking individuals interested in becoming trail volunteers. Please Contact YTA at: [email protected] CHINO VALLEY RAIL-TO-TRAIL (PEAVINE) GRANT AWARD Yavapai Trails Association has recently been awarded a generous $10, 450.00 Grant from the Arizona Community Foundation to continue trail improvements on the 5.3-mile rail-to-trail segment in the Town of Chino Valley. With support from the Arizona Heritage Fund, the town of Chino Valley purchased this five miles of the rail corridor in the early 1990s, converted it to a trail bed, and opened the completed trail segment in 1994. Along the rail-trail, you will pass through the ghost town of Jerome Junction, established in 1894 and once a stop on the Santa Fe, Prescott, and Phoenix Railway. For the past few years YTA has taken a leadership role in improving this unique trail segment. The grant will allow for the purchase of an informational kiosk, dog waste stations, trail signs at road crossings, trail signs at parking lots (other than the kiosk), trail bed material, another bench, trail tools for the local trail volunteer maintainers, and equestrian friendly gate latches. These trail improvements are intended as a step closer to connecting the Peavine segments into one contiguous gem of a trail. We at YTA continue to advocate and strive for this to happen in the near future. Our communities and partners in Yavapai County are uniting to work toward this common goal. We are thankful for ACF’s generosity in providing the financial means to realize this unique trail. Please watch for updates on our work and how you can help make the dream of a rail-to-trail system from Prescott Valley to Chino Valley become a reality. All donations earmarked for this project are greatly appreciated. Watch for upcoming workdays to install the CV trail upgrades.    Rail-to-trails create healthy recreation and transportation opportunities by providing people of all ages with attractive, safe, accessible, and low- or no-cost places to cycle, walk, hike, jog, or horseback ride. Rail trails like the Peavine, have all the traditional conservation benefits of preserving green space, but also have additional benefits by way of their linear nature. As tools for ecology and conservation, greenways and trails help preserve important natural landscapes, provide needed links between fragmented habitats, and offer tremendous opportunities for protecting plant and animal species. In addition, they can allow humans to experience nature with minimal environmental impact. Besides being sources of Community identity and pride, rail-to-trails have a positive economic effect for the communities that are fortunate to have this resource available to them. YTA will continue to strive to advocate and be a leader in promoting the development and sustainability of our rail-to-trail system in Yavapai County. Many thanks to The Arizona Community Foundation for making this a reality!

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YAVAPAI TRAILS ASSOCIATION AWARDED FUNDING BY THE NATIONAL WILDERNESS STEWARDSHIP ALLIANCE In early June 2020, Yavapai Trails Association (YTA) was one of 39 organizations in the nation to be awarded funding to complete a project that will utilize private donations, volunteer resources, and Forest Service funding through an agreement with the National Wilderness Stewardship Alliance (NWSA). The $10,000 grant award will be utilized to fund a critical backlog of maintenance on Wolverton Mountain Trail #9415 in the Prescott National Forest. This five-mile segment of trail is part of the marque 54 -mile non-motorized Circle Trail that is the “hub” of most of the trails in the greater Prescott area. The Wolverton Trail is a widely popular trail amongst mountain biking, hiking, and equestrian community. The American Conservation Experience will be hired to do part of the trail work and the Over the Hill Gang, a volunteer trail maintenance crew will work on the remainder of the trail. It is anticipated that the work on the Wolverton Trail will commence in early September. The work will consist of brushing and short sections of rock armoring to stabilize the trail tread. All group volunteer trail work has currently been suspended due to the pandemic, but will resume when it is determined to be safe to do so.  YTA is pleased to once again partner with the Prescott National Forest to assist in obtaining and maintaining sustainable trails in Yavapai County. We also appreciate the donors who have been generous to back this project. A million thanks to all the volunteers who so willingly put in many hours of service. We are grateful as are the thousands of trail users. A quote from the NWSA Grant Committee: “The NWSA is excited to offer this 3rd round of funding to support the volunteers, nonprofit organizations, and agency partners who are stewarding the National Forest trail system on their local public lands. These trail stewardship projects will accomplish much work needed to improve and sustain trail conditions in our National Forests. Americans are lucky to have such diverse and beautiful National Forest lands across our country, but we are even luckier to have caring stewards who give their time and their energy to this unique American resource.” For more information please contact Jason William, Prescott NF Trails & Wilderness Manager at (928) 777-2220 or Ann Hendrickson, YTA President (262) 893-9479  THE PRESCOTT CIRCLE TRAIL CHALLENGE Back in 1990, the Yavapai Trails Association initiated the idea of a non-motorized trail that would “circle” the city of Prescott. With many partners and volunteers, by late 2014, the 54 mile Prescott Circle Trail (PCT) was completed for the enjoyment of hikers, equestrians, and mountain bikers.  For the second year, YTA has partnered with Russ Lyon Sotheby’s Real Estate to sponsor the Prescott Circle Trail Challenge. We invite you to achieve the physical accomplishment of completing the entire Prescott Circle Trail on a bicycle, hiking, riding a horse, or any combination! Upon completion of the Prescott Circle Trail, you can fill out a form and you will receive a personalized Certificate of Completion, and either a Prescott Circle Trail patch, bolo tie or bumper sticker, free of charge. https://www.yavapai-trails.org/prescott-circle-trail/  The Prescott Circle Trail is a 54-mile non-motorized trail gives hikers, backpackers, horse riders, and mountain bikers a route through Prescott National Forest, City of Prescott, Yavapai County, and state lands. You will get views of Watson Lake, Willow Lake, and Goldwater Lake, cut through Granite Dells, and take in Granite Mountain and Thumb Butte.

HIKING SPREE 2020 CANCELED

Due to the global pandemic, we are sorry to announce the Hiking Spree 2020 will not take place. We feel the annual kick off at the Highlands Center for Natural History is a cornerstone to this event. Since it is unknown if a large crowd will be able to safely congregate, it is difficult to plan.  YTA is committed to continuing the long tradition of the Hiking Spree. We look forward to 2021 to continue the Hiking Spree.

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NONPROFITS TO BENEFIT FROM NEWLY AUTHORIZED CHARITABLE DEDUCTION OF $300 With the stimulus bill recently signed into law, taxpayers can now donate to nonprofits via a temporary above-the-line deduction of up to $300 whether or not they itemize. The newly passed CARES Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act is designed to lessen the impact of the economic downturn on non-profit charitable organizations, such as Yavapai Trails Association.  Please consider making your donation today! Our work to build, maintain, and sustain our non-motorized trails in Yavapai County needs your support now more than ever. Our 900 miles of trails have been an invaluable resource for all our residents and visitors to find peace, solace, and recreation during these unprecedented times. Along these same lines, if you are of the age when a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) is required from your retirement savings account, please consider contributing to YTA. Please visit: www.Yavapai-trails.org to donate. SHOP & SUPPORT YAVAPAI TRAILS ASSOCIATION Every year, Amazon allows its customers the opportunity to give back to their local community simply through shopping. If you sign up for Yavapai Trails ­Association custom link to the Amazon site, .5% of the price of eligible purchases will be donated back to us at no extra cost to you! If you haven’t committed your Amazon Smile donation already, please take a few moments to do so now. THANK YOU! RICHARD COLEMAN CHINO VALLEY PEAVINE TRAIL VOLUNTEER Our community is lucky to have so many wonderful organizations and volunteers who maintain our trails so we can all enjoy them. Yavapai Trails Association is honored to acknowledge one such hero, Richard Coleman.  Richard moved to Chino Valley about 5 years ago from the Tucson area. Richard was employed by a company in Tucson whose projects included the L1011 Jumbo Jets, and their 100 Ton Jacks. In Tucson, he volunteered countless hours on the Santa Cruz Wash trail system. This trail system has 130 miles of asphalt and concrete trails, originally built on dirt. Today, this trail system is enjoyed by tens of thousands of residents and visitors alike.  Since moving to Chino Valley, Richard has tirelessly committed time to the Chino Valley portion of the Peavine Trail. He usually works on the trail from 8-11 DAILY! There is a lot of manual labor involved in filling wash out areas with rock and dirt. Another effort is to control the weeds along the edges, and in the middle of the trail.  The Arizona Community Foundation recently awarded YTA a $10,000 grant to be used on this section of the Peavine Trail before June 2021. Part of the requirement of the grant is “in-kind” donations of time, equipment, and monetary. Richard will be actively involved in fulfilling this grant obligation with his dedicated volunteer effort. Dedicated volunteers are what make all these trails a reality. Richard is on the Citizens Safety Board for Chino Valley recreation. He has attended many of their meetings and provided feedback to the members on this committee as an advocate of the Peavine Trail. In this capacity, he has worked with the Over the Hill Gang and Scott Bruner, Community Services Director, Town of Chino Valley. The Yavapai Trails Association recognizes Richard Coleman as a self-starter who is working diligently on this wonderful resource in the Town of Chino Valley.   We encourage and need anyone who would like to help Richard and YTA to work on the Peavine Trail. Please contact us at [email protected] for more information. And we thank you Richard, a million times over for all you are doing for the Peavine Trail in Chino Valley! CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP

YAVAPAI TRAILS ASSOCIATION | www.yavapai-trails.org