Bigfoot Trail Alliance
Founded in 2016, and for every year since, we have experienced growth in all of our program areas. 2024 was no different and we are excited to share some of the highlights in our 2024 annual report including our Youth Stewardship Project, National Forest Trail Work, and our Volunteers of the Year.
Youth Stewardship Project
The Bigfoot Trail Youth Stewardship Project is a collaboration between eight organizations, based in rural communities, across the Klamath Mountains and along the Bigfoot Trail. Our focus is to better connect regional youth through place-based experiences, college/career awareness, and experiential summer programming.
This year, one of the highlights was our Science Backpacking trip with Ascend Wilderness Experience. We brought eight youth from across the Klamath Mountains into the Trinity Alps for a 5 day/4 night trip. During the week students collected vegetation data, met with a groups of scientists from Cal Poly Humboldt to learn about geology, and even earned a stipend! Stay tuned for news on how to register your high school student for summer 2025!
National Forest Trail Work
In early 2023 we secured a Regional Master Challenge Cost Share Agreement. This allows the Klamath, Shasta-Trinity, Mendocino, and Six Rivers National Forests to provide partner funds to the Bigfoot Trail Alliance to carry out projects on each forest. We have received funding from all these National Forests for various trail projects.
This year we held 14 trips varying from weekend warrior efforts to week long backcountry adventures. The Yolla Bolly – Middle Eel trips were supported by the Shasta-Trinity, the Marble Mountain and Siskiyou Wilderness trips by the Klamath and Six Rivers. We have many exciting volunteer trips planned for next summer. Join our volunteer list to keep up with opportunities as the arise.
Regional Wilderness and Primitive Trail Summit
On January 11th, 2024 agency and partner groups interested in bettering the trail systems in four northwest California forests gathered. An amazing 35 people attended in person with 5 others joining virtually. We discussed plans for our work in 2024 and visioned around future work (view agenda).
To say this event was a success is an understatement! The last such meeting, based on the recollection of the longest-standing Forest Service employee in attendance, was 1984. We consider this year’s gathering a major step for the future success of our regional trails because of the face to face time we all had, allowing us time to share our frustrations, goals, and successes. We are meeting again on January 8th, 2025. Email us if you would like to attend
Volunteers of the Year
We are excited to announce our 2024 volunteers of the year. Sylas Kauffmann and Oliver Bullwinkle have been dedicated volunteers on trail working trips since 2019 (Sylas) and 2021 (Oliver). Last year they both attended the Siskiyou Wilderness Family Trip and the PCT log out in the Russian Wilderness. They each contributed 110 hours of volunteer time across those two trips. Thanks Sylas and Oliver! Stay tuned for a future news post to learn more about these dynamic kids.
Sylas Kauffmann (left) and Oliver Bullwinkle (right)
Sylas’s Pro Tip: Best part about the trips is coming back to camp, after a long day of work, to a delicious meal.
Oliver’s Pro Tip: If you are a first time volunteer, remember to take your time, learn the tools, and drink lots of water!
Organizational Funding Sources Summary for 2023
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