Accomplishments

Washington Trails Association's recent accomplishments:

2007

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  WTA lobbied for additional funds for DNR lands during the 2007 legislative session in Olympia.

  Increased funding for DNR lands by advocating to double allocation of DNR Natural Resource Conservation Areas.
• Provided more than 77,000 hours of volunteer service on trails, with more than 1,850 volunteers spending at least a day with us helping trails.
• Completed new construction of a family-friendly 1.3 mile trail at Beaver Lake Preserve near the City of Sammamish.
• Hosted 9 Volunteer Vacations for youth with 71 participating teenagers for a week of trail maintenance in a team-building, wilderness environment.

• Created an online storm damage map and database for hikers to track trails damaged or inaccessible due to fierce winter storms in 2006.

2006

• Debuted our Signpost Blog, providing hikers with breaking news and hike suggestions, and encouraging hikers to post their thoughts on everything from trail etiquette to funding.
• Opened the new Greg Ball Trail at Wallace Falls State Park. Built by dozens of volunteers, most in their teens, the opening celebration was kicked off with an inaugural hike.
• Successfully fought a slew of bad bills before the state legislature that would have compromised the wilderness quality of several important hiking trails.
• Released our Hike It guide to draw public attention to ten of our state's threatened trails and wilderness areas, including Gothic Basin and the Rachel Lake Trail.