Deschutes Trails Coalition distributes stewardship grants from room-tax revenues to nine projects

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The Deschutes Trails Coalition announced Thursday the nine projects that will receive stewardship grant funds from $600,000 in room-tax revenues provided by Deschutes County.

Early this year, DTC proposed to the Deschutes County commissioners to invest a portion of Transient Room Tax (TRT) funds* to support trails and trail-related infrastructure throughout Deschutes County. The commissioners unanimously voted to contribute $600,000 of TRT funds toward this purpose.

The DTC used these funds to develop the Deschutes Trails Coalition Stewardship Grant program. A nine-person advisory committee was convened, with members from across Deschutes County specializing in a variety of disciplines. The advisory committee worked this fall to review and make recommendations for funding allocations.

The DTC said it is excited to announce that the following projects have been selected to receive funding through the DTC Stewardship Grant:

• Green Lakes Trailhead Host Hut – Friends of Central Cascades Wilderness (FCCW)
• Increased Volunteer Skills & Capacity for 115 Miles of Trail Maintenance – Central Oregon Trail Alliance (COTA)
• Newberry National Volcanic Monument Trail Accessibility Project – Deschutes National Forest
• Oregon Badlands Wilderness & Reynolds Pond Trail & Accessibility Improvements – Oregon Natural Desert Association
• Route Information for 30 Gravel Bike Trails/Routes – Dirty Freehub
• Shevlin Park Trail Improvement Project – Bend Parks & Recreation District (BPRD)
• Spectre Ranch Acquisition for Paulina Creek Reserve – Deschutes Land Trust
• Three Creek Meadow & Chief Paulina Horse Camps Corral Replacement – Oregon Equestrian Trails (OET)
• Trailhead Ambassador Program – Discover Your Forest (DYF)

This is a huge opportunity for Central Oregon trails, for the DTC and its partners, and for our community of trail users – locals and visitors alike. This substantial allocation of county funds acknowledges the value that trails bring to the local and regional economy, and recognizes that increased use and other factors are taking a toll on our trails. Existing and predicted funding sources are insufficient to address the basic maintenance needed to sustain our trails in their current state, let alone the growing deferred maintenance backlog.

For more information about the DTC Stewardship Grant, please visit DTC at deschutestrailscoalition.org/ or email DTC’s Executive Director, Jana Johnson, at info@deschutestrailscoalition.org.

* The county collects an 8% transient room tax on rentals of rooms or space for lodging in unincorporated areas of Deschutes County for a period of up to 30 consecutive days. 

About the Deschutes Trails Coalition (DTC)

The Deschutes Trails Coalition (DTC) formed in 2017 from diverse local and regional recreation stakeholders who came together to provide community leadership and support to Central Oregon land managers in an effort to address escalating challenges to our trail system. The coalition is made up of nearly 35 trails organizations, land management agencies, visitor bureaus, conservation organizations, businesses, and organizations representing youth, and underserved populations. More specifically, DTC’s vision is a deliberately designed and sustainably maintained regional trail system that is stewarded by land managers and the community, and upholds the four Pillars of Sustainability:  environmental, social, economic, and physical.