Trail projects around Castlegar, Rossland, and the Slocan Valley are among 22 recipients of funding announced this week by the Columbia Basin Trust.
“The Columbia Basin is lucky to have so many spectacular trails that immerse people in nature while exploring local communities,” benefits delivery manager Michelle d’Entremont said in a news release.
“Getting out there is good for our physical and mental well-being, and we thank all the individuals and groups that maintain these trails.”
Projects will focus on activities like repairing damaged trails, increasing accessibility for a variety of users, addressing environmental issues, incorporating Indigenous cultural or heritage values and repairing or adding trail infrastructure and amenities.
The Trust is providing $725,000 toward these projects, plus wage subsidies for organizations to hire trail workers, resulting in the creation of 45 short-term jobs.
Among the groups and projects being funded:
• The Castlegar Parks and Trails Society will receive $17,000 to complete the Grandwazoo Loop for mountain biking and hiking.
• The Kootenay Columbia Trails Society will receive $13,500 to develop a multi-use connector recreation trail adjacent to Rossland.
• The Black Jack Cross Country Ski Club Society will receive $20,960 to build a 2.4-km loop to integrate with trails designated for dog-friendly cross-country skiing and rehabilitate damaged culverts on the biathlon connector.
• The Valhalla Foundation for Ecology will receive $11,200 to increase accessibility to the pathway network in the Snk’mip Marsh at Hills.
• The Slocan Valley Heritage Trail Society will receive $71,500 to stabilize and repair one section of the trail.
• The Nakusp and Area Bike Society will receive $26,480 for the first phase of developing a connector trail between Mount Abriel and Nakusp.
Societies being funded for trail crew positions include the Salmo Valley Trail Society (five), Kootenay Columbia Trails Society (four), Castlegar Parks and Trails Society (two), Nakusp and Area Bike Society (five), and the Black Jack Cross Country Ski Club Society (three),