Spring Trust for Trails
Opportunities & Accomplishments
Spring Trust for Trails is all about funding Grants for hiking trail opportunities and also accepting Donations that can either be trail target specific by the donor or general to a project we select. 100% of all donations go directly to hiking Trail projects and quite often to a youth program which is in line with Ira Spring's desire to bond Youth at an early age to the out of doors.
As you the reader can imagine there is many hiking trails needing work. Every dollar we collect goes to projects and no matter how big or small a donation is it goes to a project we as a committee feel is best leveraging the dollars we have and receive.
Recent years accomplishments:
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2016 with the assistance of donations we have been able to encourage the US Forest Service to move forward to find funding matches to start designing and doing the environmental paperwork to build a much-needed horse/hiker bridge across the Suiattle River at Milk Creek into the Glacier Peak Wilderness area. After the floods of early 2000 around Glacier Peak Wilderness, much of the accessibility into the Wilderness has been hampered by dangerous river crossings and lack of being able to get crews into repair trails. We are working with volunteer groups to push forward better access to this unique and beautiful area. Funds are being used to continue providing recreation hiking in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness area.
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2017 season, we continued to help fund youth and adult volunteer programs in various parts of the State of Washington and expand our work where needed on trial repairs and restoration on project page a few pictures of programs that were funded.
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2018, with a 50% partnership with WTA we were able to fund a high school backcountry work party for over a month of work on the Boundary Trail along the Canadian/USA Border. A spectacular trail with over a hundred miles of continuous roadless interruptions when hiked. In addition, we funded a Grant to Friends of the Trail to continue their 23 years of tireless work to pick up large quantities of dumped garbage by thoughtless people bring pick-up loads of trash to be dumped at trailhead and roads leading to trailheads.
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2019 along with a partnership with WTA for a second-year funding went to Northwest Youth Corps for a multi-week trail project in North Cascade, as well another funding project with Holden Village to install new foot logs at Lyman Lake as well as Prince Creek, and a third Grant to Friends of the Trail who tirelessly clean the thrash people dump in large quantities along trailhead roads.
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2020, a year for the history books. With COVID forcing volunteer work crews to a literal halt, the Trust had to reevaluate for work that could not be started or completed. We have already started working with organizers to start planning projects for 2021.
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2021, After the COVID issues of 2020, and continuing limitations of using volunteers in the Forest, the Trust opted to contract a Professional Trail Contractor to begin replacing two badly decayed foot logs on the Greenwater Trail near Mount Rainier National Park which supplemented other work being done on the trail before it enters the Norse Peak Wilderness by USFS. In addition, funds were used to help assisting in cleaning up trailhead thrash along I-90 with "Friends of the Trail" from incredible amount of use those trails were getting in 2021.
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2022, Finished funding the heavy construction of foot log replacements with a private trail contractor on the Greenwater Trail, as well as continued supporting "Friends of the Forest" and their trailhead access cleanup efforts. Looking forward to 2023 to go back to helping fund youth and volunteer projects supporting hiking trails.
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2023, Oversaw the multiple year completion of the Greenwater Trail foot logs funded by Trust and Donor dollars just upriver of the two new steel multiple user bridges flown in to complete a safer access to a beautiful forest trail that is snow free usually 10 months out of the year. Funded a Backcountry Horsemen of Washington project to support Northwest Youth Corps on trail repairs in Icicle Drainage Known as "Edgy Ledge." a trail that had to be reconstructed to keep it useable. Also funded a small Grant to "Friends of the Trail" for all the work they do to remove heavy thrash at hiker trailheads, which includes removal of junk cars, trailers, city construction thrash, and even motorboats dumped by the public.
A few pictures below of the Spring Family and friends at work on trails.
Please consider a contribution to this Trust to help others.
Any questions feel free to call or contact:
John E Spring, the Managing Trustee, to hear more of what is next that you could help with.
Thank-you!
The Spring Family Trail Fund’s Federal IRS tax ID number is 91-6512799 and it is an established Foundation under IRS 509(a)(3) with compliance to the guidelines of 501(c)(3). As well as a registered Foundation in the State of Washington.
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