STEWARDSHIP AND
LONG-TERM MANAGEMENT
Trails are an investment that need to be taken
care of. Planning for the long-term management,
care, and maintenance of your trail is essential.
Without this, the trail will quickly fall into
disrepair and become unsafe and unusable.
Trail stewardship is the actions of maintenance,
promotion, and programming on the trail. This
work can be done by anyone invested in the
trail – land managers, trail users, trail advocacy
groups, community volunteers, etc.
Discuss options with the land manager during
both the creation of your project proposal and
trail design. Revisit the information gathered
during these parts of your process and consider
the following:
• Can stewardship be part of the land
manager's care of the trail?
• Does a cooperative agreement need
to be put in place with multiple parties/
organizations to maintain the trail?
• Do you need a dedicated volunteer group?
• How will you record maintenance activities?
• What are the funding options to help train
these volunteers and provide them the
equipment they need?
• If using volunteers or organizations,
what liability practices does the land
manager require?
• How can you maintain relationships with
adjacent landowners?
• What level of maintenance do your trail
users expect?
• What emergency plan do you have for
natural disasters such as fires, flooding, or
tornadoes?
• How will you know when you should close
the trail?
• What sort of trail crossings would
you permit?
Including stewardship in your planning is
another tool to help build relationships and trust
in your process.
Northwest Nebraska Trails Association members perform
trail maintenance in the Strong Canyon area of the Nebraska
National Forest.
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