Trail Stewardship Training Coming Soon

Interested in becoming a COTA Trail Steward? It's a great way to get involved and give some love back to the trails you enjoy.

We're kicking off our revamped Trail Stewardship program with Level 1, Level 2 & Level 3 trainings coming up. 

What's a Trail Steward? - Stewards are trained volunteers whom sign up with COTA to perform basic trail maintenance needs for trails that COTA has a Volunteer Agreement with land managers (ex. USFS, BLM) to maintain. Trail maintenance needs include: logout (up to a log size that can be cut with hand saws (chainsaw use requires additional training and certification), brushing, water management needs (clean out current drains and creating new ones as needed), and basic trail tread maintenance.
- Prerequisites: 1+ year as a trail volunteer locally or other places
- Training Requirements: Minimum 4 hour training course for Level 1 Trail Steward and additional training requirements for Level 2-4. Trail work and experience from other locations will be considered for grandfathering in Trail Stewards after some brief training in COTA protocols.
- Expectations: Attend at least 2 work events, & log all volunteer hours; min 2 year commitment.

The spring training schedule looks like this:

Level 1 - Learn how to look for trail issues, using the COTA App. Focuses on brush, treadwork, sight lines, safety, land management volunteer agreement ▪ DATES: April 7th 9am-1pm or April 21st 9am-1pm; Cascade Lakes Welcome Center

Level 2 - At this intermediate level training, attendees will learn how to logout using folding saws; build/improve drains; build corners to withstand heavy use; and will also have a powerpoint component to delve into more detailed situational analysis of more advanced Trail Maintenance Techniques. This training is highly encouraged for anyone wishing to have a more complete skill set of trail maintenance techniques. ▪ DATES: May 5th 9am-4pm or May 12th 9am-4pm; Cascade Lakes Welcome Center

Level 3 - group management, USFS Trail Design Parameters, land manager process/policies. Classroom setting. Levels 1 and 2 trainings are required for Level 3.  ▪ DATES: May 17th 6-9PM or May 24th 6-9PM; Central Oregon Environmental Center

To sign up, visit our Meetup page here.