Trail projects around Nelson, Kaslo, 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 East Shore Trail and Bike Association will receive $50,000 to upgrade the existing trails on the Crawford Peninsula and create new trail spurs to connect Picnic Bay to Cortiana Face.
• The Friends of Pulpit Rock Society will received $20,000 to complete the brushing and construction of the upper section of the Lyons Bluff trail a little north of Nelson.
• 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.
Societies being funded for trail crew positions include the Kaslo Outdoor Recreation and Trails Society (three people), Salmo Valley Trail Society (five), and Nelson’s South Selkirks Backcountry Association (three).