Colorado's Stay The Trail - Expanding

[STT_Ambassadors]

The Responsible Recreation Foundation is proud to announce the expansion of the Colorado Trail Patrol & Stay The Trail. The OHV trail-monitoring program will have a larger scope, a new name to match its increased objectives, and a new website all to help enthusiasts actively participate in the spreading responsible trail use ethics.

The Colorado Trail Patrol will now be known as the Stay The Trail Ambassadors.



This new name reflects the close relationship this program will have with the Stay The Trail educational campaign. Over the years, Stay The Trail has united the Colorado OHV community behind the ethics of responsible trail use. Now, those dedicated enthusiasts will have the opportunity to participate in sharing that ethic with other trail users and a calendar of trail events they can assist with.

Stay The Trail Ambassadors are encouraged to Ride, Educate, Monitor, and Maintain.

The program builds off of the existing support OHV enthusiasts have shown for the Colorado Trail Patrol. Those previously trained individuals will be rolled into the new system (if you are a CTP volunteer, look for an email in the next few days updating you with a few new training tips). For new volunteers, we hold online training sessions every few weeks. Check our online calendar for the next upcoming time.

Ride
Our volunteers are encouraged to keep doing what they love, enjoying Colorado’s extensive OHV trails. Colorado’s OHV community’s intense enthusiasm is what drives this program.

Educate
Being role models while they are out on the trails is the best way to reinforce responsible trail ethics with other enthusiasts. Volunteers are prepared and encouraged to speak with other enthusiast’s they meet on the trail regarding responsible OHV use. Peer-to-peer reinforcement is crucial in cultivating a statewide culture of stewardship. Stay The Trail educational material will be provided for volunteers to carry with them. When you meet someone on the trail or trailhead, it is always a teachable moment.

Monitor
Trail conditions change on a weekly basis. Volunteers have access to an online reporting system where they can upload photos and GPS waypoints of maintenance and signage issues. Active monitoring quickly alerts land managers to issues in an effort to prevent an issue from becoming something larger that can jeopardize a trail’s sustainability.

Maintain
Join other enthusiasts as we assist land management agencies perform needed maintenance projects. Our calendar will be a hub of information concerning all types of OHV trail projects that need more manpower. Stay The Trail staff will also be organizing unique trail clean-up events and responding to situations that need immediate assistance.

Clubs – Please contact us with details about any upcoming trail projects you have organized. Use our calendar and network to spread the word to other interested OHV enthusiasts. If you have an idea for a larger, needed OHV trail project; LET US KNOW. We can help organize.

Find out more about upcoming projects and Ambassador training on our new website, StayTheTrailAmbassadors.org and find us on Facebook.

[Stonebone]

Is this what hall monitors do when they graduate?

[STT_Ambassadors]

Nah, this is what people do when they are tired of sitting on the sidelines.

This is what people do when they decide to get actively involved in making our trails better. This is what people do when they are tired of watching a small minority create an incorrect stereotype about OHV users, that jeopardizes access for everyone. This program is for people who want to turn that tide. Not sure where you are from, but its a fight we face every time we hit a trail in Colorado.

Would love to hear why you think this it is anything less than needed.

[LYIN' KING]

A search of Colorado Clubs and OHV forums shows general approval of the "Stay the Trail" program. I didn't research the trail patrol part . . .

I received help with trail abusers from a former Stay the Trails guy named Justin Lilly who wheels a red XJ.

As an employee of TreadLighty!, Justin assisted me in the past with many OHV forums that held the 1%'er "outlaw mentality" and were ruining opportunities for we OHV enthusiasts who follow the rules.

Justin Lilly

Tread Lightly

Justin served the Stay The Trail program as Program Coordinator from July 2008 to January 2011. He currently holds the position of Education and Stewardship Programs Manager at Tread Lightly!, a national outdoor ethics organization and has spent a good portion of the last several years educating recreational enthusiasts and youth about the rewards and benefits of responsible public lands use. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Land Use with emphasis in Resources and the Environment awarded from Metropolitan State College of Denver in 2007.

Justin is a Colorado native whose passion for adventure and the outdoors has led him as far away as Alaska to guide near Denali National Park. He enjoys all types of outdoor recreation and is an avid skier and part-time ski instructor.

Source: http://www.staythetrail.org/about/index.php

http://www.staythetrail.org/index.php

[LYIN' KING]

Ahh, I knew I had seen a picture of somebody most of us know with the guy I mentioned (Justin) and the guy who posted (Matt).

This isn't where I saw it, but this was the first link Google puked up when I plugged in their names so WTH . . .

http://www.facebook.com/ColoradoTrai...55126647887365

[STT_Ambassadors]

Originally Posted by LYIN' KING

Ahh, I knew I had seen a picture of somebody most of us know with the guy I mentioned (Justin) and the guy who posted (Matt).

This isn't where I saw it, but this was the first link Google puked up when I plugged in their names so WTH . . .

http://www.facebook.com/ColoradoTrai...55126647887365

Yep. You got us. Certainly not the first time Justin or I have hung out with Del nor will it likely be the last. Most recently at this year's Rock Junction.



Been on Pirate for years (on the industry side), but never introduced myself as the coordinator for the Trail Patrol, now Ambassador program. This program is larger than just me and I can't take credit for what all our volunteers are doing every weekend on the trails.

We are looking forward to talking with more folks about responsible trail use here in Colorado and how they can actively help.

[LYIN' KING]

Umm, way too easy given my time with Justin and Del!!!

Thanks for what you guys are doing there . . .