Butter Gap Trail Project - Q&A
This Q&A has been compiled to provide accurate information to the public in regards to the upcoming Butter Gap Project. The public information campaign for this project began in the Fall of 2022, and has included in person updates, newsletter updates, press releases on the PAS website, and social media posts. Most recently, Pisgah Area SORBA (PAS) announced Rock Solid Trails was awarded the bid for the Butter Gap project after a thorough contractor selection process. We recognize that staying up-to-date with accurate information can be challenging. Therefore, we have compiled the following information to offer answers and address questions we have heard raised.
Rock Solid is based out of Copper Harbor, MI and Bentonville, AR. Does this mean Butter will be a ‘Bentonville’ trail?
No. Bentonville trails are often known as flowy, machine built, bike park style trails. While Rock Solid has built this style of trail at the request of clients, it is only estimated to be 10% of their cumulative builds. A flowy “Bentonville style” trail is not what Rock Solid will build for Butter Gap and is not the trail character written into the agreed upon contract. PAS has confirmed Rock Solid's impressive ability to build narrow, technical, backcountry trails through field verifications, follow up interviews, and meeting with previous clients of Rock Solid. An example of their ability can be seen in the rocky and technical trails of Split Rock Wilds in Two Harbors, MN.
Is Rock Solid owned by Walmart?
No, Rock Solid is not owned by Walmart. Non-profit organizations local to NW Arkansas have previously hired Rock Solid, and a source of these nonprofit’s funding has been from grants from the Walton Family Foundation. Therefore, Rock Solid has been indirectly paid for certain trail builds through grants received through the Walton Family Foundation, which is a separate entity from Walmart. The Walton Family Foundation has supported 208 of the 484 miles of natural surface trails now open in the NW Arkansas region. In addition to investing in trails, the Walton Family Foundation has provided grants which support Black leadership in K-12 education, modernization of irrigation systems to reduce the impact on the Colorado River, and funding innovation to increase climate resilience.
What was the process to choose a contractor?
Prior to the solicitation of bids, a selection committee was created to ensure multiple qualified individuals were involved in the evaluation of technical trail building bids. The committee included Board members and experienced trail crew leaders that ride and work on trails in Pisgah daily. A criteria was established which allowed PAS to objectively choose the contractor who provided the best option for the build while providing transparency to all contractors on how they would be chosen. Criteria included the following categories; work portfolio with an emphasis on trail character and workmanship, organizational stability, client communication, and proposed cost of construction. Six bids were received and Rock Solid scored exceptionally high in all categories. Following the scoring, the committee held additional interviews including in depth discussions of Pisgah trail character and climate, reference checks from multiple previous clients, and field verifications of previous builds. Rock Solid continuously impressed in all aspects. Per PAS policy, the committee presented their contractor recommendations to the entire Board of Directors. This added layer of scrutiny ensures that fundraising efforts are spent appropriately and responsibly. After reviewing and discussing the bid evaluations from the selection committee, the decision to award the contract to Rock Solid passed unanimously.
Why wasn’t a trail builder from Brevard chosen?
The intent of the Butter Gap project is to provide the community the highest quality trail possible with the resources available. Instead of limiting the pool of potential contractors/talent and inviting only select builders to partake in the bidding process, the PAS Board voted to post the project for Butter Gap on the Professional Trail Builders Association (PTBA) website. This opened the bid up nationally to qualified builders and allowed for an objective evaluation of all interested trail builders, including any local builders. The formation of the selection committee and the objective evaluation criteria guaranteed the best, non-biased decision possible would be made in awarding the Butter Gap contract. After evaluating all bids, Rock Solid was confidently and objectively the contractor of choice for this project.
What steps are in place to ensure Butter Gap is built with the proper trail character?
The contract between PAS and Rock Solid specifies the build will be a Trail Class 2, according to USFS specifications, indicating the trail will be narrow and include the “technical essence of Pisgah.” To further ensure a professional and seamless build, a Field Inspector has been hired. Fundraising efforts, which began prior to 2022, have always included a temporary paid position within the expected budget. The Field Inspector will oversee the build, working directly with Rock Solid and the USFS to monitor construction and trail character throughout the entire project, from start to completion. The decision to hire for this position came from years of experience managing large builds in the forest, and from reflecting on the drawbacks of previously having project management relying solely on the availability of volunteers. The Field Inspector position was posted publicly and open for applications during the month of May in 2023. After reviewing resumes, interviews were conducted and the most qualified individual was unanimously chosen.
What are the reasons Butter Gap is being rerouted and who makes this decision?
Butter Gap is a fall line trail never designed for the demands of modern outdoor recreation and the heavy traffic it has seen for the last decade. Deemed unsustainable by the US Forest Service (USFS) in 2013, it has since continued to rapidly degrade, threatening the local watershed. The entity authorized with closing and rerouting trails is the USFS. The Ranger District often relies on nonprofit organizations to fund and manage large builds such as Butter, and they engaged with PAS to plan a relocation and rehabilitation of Butter in 2018. The Butter Gap Project will decommission a mile of environmentally damaging portions of the trail. Over five miles of new and sustainable alignment will be built. Heavy maintenance will also be performed on two miles of existing trail infrastructure to improve resilience during extreme weather conditions. Additionally, changes to the bottom alignment will allow year round access for mountain bikers.
How can I stay accurately informed moving forward?
The best way to stay informed is to be sure you are signed up for our newsletter and following our social media accounts. Information will be given through these platforms, including the dates and times of our in person Chapter Update & Socials. Press releases are also posted on our website in case you miss them when they are first published.We would like to thank our community and supporters for their questions and interest in the project. If you have further questions, please feel free to reach out to PAS Executive Director, Natalie Narburgh, at natalie@pisgahareasorba.org.