Triple Your Impact: July’s Matching Donation Drive for Paid Trail Crew
Pisgah Area SORBA (PAS) is a leading volunteer organization that maintains over 100 miles of singletrack in one of the most visited National Forests in the United States. If you have placed a tire, or stepped a foot, on single track trails in the Pisgah Ranger District, there’s a high chance your experience was possible due to the trail advocacy and maintenance efforts of PAS. After wrapping up the Butter Gap Trail Project, which was put into motion back in 2018, PAS is looking ahead as we continue to grow and maintain our vast trail network. Our diligent volunteers have carried the torch over the last decade, but as our footprint continues to expand and demand on trails increases, we are in need of dedicated, full time, paid trail staff. With this added support, PAS can continue to improve and revitalize our adopted trails, mitigate any USFS closures or reroutes, and advocate for new opportunities and builds. For this year’s donation drive, we are raising money to support expanding the position of a paid Trail Specialist.
Thanks to a grant provided in part by the Walnut Cove Members Association at the end of 2023, PAS was able to hire Jared Hartman as a part time Trail Specialist in April of 2024. Since Jared joined PAS in a part time position 3 months ago, he has led more than 16 public workdays, more than doubling our monthly average in volunteer hours. These efforts not only enhance trail conditions but also foster a sense of community and stewardship among our volunteers. The graph below demonstrates Jared’s impact. Jared also manages the scheduling of workdays, sends out invitations, and ensures timely web postings to keep our volunteers informed and engaged.
Jared’s role also included the responsibility of overseeing the Butter Gap Trail Project, the organization's largest trail project to date. Throughout construction, Jared completed weekly field site visits, ensuring that the requirements of the land managers and the project’s priorities were being met. According to Kristen Sikorsky with the US Forest Service, Jared did “an amazing job and PAS’s contracting process was so thorough and well-planned. Butter Gap is definitely a model for all future initiatives with our partners. I had the utmost confidence that Jared was out there keeping an eye on progress and I didn’t have to worry about the work staying on track.”
Jared’s commitment extends beyond the trails themselves. He has been instrumental in continuing to foster relationships with key stakeholders, including Land Managers and other nonprofits. These partnerships are crucial for advancing our trail projects and securing the resources needed for their success. In addition, he conducts monthly analyses of trail counter data, providing invaluable insights that guide our decision-making process and resource allocation efforts.
As we launch our July Donation Drive, we invite you to join us in celebrating Jared’s contributions to our trail network and riding opportunities. Investing in paid trail staff like Jared is more than just a financial commitment; it's an investment in the long-term sustainability and preservation of our Pisgah trails. We are also thrilled to announce that during July, thanks to a generous matching donation from members of our Trail Builders Club and Industry Nine, every dollar donated will be tripled up to $5,000. This means if you donate $50 today, you are actually securing a total of $150 in our efforts to expand our paid Trail Staff.
To contribute to Jared’s ongoing efforts and the future of our trails, please donate today! Donations are accepted through our website, or checks mailed to PO Box 61, Skyland, NC 28776.
