Economic Impact of Salmonberry Trail Investments
The Salmonberry Trail Foundation (STF) has connected countless individuals and organizations over the past few years in a concerted effort to build community and state support for implementing a visionary Rails-to-Trails system across Oregon’s northern Coast Range, connecting people from Tillamook to the Portland Metro Area and beyond. When complete, the 82-mile proposed Salmonberry Trail will provide a new continuous recreation corridor, with several vital links creating safe non-motorized connections between schools, shopping, and services along Oregon’s Coast. Trail investments would also restore valuable coastal and riparian ecosystems and protect and tell stories from Oregon’s history through rail infrastructure and timber settlements deep in the Coast Range.
The purpose of this memo is to describe and quantify where possible the economic benefits of investing in the Salmonberry Trail. The potential benefits are wide-ranging and well documented in an array of studies that link recreation generally, and rails-to-trails specifically, to a variety of positive outcomes related to economic development, health and safety, and other improvements that enhance value or save money.
Check out the full report or view the one-pager summary here:
Author: Salmonberry Trail Foundation and ECOnorthwest
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Everyone deserves access to safe ways to walk, bike, and be active outdoors.
