Local Organizing Page 8

With Little Backing From Municipalities, Volunteers Build Stunning Rail-Trail in Idaho

Posted 08/15/12 by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in Building Trails, Success Stories | Tagged with Corridors and Railbanking, Idaho, Local Organizing, State and Federal Programs

Photo © Friends of the Weiser River Trail

In rural Idaho, Friends of the Weiser River Trail (FWRT) has been able to build and maintain an 85-mile rail-trail with no significant municipal or county backing. FWRT did all of the hard work themselves, encountering opposition from both county governments and private property owners along the way, several of whom filed lawsuits against the friends group.

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A Head for Business Pays Dividends for Danvers Rail Trail, Mass.

Posted 08/01/12 by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in Building Trails | Tagged with Local Organizing, Massachusetts, Private Fundraising

Last year we wrote about the tremendous grassroots effort out of northeast Massachusetts to develop the Danvers Rail Trail. The Danvers Rail Trail Advisory Committee rallied the town's business community to support the extension of this popular community asset through a mile-marker sponsorship program, generating thousands of dollars for trail maintenance and creating a strong trail community in the process.

Photo © Friends of the Northern Rail Trail

Strong Friends Group the Driving Force Behind Northern Rail Trail in New Hampshire

Posted 07/26/12 by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in Building Trails | Tagged with Local Organizing, Maintenance and Volunteers, New Hampshire, State and Federal Programs, Winter Uses

One of the great stories in Community Built features Friends of the Northern Rail Trail in rural New Hampshire. Now the longest rail-trail in the state, the corridor follows the right-of-way of the former Northern Railroad, which discontinued service in 1970. It is currently 49 miles long and will eventually cover 57.5 miles when completed.

Photo © Valley County Pathways

People Power - RTC Report Gathers Inspiring Volunteer Stories from Across America

Posted 07/12/12 by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in Building Trails | Tagged with Case Studies, Facts and FIgures, Idaho, Local Organizing, Maintenance and Volunteers

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy's Western Regional Office last month released a terrific report that gathers all these stories--of local groups and volunteers across America using their community strength to create incredible trails. It's called Community Built - Stories of Volunteers Creating and Caring For Their Trails.

Photo © blueriverrailtrail.org

Young Farmers Big Fans of Kansas' Rail-Trail Aspirations

Posted 07/06/12 by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in America's Trails, Building Trails | Tagged with Kansas, Local Organizing, Overcoming Opposition, Schools and Young People

In Marysville, Kan., near the Nebraska border, members of the local high school's Future Farmers of America (FFA) chapter are throwing their support behind the Blue River Rail Trail, building benches, installing a new sign and bulletin board kiosk at the trailhead, and doing much-needed bridge repair work.

Photo © BJ Barnes

From Trash to Treasure: In Oklahoma, Locals Transform Long Neglected Rail-Trail

Posted 06/07/12 by Laura Stark in Building Trails | Tagged with Local Organizing, Maintenance and Volunteers, Oklahoma, Overcoming Opposition

Cutting through dense woodlands that block the wind and offer shade from the hot Oklahoma sun, the Old Frisco Trail was the ideal place to run. But there was a problem. Long neglected, the trail had become so overgrown and in such disrepair that people began dumping their trash on it from nearby roadways (right), especially on days when the city dump was closed.

Photo © playgallery.org

RTC Honors New York's Rail-Trail Game Changers

Posted 05/23/12 by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in Success Stories, Taking Action | Tagged with Champions, Local Organizing, New York, RTC in Action

Without the foresight and advocacy of Robert Hammond and Joshua David (right), there would be no High Line. Hammond and David founded Friends of the High Line in 1999, inspired at first by a desire to save the unique trestle structure from demolition, and later by the enormous possibility they saw in an elevated public greenway.