Breakthrough Partnership Opening Pacific Crest Trail From Lake Britton to Interstate 5 in Northern California

California Conservation Corps, Pacific Crest Trail Association, Back Country Horsemen of America, and USDA Forest Service working together to clear notoriously problematic portion of trail while simultaneously introducing young people to new opportunities

July 30, 2003, Pacific Crest Trail Association, Sacramento, Calif.- Despite unusually hot weather, an approximately 12-person California Conservation Corps (CCC) crew is working ten-hour days, for eight days at a time, to clear "Section O" of the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail (PCT) of deep brush that's accumulated over 15 years. Crews began work on June 25, 2003 and will continue through August 13, 2003.

"Section O on the PCT has been historically one of the most difficult sections of the trail to maintain due to inaccessibility, steep, rocky terrain, heavy brush, and downed timber from heavy winter snows and high wind. It's been a serious problem for PCT hikers and equestrians for years and years," says Alan Hill, Public Liaison Chair of the Back Country Horsemen of America (BCHA), member of the local Shasta-Trinity unit of BCHA and Redding resident. Indeed, over the years, the infamous Section O has stymied many attempting to travel the entire 2,650-mile National Scenic Trail in one season.

But thanks to a new partnership between the BCHA, the Redding CCC facility, USDA Forest Service, and Pacific Crest Trail Association (PCTA), 80 of the section's worst miles will soon be restored and accessible in the manner in which they were designed. The partnership is the first of its kind between these organizations in Northern California, says Joe Sobinovsky, Program Director for the PCTA.

Funding and planning of the eight-week trail maintenance project has come from the Forest Service (both the Region 5 office and the Shasta-Trinity National Forest), the BCHA and the PCTA. Additionally, the PCTA is supplying volunteer camp cooks to shop, plan menus, and prepare meals for the young CCC workers. The PCTA's donation of camp cooks, according to Lynda Burkhalter, Supervisor of Corps Member Development Programs for the CCC Redding facility, is saving the Corps approximately $3,000 per eight-day camp. "Thanks to the PCTA," says Lynda, "we have a lot more money going into working on the trail, which is phenomenal."

For Jerry Harmon, Construction and Maintenance Superintendent for the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, having CCC crews working on the PCT is exceptional for two reasons. First, with only a three-person Forest Service maintenance crew for 150 trail miles in the forest, it's nearly impossible for the Forest Service to maintain the trail on its own.

"Volunteers from the PCTA and BCHA and CCC crews help us get some of our backlog knocked out," he says. Second, he says, is the intangible benefit of exposing PCTA and BCHA volunteers and CCC crews to one another. For the CCCs, it's a chance to see how different agencies work and to work with stock animals. For the PCTA and BCHA volunteers, it's the opportunity to work and bond with local youth.

CCC crewmembers involved in this project range in age from 18 to 23 and are largely residents of Redding, Calif. As part of their CCC commitment, the crewmembers not only work ten-hour days but also complete schoolwork, earning credits towards high school diplomas and scholarships for higher education. "Because many of the crew members are non-traditional learners," says Lynda Burkhalter, "class work is conducted throughout the day as well as in the evening. They're are learning hands-on about the environment and natural resource management."

Barbara Hodgin, a member of the PCTA's Board of Directors and Vice President of Board Development, recently returned from a week of cooking for the CCCs. "The CCCs were an inspiration to me," she says. "Their commitment and professionalism is very high. I made lasting friendships. I learned a lot from them and they learned a lot about the trail and the people who love it. The crew especially enjoyed meeting 'thru-hikers' on their journey from Mexico to Canada."

New experiences for CCC crews as well as PCTA and BCHA volunteers is the icing on the cake for those involved with opening up this 80-mile section of the PCT in Northern California. Across the board, the different organizations say they would jump at the chance to work together again.

For residents of the Redding and surrounding areas? This project is not only helping to provide local youth with meaningful work and new perspectives, but its also clearing local miles of a national scenic treasure of brush and other debris so that its more accessible for recreational activities. A win-win all around.

For more information, contact the Pacific Crest Trail Association at (916) 349-2109.