Grand Valley Trails Alliance

NEWS RELEASE

Friday, February 8, 2013

 

Contact: Dave Grossman, Coordinator, (970) 462-7151

 

Grand Valley Trails Alliance Announces Board of Directors

GRAND JUNCTION, CO — Grand Valley Trails Alliance announces inaugural Board of Directors.

The Grand Valley Trails Alliance, a trail focused nonprofit organization located in Grand Junction, Colorado, is pleased to announce the selection of the Alliance’s first board of directors.

 

The Grand Valley Trails Alliance (GVTA) holds as its mission a diverse and challenging set of responsibilities and objectives focused on trails. To meet these challenges, the organization selected individuals who are passionate about trails and possess a diverse range of experience and skills that will expand and enhance the GVTA and its ability to accomplish its mission.

 

From a large pool of exceptional candidates, the Selection Committee conducted a rigorous application, interview and selection process initiated on December 12, 2012 and concluded February 6th, 2012. The process followed the outlined schedule and steps published at: http://gvtrails.com/about/board-of-directors-application/

 

The inaugural board of directors for the Grand Valley Trails Alliance is:

 

Mr. Michael Barker	Mr. Jan Potterveld
Ms. Kate Graham	Dr. Kenneth Scissors
Mr. Brad Junge	Mr. James Solomon
Mr. Keith Lay

 

 

More information about the board will be available on the GVTA website soon.
 

Members of the media may contact Dave Grossman at (970) 462-7151.

 

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The mission of the Grand Valley Trails Alliance is to support, enhance and sustain a world-class multiple-use trail network in western Colorado’s Grand Valley by facilitating trail planning, education, construction, maintenance and management between trail user groups, communities, and land managers

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Recreation activities in and around the Grand Valley over the past several decades have involved many facets of our varied outdoor opportunities. Ranked high among the engaging, growing, and successful pursuits, has been the development of trail systems and individual routes in our area for many varied user groups. Building upon the strengths and success of several existing trails organizations and the Bureau of Land Management, Grand Junction Field Office, an effort is underway to establish a new organization with the goal of combining resources, time, and attention in the pursuit of maintaining existing trails and creating new trails in the Grand Valley. This new organization is called the Grand Valley Trails Alliance.

It is anticipated that the GVTA will initially be comprised of representation from user groups including various modes of motorized travel, the mountain bike community, and likely foot and equine users. Importantly, the organization also seeks to include representation from local civic, business, and municipal bodies so that the organization represents diverse concerns and supporting interests regarding trail maintenance, the establishment of new trails, and trail support infrastructure, and is able to thoroughly review and vet concepts at the outset of the planning process with the goal of streamlining project implementation. The breadth of partners in the alliance is also important in providing a critical mass and strength of voice for new projects.

The GVTA is being created in response to a number of factors in the trail enthusiast community. Among these factors are existing and anticipated reductions in workforce and funding within the public land agencies, highlighting the necessity for community planning and a cohesive approach to trail management. Also important is the goal to create a cooperative trail management landscape where diverse interest groups combine input and resources to create maximum impact and results with trail projects. This model has been established in other communities to good effect.

The initial stakeholders in the GVTA are the Colorado Plateau Mountain Bike Trails Association (COPMOBA) and the Responsible Recreation Foundation (RRF), both working in conjunction with the Bureau of Land Management, Grand Junction Field Office. We are reaching out to the community with three specific goals in mind.

• We are seeking partners in this organization. We would like to hear from the business community with vested interest in local and visitor user groups that utilize these trails. We would like to hear from every municipality in the area, as all are impacted by these issues. And we believe that a strong voice from the County will be an important aspect of this organization. And all civic oriented organizations that concern themselves with access to, and use of, public and private land should consider participation.
• We are seeking a coordinator to begin the critical organizational work for the group, as outlined in the attached memo. We would like to hear about anyone that you believe would be a good candidate for this position. We believe that this role will be best filled by someone who is passionate about trails in our area, and skilled in the art of coordinating diverse groups and interests. Initial tasks will be to formulate organizational structure and coordinate partners in the organization. Individuals interested in the coordinator position should submit a resume by December 5, 2011.(The deadline for this position had passed, but we're leaving the information so that people interested in the organization can be informed as things progess.)
• As a fledgling organization, the GVTA is in need of support in the form of facilities and operating materials. We would be happy to hear about any opportunity available through partners in this process to utilize office and phone/internet access for organizational activities.

In summary, please consider the GVTA as outlined and let us know of your interest in participating. We hope that this organization will represent the varied trail user and community interests in the area and serve as a vehicle to energize trail management in the valley. We look forward to feedback and questions on any of the points above or the position noted.

In January 2012, Mr. Dave Grossman was selected as the Director for the GVTA.
He can be reached at coordinator@gvtrails.com , or by voicemail at (970) 462-7151