The US Forest Service recently issued the 10-Year Trail Shared Stewardship Challenge which is billed as “…a call to action to increase our collective capacity to care for trails and increase on-the-ground results.” To read a brochure about the Trail Challenge click here.
The Trail Challenge consists of three phases. The Forest Service describes phase one, “the Launch and Learn” phase:
During the Launch and Learn phase, we are focusing on adaptive “learning lab” approaches that invite and encourage innovation and sharing. Success is driven by Forest Service regions and units working in collaboration with trail community stakeholders at local and broader levels to implement Trail Challenge elements (or portions of elements) when and where it makes the most sense. Successes and lessons learned during the Launch and Learn phase will help in refining, standardizing, and setting requirements of the two remaining phases of the Trail Challenge.