Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship

SIERRA BUTTES TRAIL STEWARDSHIP
2012 CALENDAR OF EVENTS  Read More »

Congratulations Quincy, California! You’ve just received two Learning Landscape Trails at local school campuses, and the South Park and Mount Hough trail projects have been approved for funding by the Plumas Forest. This is big news for the community and economy of Quincy, as the town is surrounded by National Forest and currently has no Forest Service "System Trails" to offer.

While there are trails in the South Park and Mount Hough areas, they are user-created and “technically” illegal to enjoy or maintain until they are designated as System Trails, which is what these two projects are focused on.

The process of obtaining System Trail status has been long and drawn out, starting back in 2008, when our grant application for non-motorized trails in South Park was recommended for funding by the Plumas County RAC. Soon after the recommendation, the South Park project was appealed by Sierra Access Coalition (SAC), on behalf of area dirt bike riders, who felt they were being forced off trails they had built and have been riding for decades.
 Read More »

I received the call Thursday (Oct 27th) evening, in between changing a dirty diaper and chasing a chicken out of the house. It was Cozmo-
“Well we did it buddy. We punched the trail through, and tomorrow morning we’re raising a toast at the summit and dropping to Graeagle for first tracks."
"Are you in?”
In the morning I grabbed the trailhead sign, mounting hardware and a 12- pack of PBR, and met the crew on top of Mills Peak for a sign raising ceremony. We drank a cold beer, dug a hole for the signpost, and shared stories about the project and the daunting process of legally building a 9- mile trail through the rugged Sierra.
Once the sign was installed, we toasted each other, gave a shout out to our beautiful surroundings and to the Great Spirit, and hopped on our bikes and road Mills Peak Trail for the first time; hooting and hollering the whole way down.
Even Troy, who somehow managed to get 5 flats along the way, had an ear to ear grin of satisfaction and pride.  Read More »

By now you’re probably familiar with our construction project on Mills Peak Trail; a 9- mile long, multi use trail (located in both Plumas and Sierra Counties, on land owned by Graeagle Land & Water and on land managed by the Plumas National Forest), that connects the town of Graeagle to the Lakes Basin Recreation Area.

This has been no simple project. It involves County, State and Federal agencies, and is partially funded by California Proposition 40 funds, which are administered by Sierra County, under a Cost Share Agreement between the Plumas National Forest, Beckwourth Ranger District and the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship. Additional funding has come from the Eastern Plumas Recreation District, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act through an agreement with the Plumas Forest, two Ibis Cycles prize drawings, the Plumas County Board of Supervisors using Title III Secure Rural Schools funds, the GotSky Foundation and the SBTS “general fund”. No, it hasn't been easy, but I think we've figured it out with this one. Which is good news for all those that enjoy the experience of fine singletrack in the northern Sierra.  Read More »

The Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship hosted another successful volunteer workday on October 8th in the heart of Bucks Wilderness. In total, 30 trail-loving volunteers gathered to perform some much needed, and peaceful, trail restoration on the Pacific Crest Trail, heading north from Bucks Summit towards Spanish Peak.

Amongst the volunteer group was a class from Feather River College taking a “Mountain Biking” course. (Really? Where was mountain biking class when I was in school?) The mountain bikers rode Bucks Creek Loop in the morning, and then joined us for trail work in the wilderness. At some point, we managed to recruit an unsuspecting deer hunter from Chico, who was down on his luck. We couldn’t refuse his help, after all, it kept Bambi safe for a while longer.  Read More »

The SBTS Trail Crew finished the Bucks Creek Stringer Bridge on September 28th. The trail project took two seasons to complete and was funded through an agreement with the Plumas National Forest, using American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds. Beyond the standard restoration work, the project involved several hundred feet of turnpiking (elevated tread) and the construction of a log stringer bridge across one of the creeks. Because this trail is used during the winter by cross country skiers and snowshoers, it was important that the bridge be wide enough and strong enough to accommodate the heavy snow load.

SBTS hosted several volunteer workdays on the Bucks Creek Loop Trail, with the main focus on restoring the trail and demonstrating the installation and techniques involved with turnpiking and the construciton of the log stringer bridge.

The stringer bridge has two logs 30 feet long sitting on a crib wall abutment and it will be planked with boards cut from a chainsaw mill to create the decking. The first thing we did was find two Lodge Pole Pines that could be dropped and set into place.  Read More »

The Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship partnered with the Plumas National Forest in celebration of National Public Lands Day on September 24th in the Lakes Basin Recreation Area. SBTS hosted two volunteer workdays (23rd & 24th) with multiple work locations throughout the Lakes Basin Trail System. The focus was on restoring trails that feed into the Pacific Crest Trail. Round Lake and Long Lake received the greatest amount of attention, as they are two of the highest use trails and provide direct access to the PCT from Gold Lake Highway and the nearby mountain lodges.

In total, the event attracted 88 volunteers, travelling 14,218 miles to work on trails, camp under the Sierra sky, drink beer, eat BBQ, and share in a mountain experience with like-minded, fun-loving trail enthusiasts. This National Public Lands Day event highlights our strong partnership with the Plumas National Forest and our commitment to maintaining these trails for generations.

Thanks to all those who attended and worked up a sweat improving our trails. We couldn't do it without you!  Read More »

We've partnered with Feather River Land Trust, who was awarded $90,000 through the Stewardship Council, for Learning Landscapes projects; a regional collaboration in the Upper Feather River Watershed that uses local schools as the site and gathering place for youth to access and learn about the natural areas near their classrooms to promote engagement and stewardship.

The SBTS Trail Crew was brought on board to construct the trails on campuses throughout Plumas and Lassen Counties. So far, Portola, Westwood, Chester, Greenville and Quincy have received new trails for students to enjoy and for teachers to take students out of the classroom and into the nearby woods for outdoor educational experiences. These new trails will also access outdoor classrooms with ampitheatre style seating. This project will enhance the infrastructure of nine Learning Landscape outdoor classrooms in four regional communities.

see photos of all the trail work here

The Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship (SBTS) is proud to announce that REI has awarded us a $10,000 grant to assist in the development and launching of our Curriculum Development Program. This is but one aspect of a larger, and growing, partnership between REI and SBTS, which we will be talking about in the very near future. The Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship has experienced incredible success and growth throughout it’s history. We have grown from a small group with a limited scope and area of influence, to a professional organization that has formed highly successful partnerships with two National Forests, two Counties, several communities, and thousands of individuals. We have developed paid, professional trail crews composed of local residents. We also attract hundreds of members and volunteers from all over California and Nevada to our events, many of whom regard SBTS as extended family. As a result of our hard work and passion, we have had other individuals and organizations express a keen interest in replicating our model and bringing similar systems and successes to their organizations.  Read More »