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GUEST EDITORIAL

LET WTA SUGGEST YOUR NEXT HIKE

SEATTLE, WA

As a nonprofit organization, everything we do at Washington Trails Association—including how we use technology—is in service of our mission to help hikers and the lands we love. Our website, social media channels, our mobile app, our newsletters—we’ve created and curated them to reduce barriers for all hikers who want to explore trails and to ethically share information in a way that better stewards those places.

Now we have a new tool to help hikers and trails. We recently released a feature on Wta.org that offers personalized suggestions of hikes you might want to add to your to-do list. The new tool is designed to educate, spark curiosity, and shift focus from a small number of often-recommended trails to the many trails that Washington has to offer.

The feature, which was developed with the help of volunteers and draws on WTA’s decades of local trail knowledge and the latest data science, looks at the existing hikes you have saved in your WTA My Backpack account and any trip reports you’ve filed and suggests other trails to try across the state. Everyone experiences trails differently, and the new tool captures that nuance. It makes suggestions that are the kind of information you might find if you chatted with a knowledgeable friend.

We believe that technology can be good for trails. This new tool is just one of the ways we’re working to spread the word about the many trails across our state, so we can spread out use. That dispersal is better for trails, and it is better for hikers. With our new tool, like all the technology we use, it’s the people who make the difference. Real hikers who spend their days on Washington’s trails are behind the technology, and that sets our trail information apart.

WTA has never had millions (or even hundreds of thousands) of dollars to work with when it comes to building technology. We’ve got smart staff and volunteers, and hikers who know and care deeply about public lands. We’re making the best choices we can to support our mission. We are so grateful for our incredible technology volunteers. And we appreciate our members who support this mission-driven approach to inspire people and protect trails. We try to make every dollar and every hour count. We’ll use all of that support to help us make trails for everyone, forever.

MADE WITH VOLUNTEERS

Five years ago, Jade Tabony, a data scientist, was spending a lot of time trying to find different hikes that she could use as training hikes for mountaineering. She didn’t want to just hike Mount Si and Mailbox on repeat. As the capstone project for a data science workshop, she built a prototype hike recommender to do the work for her.

Just a few miles away, WTA staff and a small group of technology-minded volunteers and researchers were trying to create something similar. That group wanted a tool to educate hikers and encourage a deeper understanding of Washington’s full trail system while lessening the impacts of the growing demands on the trail system.

It took another hiker, data scientist, and trails advocate, Aaron Lichtner, to connect his friend Jade with WTA staff during a Hiker Rally Day in Olympia. Those early conversations launched the effort that resulted in the latest feature, which suggests hikes for people who have a My Backpack account on Wta.org. The simplicity of the suggestion feature belies the work and thought that has gone into it, from Jade’s very first model all the way up to the careful considerations our staff has put into making suggestions that will be good for all kinds of hikers and trails.

“We worked with the developers to ensure our recommendations will be as responsible as possible, both in terms of meeting hikers’ needs and protecting trails,” says Anna Roth, WTA’s hiking content manager, whose deep knowledge of Washington’s trail system made her a critical member of the team. “Almost everyone on the team hikes and understood why we took so much time and care to get it right.”

Jade is excited that a project that helped her find new hikes is now able to do the same for hikers all across Washington. “When I first built it, it actually helped me find some trails that I’d never heard of before and got me out exploring new areas of Washington,” she says. “I’m really hoping that it helps people who don’t have a lot of time to search for hikes find hikes that they wouldn’t have otherwise, especially if it helps them get to some of the lesser-known gems of Washington.” (WTA digital content manager Loren Drummond)

SITE OF PROPOSED BEAD LAKE LOOP TRAIL EXTENSION ON THE COLVILLE NATIONAL FOREST. // PHOTO: HOLLY WEILER

KANIKSU CONNECTION PROJECT PLANNED IN NE WASHINGTON

USK, WASH. project area is bordered by the Pend Oreille Connection to the land is at the core of River on the west, the Idaho Panhandle Kalispel culture. The Kalispel people histori- National Forest on the east, and stretches cally occupied and utilized an area of 2.3 mil- to the southern boundary of the Newportlion acres located in Northeast Washington, Sullivan Lake Ranger District. The north North Idaho, and Northwest Montana. This border follows the Middle Creek watershed’s land is an incredibly diverse place, and the north boundary. Kalispel were able to thrive on the resources Why is the Kalispel Tribe involved? Along that this landscape produced. with requesting action on U.S. Forest Service

In 1914, the Kalispel were forced from lands surrounding their Reservation and their larger aboriginal landscape and iso- surrounding communities, the Kalispel Tribe lated onto their Reservation through an has contributed extensively to the project in executive order signed by then-President multiple ways. The Kalispel Tribe of Indians Woodrow Wilson. This executive order cre- shares natural resource knowledge of the ated a roughly 4,700-acre reservation for the area by providing key specialists to particiKalispel along the Pend Oreille River near pate in the interdisciplinary NEPA planning Cusick and Usk, Washington. Much of this team. Through grants and significant tribal acreage lies within an active floodplain or funding, the Tribe was able to fill gaps for the on the steep slopes of the Selkirk Range, not project in the form of outside specialists to nearly enough land for the Tribe to continue help support the planning process. Finally, to sustain itself. the Tribe has provided a representative to

Much of the aboriginal landscape of the the Project Leadership Team and used their Kalispel are public lands managed by state invaluable community network to engage and federal agencies. The concept of active members of the public. management of these lands is not new, as What specific types of actions will occur the Kalispel have been managing this ter- in this project area? This project includes rain using fire since time immemorial. Fire a diverse array of prescriptions to improve is an important ecological tool, but today’s the overall health of the watersheds that fall landscape necessitates the use of additional within the project area, such as prescribed modern forestry techniques. To increase the fire, commercial and non-commercial thinpace and scale of active management and ning, wetland restoration, aquatic organism restoration of this landscape, the Kalispel passage, road maintenance and improveTribe decided to take a seat at the table ments, and road decommissioning. with the other land managers by propos- There is also a prioritized list of recreation ing a Tribal Forest Protection Act project projects to improve the overall recreation called the Sxwuytn-Kaniksu Connections opportunities in the area. The project that or “Trail” Project. ranked highest is the Bead Lake Loop non-

Where exactly is the Sxwuytn (su-who- motorized trail project. This trail will be built y-tin)-Kaniksu Connections or “Trail” with assistance from the Washington Trails Project? And why the name Sxwuytn? First, Association (WTA). Holly Weiler from WTA the name is a Kalispel Salish word meaning has been integral in the development of the “trail or connections.” The name perfectly recreation portion of this planning docufits the purpose and intent of this project, ment. which is to connect all people within the sur- Without public participation and the rounding communities to the management collaboration of the Washington State of their surrounding landscape. The proj- Department of Natural Resources, United ect’s nickname is “Trail.” Secondly, the Trail States Forest Service, and the Northeast Project is located on the Colville National Washington Forestry Coalition, a project Forest’s (CNF) Newport-Sullivan Lake of this size and scope would not be feasible. Ranger District in Northeast Washington’s Without this project, the landscape will fail Pend Oreille County north of Newport. The to provide the safety, resources, and overall project area consists of five large watersheds resiliency upon which tribal members and covering approximately 90,700 acres and non-tribal communities depend. To learn surrounds the Reservation and other lands more about the Kalispel Tribe’s conservaowned and managed by the Kalispel. The tion efforts visit Knrd.org. (Mike Lithgow) Exclusive access for Outside+ members

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Show Date SPOKANE 10/30

72ND WARREN MILLER FILM DEBUT

BOULDER, COLO.

Warren Miller is excited to bring people back into theaters for the 72nd feature film, “Winter Starts Now,” which lands in Spokane on October 30. The movie is a love letter to that special time on the calendar. It’s a call to action—get stoked, be prepared, because the season so many skiers and snowboarders live for is here. This year, the line takes on a whole new meaning because it’s not just any winter. It’s one of renewal and gratitude, with a froth factor that could exceed any since record keeping began.

Follow along as the film visits friends old and new in the places that keep spirits high no matter what life throws at us. From Alaska’s Prince William Sound, where the only tracks you’ll encounter belong to bears, to Maine’s community of craftsmen and women devoted to sliding on snow. From kids with huge Olympic dreams to adaptive shredders who leave the most able among us in the dust. Road trip with big mountain skiers Marcus Caston and Connery Lundin as they chase winter all the way to Alaska. Catch up with speed-riding legend JT Holmes and meet new friends like Madison Rose and Vasu Sojitra. “Winter Starts Now” takes viewers on a journey to the highest peak in America, to the great groomers at your favorite resorts, and to the mom and pops that have stood their ground throughout the everchanging ski world. “Winter Starts Now” is a homage to every skier who lives for the thrill and finds solace on the chairlift.

Warren Miller Entertainment is now a part of Outside, Inc., the world’s leading creator of active lifestyle content. The company offers an all-access membership program, Outside+, where subscribers receive two tickets to a national tour show of their choice, plus 20% off additional tickets, early entry and best seats in select venues, exclusive access to the virtual release and more Warren Miller content. As part of the $99 annual membership, subscribers receive over $599 in additional benefits from annual magazine subscriptions to events, courses, training plans, and more.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF WARREN MILLER

FIRST NATIVE AMERICAN NOMINEE TO HEAD NATIONAL PARKS

WASHINGTON, D.C.

President Joe Biden has nominated Chuck Sams, a former administrator of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, to be the first official head of the National Park Service since 2017. If confirmed, Sams would be the first Native American to lead the National Park Service. His boss would be Deb Haaland, the first Native American to be Secretary of the Interior. Needless to say, having two Native Americans heading the Interior and the National Park Service (NPS) is a substantial and meaningful event with abundant significance.

There hasn’t been a permanent head at the National Parks Service since 2017, when Jonathan Jarvis, appointed by President Obama, retired. President Trump never appointed a NPS boss on a permanent basis, as his nominees were not confirmed by the Senate. Thus the job was filled by a rotating cast of people. Sams is a U.S. Navy veteran who has taught at Georgetown University and Whitman College and has recently been working with the Northwest Power and Conservation Council in Oregon. He is Cayuse and Walla Walla, and a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.

“The diverse experience that Chuck brings to the National Park Service will be an incredible asset as we work to conserve and protect our national parks to make them more accessible for everyone,” U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a news release. “The outdoors are for everyone, and we have an obligation to protect them for generations to come.” (Jon Jonckers)

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GOATS IMPROVE FOREST HEALTH AND FIRE RISK ON SPOKANE’S HIGH DRIVE BLUFF. // PHOTO COURTESY OF FRIENDS OF THE BLUFF.

GOATS GRAZE THE BLUFF

SPOKANE, WASH.

Over the past year, Friends of the Bluff partnered with Healing Hooves to bring a herd of about 200 goats to Spokane’s High Drive Bluff. This program lessens fire risk on the bluff by reducing brush and tree sapling density, while helping with noxious weeds and other invasive plants. Well-managed livestock is one of the most sustainable ways to address these needs while regenerating healthy soil and storing carbon—especially on steep terrain.

The goats range in age from two months to 8 years old and typically graze about an acre a day. Once they consume the desired amount of vegetation in a particular area, the shepherd moves the fencing and releases the goats into their new buffet. To learn more about the project or support next year’s efforts, visit Friendsofthebluff. org/goatgrazing. (Trevor Finchamp)

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