By Matt Norton
Calling all nature lovers! My name is Matt Norton, and I am a senior studying Recreation, Sport, and Tourism Management at the University of Idaho. I am also minoring in Outdoor Recreation Leadership. Since May, I have had the privilege to volunteer as an intern for Palouse Land Trust (PLT).
Matt at Arches National Park, Utah
As a student in the recreation program at the University of Idaho, I wanted to gain further knowledge and experience within the conservation sector. My desire was to volunteer in a natural resource setting where I would learn easement practices, conservation ethics, and a little about our Palouse biodiversity. Sure enough, the land trust thus far has exceeded that expectation!
Most rewarding thus far has been the opportunity to work with Judy LaLonde, who owns a beautiful forested property in Troy, ID. PLT holds a conservation easement on Judy’s land and I have been working with her to fulfill her vision to create a public access trail. The trail will consist of a path along Big Meadow Creek through the forest, which then switchbacks uphill before looping back to the trailhead. The total distance of the trail will be just over one mile and will be open to the public.
Judy’s vision is to provide a place of escape and sanctuary within nature to residents of Troy and the surrounding areas. It is important to her that trail users of all ages see, smell, and hear all of the beauty the forest provides. Judy is an extremely giving person who wants to welcome the Troy community into her backyard long into the future. She always has a smile on her face when talking about the trail and her property and working with Judy has brought me joy and makes me happy to see how caring and passionate she is for conservation.
MAMBA trail on Moscow Mountain and unidentified rider.
I will be coordinating volunteers this spring to construct the trail. I am also working with MAMBA (Moscow Area Mountain Bike Association) leaders to ensure trail sustainability, permanence, and safety. In particular, I have been working with Colin Priebe, co-owner of Rolling Hills Bike Shop and PLT board member, who has been a great mentor and teacher in trail building techniques and best practices.
A large part of this project has been learning to use different tools to assist in making the trail build successful and sustainable. CalTopo is a wonderful free mapping software that I learned how to use in order to plan where the trail is going in relation to the topography of the site. After completing several trial drafts, I went to the trail site with Lovina and walked the course plotted on CalTopo. It felt rewarding to visualize and feel the progress going from computer software plotting to actually walking where the construction will be. Lovina also showed me a GPS app called Avenza, which PLT uses to monitor their conservation easements. We used it to plot the upper half of the trail system.
I had no idea how important the role that a land trusts plays for the community. I feel more aware of the conservation practice impacts that PLT utilizes in order to protect outdoor spaces that we love. It is really cool to see how dedicated each of the PLT staff members are at creating positive relationships for community members. I have a greater understanding and appreciation for the work that PLT is doing for sustaining the future of open spaces for the community.
In the future, I want to work for a federal land agency involving public land management. When my volunteer work wraps up with PLT, I am taking away experience with applying conservation practices to trail building and design, a better understanding of landowner relationships to land, and how to document and communicate the project steps to all involved. I am excited to see how this positive experience with PLT shapes my future in the outdoor recreation setting.