Program areas at Pacific Crest Trail Association
Protect:in 2022, the Pacific Crest Trail Association (pcta) partnered with land trusts and federal agencies to evaluate acquisition opportunities from private owners that own land including or adjacent to the pct. In addition, pcta advocated for land and water conservation fund support for the u.s. forest service and the bureau of land management. In 2022, 532 miles of the pct were closed because of fires. With 194 Trail miles burned, pcta assisted the forest service to develop extensive restoration plans. (continued on schedule o)pcta also monitored or responded to ongoing threats or land management projects along the Trail, including the following: trailwide - timber harvesting, fuels reduction, reforestation, invasive plant eradication, watershed, meadow, and fire restoration, illegal and incompatible uses, grazing, ski resort expansion, commercial and competitive events, housing developments, bridge installations, Trail network expansions, illegal motorized use, public land transfers, impacts from increased use, designated pct management areas, forest planning, travel management and over-snow vehicle planning;california - wind and solar development, energy transmission lines, water pipelines, dam reauthorization, endangered species, California high speed rail, highway 138 expansion; Oregon - Pacific connector natural gas pipeline; pedestrian walkway advocacy for the bridge of the gods;washington - grizzly bear reintroduction in the north cascades; evaluation of the pct alignment and location; Pacific northwest national scenic Trail comprehensive plan development; vegetation management projects; relocation near steven's pass; north cascades backcountry camp modifications along the pct. Our 2022 protection activities also included virtual "hike the hill" meetings to talk with federal agency leaders and congressional representatives and their staff in Washington, d.c. to advocate for federal Trail management, operations and land acquisition funding for the pct.
Promote:through our print and electronic publications and personal outreach,-we promote the Pacific Crest Trail as a safe and inclusive space for everyone-promote safe and responsible use of the Trail by educating Trail users in leave no trace principles, as well as informing Trail users about Trail closures and the impacts from wildfire-mobilize volunteers to maintain the trail-keep our members and elected leaders informed of programs and issues facing the trail(continued on schedule o)-introduce new audiences to the richness of the Pacific Crest Trail experiencein 2022, promotional activities included: -publishing four issues (50,100 copies) of the Pacific Crest Trail communicator magazine, and distributing it to members, partners and elected officials; -publishing an annual calendar; -publishing twelve regular issues of Trail dirt, the pcta's electronic newsletter;-publishing dozens of blog and social media poststhe pcta also...-responded to 7,042 inquiries from Trail users and the general public; -issued 4,967 long-distance permits and 3,307 section hike permits;-garnered 1,408,199 website visits, -engaged 298,000 social media followers.
Preserve:in 2022, during the covid-19 pandemic, 1,408 volunteer stewards and corps crew members performed the hard, physical labor of annual maintenance and restoration of the pct. Pcta volunteers contributed 67,503 service hours in 2022, an in-kind value of $2 million. These hours included:- 1,106 miles of Trail maintenance- 33 miles of Trail reconstruction- 80 volunteer training events.