Building great trails requires more than just digging in the dirt. It demands a proven process that unites communities, secures resources, and ensures lasting results. In this webinar, IMBA experts will guide you through an overview of the seven critical steps of the Trail Development Process, from initial access and community engagement to long-term stewardship. You will learn about the benefits of a structured process, how to secure land access and funding, and effective community engagement strategies. We'll conclude by looking at a real-world case study to show how these steps come together to create successful and sustainable trails, providing you with a starting point for your own projects.

This session moves beyond treating Trailforks as a simple map and navigation tool. Trail systems are complex, living entities that require effective management, precise data, and clear communication. Learn how to transform your trail stewardship efforts by harnessing the powerful feature set of the Trailforks platform. We will detail actionable strategies for creating and maintaining the most accurate trail data available, streamlining your maintenance operations, and leveraging community reporting to keep your trails safe, sustainable, and enjoyable. Discover how to enhance your organization's reputation and efficiency by becoming the definitive, trusted source for all things related to your trail network. By the end of this session, you will be able to: Identify the primary strategic benefits of using Trailforks as a comprehensive trail management platform. Outline the fundamental, easy-to-follow process for inputting and verifying data to maintain the most accurate and authoritative digital trail maps for your region. Explain how to leverage Trailforks' reporting and status features to effectively communicate current trail conditions, manage volunteer work efforts, and receive actionable public feedback in real-time.

Have you ever wondered who makes your favorite mountain bike trails possible, or how you can help protect and improve them? This course will guide you through the essential principles of mountain bike advocacy, empowering you to become an active supporter or leader in your trail community. You'll learn what advocacy means, why it matters, and how to take practical steps to make a difference, whether you're just starting out or ready to launch a campaign. Through engaging lessons, you'll gain the knowledge and skills to build coalitions, communicate effectively, and help shape the future of mountain biking in your area. After this course, you will: Understand mountain bike advocacy, explain its importance in securing and protecting trail access. Apply core advocacy principles to effectively leveraging Grassroots and Grasstops strategies, and successfully employing diverse communication methods. Differentiate between proactive and reactive advocacy and understand why a strong foundational plan is necessary to turn reactive moments into successful opportunities rather than setbacks.

Advocating for Access and Funding The trail access mountain bikers enjoy today is the result of decades of dedicated advocacy by individuals and organizations across the country. From protecting access to public lands to shaping policy and funding priorities, advocates have played a crucial role in making mountain biking one of the most sought after activities on the recreation landscape. This success has been guided by two distinct, but related actions: leveraging the collective voice of mountain bikers and trail advocates from across the country to secure and protect access to public lands; and creating the long-term, trusted relationships with key decision makers in Washington D.C. and in state capitals across the country needed to build the resources and network to sustain mountain bike access on America's trail network. For nearly 40 years, IMBA has evolved into a dynamic and influential leader in outdoor recreation, continually building on a strong foundation to meet the needs of today’s trail communities. We began by protecting existing trail access. As the landscape evolved, so did our approach, moving from defense to proactively shaping legislation and policies that expand access, increase trail funding, and pave the way for new trail development. Now, we focus on building strong relationships with land managers and elected officials, and on understanding how to effectively use land-use policies, while keeping our eye on the ball. This approach empowers local advocates, strengthens community expertise, and drives meaningful progress in outdoor recreation policy.

The Roadless Rule was established in 2001. It was designed to keep backcountry forests wild and accessible, allow recreation and responsible management, and identify Roadless Areas on America’s national forests. The Roadless Rule protects Roadless Areas from new permanant road development and commercial timber harvest, but keeps them open to a range of recreational activities including mountain biking, climbing, hiking, paddling, fishing, and motorized use, as well as critical activities such as habitat restoration and emergency response. Think of it as a protective shield for undeveloped national forest areas. Its purpose is to protect remaining wild areas, conserve their ecological values, and preserve them for public recreation, while acknowledging the budgetary limitations of managing the existing extensive forest road system located outside these roadless areas. Roadless Areas are protected areas representing about 30% of National Forest land, totaling about 59 million acres. Over 50% of National Forests are already available for multi-use actions and projects like timber and mining making use of the 370,000 miles of USFS roads located on that half of forest lands. Roadless Areas are remote, unroaded landscapes treasured by the outdoor recreation community for the backcountry recreation experiences they provide.

Every great trail project may come across obstacles, but you don’t have to navigate them alone. This resource is designed to help you understand and overcome the most common barriers by utilizing the IMBA Trail Development Process. Success starts with the people. Strong projects begin with building relationships in the community, working with land managers, and showing care for the trails that already exist. These steps create trust and momentum. Without this foundation, projects may stall or encounter challenges. By proactively addressing these issues, you’ll be better prepared to move your project from idea to reality and put sustainable trails on the ground in your community.

In this course, you'll learn how to understand and engage the trail audience, from supporters to those with concerns. We'll move past simply identifying these groups to help you understand their motivations and viewpoints. Through practical examples, you'll gain the skills to address potential challenges and build collaboration, ensuring the trail project has the community support it needs to succeed. By the end of this course you will be able to: Analyze the motivations and concerns of diverse trail audiences to anticipate project challenges and support. Develop tailored strategies to effectively engage and collaborate with key stakeholders. Understand how to gain community support by integrating audience understanding and collaborative strategies.

Join the IMBA Development Team to explore the successful fundraising strategies behind the Bean Peaks Gravity Flow Trails in Prescott, AZ. This case study serves as an example for organizations and communities across the country seeking to understand place-based fundraising — securing financial support by directly connecting fundraising to a place-based project. You will learn how the project successfully leveraged relationships with major individual donors and gained significant support from local community foundations to achieve funding goals. Discover actionable insights for planning, executing, and sustaining financial support for your own local initiatives. Learning Objectives: Upon completing this webinar, participants will be able to: 1. Analyze how place-based fundraising strategies leverage local identity. 2. Apply techniques for identifying and cultivating major individual donors. 3. Understand effective strategies for securing support from local community foundations.