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Nearly 200 attendees made last year's Trailbuilders Conference the largest of WTBA's 26 annual conferences.
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Conference Session Schedule
As of February 4. Details of each session follow the schedule.
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| Tuesday, February 11, 2003 |
| 7:45 - 2:00 |
Registration |
Registration
(just outside of conference area)
7:45 - 2:00
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| 8:00 - 12:00 |
TrailWare Software Workshop (separate fee & registration required)
Beneficial Designs |
WTBA Business Meeting
(8:45 - 11:45)
WTBA members only |
| 1:00 - 1:20 |
Welcome and Introductions
Troy Scott Parker, WTBA President |
| 1:20 - 1:30 |
Ride for Kids Program |
| 1:30 - 2:00 |
American Trails and the National Trails Symposium
Pam Gluck, Executive Director, American Trails |
| 2:00 - 2:20 |
Interagency Trails Training Course
Deb Salt, BLM National Trails Program Manager |
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| 2:20 - 2:40 |
Forest Service, Region 6 Trail Training Opportunities
Gail Throop, R6 Trails Program Manager |
| 2:40 - 3:00 |
Break |
| 3:00 - 4:30 |
Results of Comparison Study of Soil Stabilization Products
Roger Bergmann, USDA Forest Service, San Dimas Technology and Development Canter |
Redevelopment of the National Historic Iditarod Trail
Daniel Golden, Project Manager, Chugach National Forest |
| 7:00 - 10:00 |
Informal Party (at Atlantis Nightclub inside the hotel) |
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| Wednesday, February 12 |
| 8:00 - 11:00 |
Registration |
Registration
(just outside of conference area)
8:00 - 11:00
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| 8:30 - 10:00 |
Hybrid Contracting
Roger Bell, Bellfree Contractors, Inc., Board Chair of American Trails, and WTBA member |
| 10:00 - 4:00 |
Indoor Trade Show and Outdoor Demo & Tryout Area |
Indoor Trade Show and Outdoor Demo & Tryout Area
10:00 - 4:00
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| 10:00 - 10:30 |
Break |
| 10:30 - 12:00 |
Design Options for Trails in Wetlands and Wet Areas
• Bob Steinholtz, NPS (retired) and Bristlecone Trails
• Gerry Wilbour, Northwest Trails, Inc. and WTBA member |
Soil Hardening Agents and Uses—Demonstations & Presentations
Trade Show Vendors |
| 12:00 - 1:00 |
Catered Lunch |
| 1:00 - 2:30 |
Key Elements of an Effective Trail Plan
Ken Wilcox, Osprey Environmental Services Inc. |
Developing and Administering a Quality Trail Contract
• Roland Kehlett, COR, Clearwater National Forest
• Dennis Smith, NWWS, Inc. & WTBA member
• Jim Slagle, Recreation Trails & WTBA member |
| 2:30 - 2:45 |
Break |
| 2:45 - 4:30 |
Initiatives in Trail Funding
• Pam Gluck, American Trails
• Christopher Douwes, Program Director, Federal Highway Administration
• Roger Bell, Board Chair of American Trails, trail contractor and WTBA member
• Terry Johnson, Land-Tech Montana (trail contractor) and WTBA member |
| 4:30 - 5:00 |
National Trails Training Partnership
• Dana Bell, National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council (NOHVCC)
• Panel |
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| 6:00 - 10:00 PM |
Annual Awards and Entertainment Banquet
with presentations by Bob Steinholtz of Bristlecone Trails and Dana Bell and Dave Mensing of American Frontiers |
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| Thursday, February 13 |
| 8:00 - 8:45 am |
Trail Agency Budgets and Projects for Bid in 2003
Agency representatives |
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| 9:00 - 3:00 |
Indoor Trade Show and Outdoor Demo & Tryout Area |
Indoor Trade Show and Outdoor Demo & Tryout Area
9:00 - 3:00
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| 9:00 - 10:30 |
Porous Pavement Panels and Other Trail Hardening Techniques for OHV Trails in Wet Areas
Kevin Meyer and Kevin Keeler, NPS Rivers & Trails Conservation Assistance Program |
Competitive Sourcing and the New A-76 Analysis Requirements
Dave Bos, National Park Service and Gary Paull, Trails & Wilderness Coordinator, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest |
| 10:30 - 10:45 |
Break |
| 10:45 - 12:00 |
Appropriate Mechanized Equipment for Building Cost-Effective, Sustainable Trails
• Gerry Wilbour, Northwest Trails, Inc.
• Ken Baughman, Yakima Construction
• Carl May, May’s Trail Equipment & Leasing, LLC |
| 12:00 - 1:00 |
Catered Lunch |
| 1:00 - 5:00 |
HazMat Training and Certification |
HazMat Training and Certification
(separate fee & registration required)
1:00 - 5:00
Conducted by Stan Bones,
Civil Engineering Technician for Flathead National Forest and USFS Region 1 lead blaster
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| 1:00 - 2:20 |
Advocating Local Trails
Susan Diane, Executive Director, Truckee Trails Foundation |
| 2:20 - 2:45 |
Break |
| 2:45 - 5:00 |
Building Better Trails with IMBA
Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew |
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Session Details
Tuesday, February 11
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Interagency Trails Training Course
The Interagency Trails Training Course—an interagency and interdisciplinary training course pioneered by the National Trail Training Partnership, BLM, NPS and USFS—is being refined after initial efforts. Learn about this new course which is attempting to bring trail skills up to a common starting point.
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Results of Comparison Study of Soil Stabilization Products – Roger Bergmann, USDA Forest Service, San Dimas Technology in Development Center
Roger Bergmann will summarize the results of his study of many competing soil stabilization products. This will provide excellent objective info on the expanding product field of soil stabilizers.
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Redevelopment of the National Historic Iditarod Trail – Daniel Golden, Project Manager, Iditarod National Historic Trail (Seward to Girdwood section)
The project is located primarily within Alaska's Chugach National Forest. It includes the preservation, development, and management of the Iditarod National Historic Trail with development and/or management of hiking, biking, snowmachine, and cross-country ski trails. It also includes the protection, preservation and interpretation of heritage resources, and the development and/or management of trailheads and parking facilities.
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Wednesday, February 12
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Hybrid Contracting – Roger Bell, Bellfree Contractors, Inc.
"Hybrid contracting" is an increasingly common way to maximize trail design and construction resources. Volunteers or a client's own resources build some part of a project while a trail contractor performs aspects which require more time, equipment and/or expertise than volunteers or force account can provide. Hybrid contracting can also use trail contractors to design the trail and/or lead volunteers in trail construction. This session explores various combinations and presents many examples of real-world partnerships resulting in great trails. A longtime trail contractor, Roger Bell is a WTBA member, owner of Bellfree Constractors, Inc. and Naturtec, and Board Chair of American Trails.
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Design Options for Trails in Wetlands and Wet Areas – Bob Steinholtz, Bristlecone Trails, and Gerry Wilbour, Northwest Trails, Inc.
In coastal northwest Washington state with over 100 inches of rain per year, everything is wet and wetlands are often the only corridors left for trails in developed areas. Longtime resident, trail designer, and trail builder Gerry Wilbour will share some of the many low-tech to high-tech solutions which have proven useful for crossing wet areas, wetlands, and even bottomless peat bogs. Illustrated with many photos and real-world examples.
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Soil Hardening Agents and Uses—Demonstrations and Presentations
Presentation and live demonstrations by vendors and/or users of established and new soil hardeners: what works, what doesn't, proven applications.
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Key Elements of an Effective Trail Plan – Ken Wilcox, Osprey Environmental Services
While a trail plan may look good on paper, it may have serious shortcomings in practice. An experienced recreation planner and author of many successful (i.e. easily implemented) trail plans, Ken Wilcox will show you how to cover all the key bases in establishing your own trail plans.
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Developing and Administering a Quality Trail Contract – Roland Kehlett, COR, Clearwater National Forest; Dennis Smith, NWWS, Inc.; and Jim Slagle, Recreation Trails
Discussion from both the agency’s and the contractor’s point of view of how to craft quality trail contracts.
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Initiatives in Trail Funding – Pam Gluck, American Trails; Christopher Douwes, Federal Highway Administration; Roger Bell; and Terry Johnson
Wide-ranging discussion and brainstorming on potential initiatives which can secure trail funding from a variety of sources and purposes, including training. The audience is expected to creatively participate in developing ideas across agencies and traditional boundaries. Given current budget constraints, this is a timely issue and we hope for a lively and productive face-to-face discussion.
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National Trails Training Partnership – Dana Bell, National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council (NOHVCC) and panel
Report and discussion of progress and plans of the National Trails Training Partnership.
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Thursday, February 13
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Agency Trail Budgets and Projects for Bid in 2003
Trail budgets and pending contracts for 2003 and beyond. Representatives from various agencies will present outlines of current projects going out to bid and future trail budget trends. Of interest primarily to trail contractors.
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Porous Pavement Panels and Other Trail Hardening Techniques for OHV Trails in Wet Areas – Kevin Meyer and Kevin Keeler, NPS Rivers & Trails Conservation Assistance Program
In a well-documented comparison conducted by the National Park Service in Alaska, numerous trail hardening techniques were formally studied for six years. Porous pavement panels (PPP) emerged as a material with a lot of potential. RTCA will present their experiences with PPP at a number of demonstration sites in Alaska. Learn about porous pavement panels and other techniques and issues in hardening OHV trails in wet areas and unstable soils.
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Competitive Sourcing and the New A-76 Analysis Requirements – Dave Bos, National Park Service and Gary Paull, Trails & Wilderness Coordinator, Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest
Report on known aspects and progress of the new USDA Forest Service focus on outsourcing work previously done in-house. This could have far-reaching effects on USFS trail management.
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Appropriate Mechanized Equipment for Building Cost-Effective, Sustainable Trails – Gerry Wilbour, Northwest Trails, Inc. and Gerry Wilbour, Northwest Trails, Inc.; Ken Baughman, Yakima Construction; and Carl May, May’s Trail Equipment & Leasing, LLC
Selecting and using compact mechanized equipment for trail construction, including designing trails for efficient construction with mechanical aids.
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Advocating Local Trails – Susan Diane, Executive Director of the Truckee Trails Foundation in Truckee, CA
Susan Diane shares effective methods for local trails advocacy work.
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Building Better Trails with IMBA – IMBA Trailbuilding School and Trail Care Crew: Joey Klein, Rich Edwards, Scott Linnenburger and Aaryn Kay
This excellent presentation covers the essentials for sustainable natural surface trail design. Concise yet broad-ranging, it's one of the best explanations of basic trail construction we've seen. Highly recommended for beginners and intermediates. This is scheduled as a relatively long session and doubles as a primer for IMBA's Advanced Trailbuilding School workshop on Friday and Saturday. More info.
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Annual HazMat Training and Certification/Recertification (for all users of explosives in backcountry)
Stan Bones, Civil Engineering Technician for Flathead National Forest and USFS Region 1 blasting specialist, will conduct Hazardous Materials training and issue required annual certificates to holders of blasting licenses. Licenses are required for both private contractors and US agencies. This four-hour training, held as a concurrent session within the WTBA conference from 1-5 PM Thursday, has a separate fee of $60. |
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Expanded Trailbuilders Trade Show
In addition to indoor booths in the Ballroom Terrace next to the meeting rooms, you'll also be able to try out tracked and power equipment outdoors in an unfinished parking lot next to the hotel. Take 'er for a spin in the dirt and spend as much time as you like.
We encourage you to spend time one-on-one with vendors as you try out their equipment at your leisure. The outdoor demo area is across the Sky Terrace bridge on the other side of S. Virginia Street, next to an Outback Steakhouse restaurant. Weather is generally favorable for this — see typical Reno weather for this time of year.
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Friendly Networking
Networking lunches
Registration includes catered lunches on Wednesday and Thursday.
Wednesday lunch: Beef Stroganoff – Sautéed choice filet tips prepared in a wild mushroom cabernet sauce served over fettucine. Includes coffee and hot teas. Dessert is Raspberry Napoleon.
Thursday lunch: Hawaiian Chicken Brochette – Chicken breast pieces, fresh pineapple, and vegetables lightly glazed in teriyaki sauce. Served with fried rice and stir fry vegetables. Includes coffee and hot teas. Dessert is the Pastry Chef’s Special Selection.
Tuesday Night Informal Networking Party
On Tuesday night from 7 until midnight, we have an informal networking party. Enjoy networking with beer, soft drinks and munchies. Contractors often bring photos of their recent projects. This is the best time in the entire conference to meet people!
Wednesday Evening Banquet
The Banquet has awards, presentations, and networking over a good dinner with wine and entertainment.
This year's dinner is Pacific Salmon & Chicken Atlantis, a flavorful combination of charbroiled fresh Pacific Northwest salmon filet and pan-seared chicken breast topped with asparagus, prosciutto ham and Hollandaise sauce. Enjoy cheesecake with fresh fruit topping for dessert. All tables will have bottles of red and white wine.
WTBA's 2003 Harvey Bell Award
The Harvey Bell Award honors outstanding contributions to innovations in trail design and/or construction. WTBA is proud to present the 2003 Award to Bob Steinholtz for his long career in advancing trail design on all fronts and especially in rustic yet sustainable bridges and wet area crossings. Bob will share some of his findings and successes with us during the banquet.
American Frontiers
Dana Bell and Dave Mensing show highlights of American Frontiers' multi-modal journey from Mexico to Canada during Summer 2002 and share their observations of the state of the trails they encountered—often poor. The route roughly paralleled and sometimes followed the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail. While their well-documented, months-long journey was intended to spotlight the value of public lands, an unexpected result is a snapshot and an informal study of the trails they traveled by many modes. Hence their journey also spotlights the need for extensive trail maintenance—and increased funding for such maintenance—on many, many miles of public land trails.
Atlantis Casino Resort
New, modern conference area at Atlantis
Recently built, the conference areas at Atlantis are modern, attractive, and have excellent ventilation. Smoking is not permitted in any of the conference areas. We inspected the building at one of its busiest times and found the modern ventilation system quickly removes cigarette smoke even in the smoking areas. As a new building, it is also wheelchair accessible.
Costs
General registration is $150 before or on Jan. 24, $175 after Jan. 24.
Registration includes the Tuesday networking party and catered lunches on Wednesday and Thursday.
The Wednesday evening banquet is open to everyone at $30 per person.
Annual HazMat Training and Certification/Recertification is $60 before Jan. 24, $75 after Jan. 24.
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