Mon Forest Partnership Hopes To Fund Trail Maintenance

A dozen small towns around the Monongahela National Forest, including Davis, Thomas, Elkins and Franklin, have launched the “North Zone Trail Crew Campaign,” to handle a backlog of maintenance issues they say impact access to the trails. 

The forest spans over 920,000 acres with 566 miles of trails through the North Zone alone, which includes iconic locations like the Otter Creek Wilderness area, Dolly Sods and Seneca Rocks.  

But the old logging roads and rail lines that form trails today weren’t built for long term use. And harsh Allegheny winters bring down scores of trees every year, according to the Mon Forest Town Partnership. The result is a variety of challenges that impact access and enjoyment of the forest. 

“A trail that gets a lot of use may not have as much downfall fallen trees but it may be suffering from more drainage issues, water pooling up, getting mud on your boots as you walk along the trail. So, it’s not necessarily inaccessible, but it’s not the best trail experience, not only for the visitor or the hiker, but also for the ecosystem itself,” Sam Kniery, Towns Partnership spokesman, said.  

“Other trails may not have as many drainage issues, but they could be suffering from years of delayed maintenance, where trees have fallen down, social roots have started to wind around different parts of the trail so people can’t get through,” Kniery said. 

The Mon Forest Town Partnership says they hope to have three people in place to begin addressing the biggest issues in early 2027.  

“We describe it as a first pass of trail maintenance in 2027 and that includes widening corridors, clearing downfall and improving drainage,” Kniery said.  

The goal is to raise funds for three people to clear 3-5 miles of trails each day. For more information on the campaign, visit North Zone Trail Crew Fund.