Arizona Trail Association (ATA) Handbook and Guide for Segment
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Segment Steward Handbook March, 2014 Handbook for Arizona Trail Segment Stewards (Copies of this handbook and recent updates are available at www.aztrail.org) Table of Contents Page Purpose 2 Background The Arizona Trail and National Scenic Trail (NST) System 2 The Arizona Trail Association (ATA) and its Passages, Segments, and Segment Stewards 2 Partners with the ATA 3 Partnership for the National Trails System (PNTS) 3 Trail Steward Program The Arizona Trail Segment Steward 3 Other Important Roles 4 Training and Professional Development 4 Operations Things to Know and Do for Your Passage 6 Assessment of Your Segment 7 Work Events: a. Preparation for Work Events 8 b. Conduct of Work Events 10 c. Segment Steward Work Event Reimbursement Policy 11 Interaction With Trail Users 12 Land Management Agency Representatives 12 Recruitment for the ATA and Selling the AZT/ NST Reporting Volunteer Hours Planning Your First Event – Tips for Success 14 ATA Work Event Checklist Appendices 13 The Arizona Trail Association is a 501(c)3 charitable organization PO Box 36736, Phoenix, AZ 85067 Phone: 602-252-4794 Email: [email protected] Website: www.aztrail.org ATA Segment Steward Handbook 2 March, 2014 Handbook for Arizona Trail Segment Stewards “The Arizona Trail Association's mission is to build, maintain, promote, protect and sustain the Arizona Trail as a unique encounter with the land.” Purpose This handbook has been prepared as a guide and a tool to assist those persons who have agreed to accept the position as Arizona Trail Segment Steward. It is the official reference document for prerequisites and training required by the Arizona Trail Association (ATA) for each Segment Steward. The loose-leaf format will facilitate changes, updates, deletions, and additions as well as a place to organize other related information each steward may find helpful. The most current version of this handbook is available at www.aztrail.org. Background 1. The Arizona Trail (AZT) and National Scenic Trail (NST) System The Arizona Trail is an 800+ mile pathway across the state of Arizona. Most of the trail is open only to non-motorized trail users. A brief history of the AZT, its description, passages, stewards, maps, GPS coordinates and other information can be found at the Arizona Trail Association’s internet web-site: www.aztrail.org. The Arizona Trail was designated a National Scenic Trail in March 2009. See Appendices V and VI for details of Public Laws 90-543 and 111-11. This designation provides a greater degree of protection in establishing and retaining the 800+ mile long trail as a national trail. National Scenic Trail status involves a greater responsibility and a more focused approach by the land management agencies and the ATA. The ATA and all of its volunteers are required to maintain and operate the AZT in a manner consistent with it being a premier attraction for a positive outdoor experience. The National Trails System Act (P.L. 90-543) was signed into law in 1968. As of August, 2009 there are 11 National Scenic Trails and 19 National Historic Trails in the System. There are about 53,000 miles in the two classes of national trails through out our nation. Each National Scenic and Historic Trail is administered by a federal agency, either the Department of the Interior or Department of Agriculture (DOA). The DOI includes the National Parks Service (NPS) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The DOA includes the National Forest Service. The National Forest Service is the administering federal entity responsible for the Arizona National Scenic Trail. 2. The Arizona Trail Association (ATA) and Its Passages, Segments, and Segment Stewards. ATA Segment Steward Handbook 3 March, 2014 The Arizona Trail Association is a 501c(3) non-profit organization that was founded in 1994 to help build, maintain, and promote the Arizona Trail as a unique encounter with the land, to provide an outstanding recreational and educational resource, and to provide opportunities for citizens to become involved in the development, maintenance, use, and enjoyment of the trail. The ATA is primarily a volunteer group whose labor, membership, and donations help to protect and preserve the AZT and to accomplish the above tasks. The ATA works closely with various federal, state, and county land management agency partners as well as with businesses, individuals, and others to carry out its functions for the trail. The ATA has divided the AZT / NST into 43 management units called Passages which have been further divided into Segments. Segments are varying lengths but ideally less than 10 miles in order to be manageable by a Segment Steward. A Segment Steward is an individual or organization who or which has accepted maintenance responsibility for an AZT segment. The goal for each steward is to make that section of the AZT user friendly and passable. As a Segment Steward some of the most important functions include: a. Keep the trail and trailheads in top condition, well signed and groomed. b. Annually, or more often, physically assess the condition of the segment. See Appendix II and paragraph 1 under “Operations” below. c. Be always looking for, recruiting, training, mentoring, encouraging, and engaging other good people to be ATA members, Crew Leaders, and Segment Stewards. d. Know the trail segment, its trace, topography, flora and fauna, water sources, camp sites, access, historical and cultural features, and cautions. e. Please see paragraph 1 under “Appendices” below for additional requirements for Segment Stewards. 3. Partners With The ATA. The AZT traverses Arizona State Trust Land, Arizona State Parks, National Forests, National Parks, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) properties, County and City land, and a small portion of private lands. These land management agencies are all important partners with the ATA in the mutual efforts to build, maintain, and administer the AZT. 4. Partnership for the National Trails System (PNTS). The Partnership for the National Trails System is a 501c(3) non-profit corporation organized in 1995 to further the protection, completion, and stewardship of the National Trails System. It is composed of non-profit trail organizations such as the ATA and federal agencies who manage public land. More information about the PNTS is available at http://www.nationaltrailspartnership.org. ATA Segment Steward Handbook 4 March, 2014 Trail Steward Program 1. The Arizona Trail Segment Steward The ATA, working in conjunction with its land managing partners, strives to keep the entire trail in good condition. The ATA actively uses volunteer Segment Stewards as the primary way to accomplish that task. The task consists of a range of duties and difficulties from clearing vegetation on and near the trail to rebuilding eroded sections. And for technical and difficult sections, experienced assistance is available. The length of an adopted section can be individually tailored to suit the steward. A few sections will require hiking or backpacking several miles to trail work areas. In order to become a segment steward, volunteers should: a) contact, apply and work with a Regional Chief Steward (current Regional Chief Stewards are listed on the ATA Stewards web page); b) attend four Arizona Trail work events to gain on the job experience; c) attend an a ATA offered workshop, presented by experienced ATA personnel on planning, organizing, and conducting a successful and productive ATA work event; d) attend a Crew Leadership Training course offered annually by the ATA and / or its partner organizations; e) sign a Segment Steward Agreement Form 2. Other Important Trail Roles. There are other positions and roles that are important to each segment steward. First, the Regional Chief Steward is your immediate “supervisor” and is the first source of help or information after you have exhausted your own resources. The regional chief steward is a formal position approved by the ATA Board of Directors who reports to the ATA Trail Director. Second, as a segment steward on work events you may assign a person the role of “crew leader” to oversee the work of a small group of volunteers. Crew leaders are experienced and knowledgeable trail workers. Often, the segment steward also serves as a crew leader. All segment stewards, as a part of his or her position, are expected to complete crew leadership training. A third important role is that of a “technical advisor (TA)” A TA is a person who is an expert in technical aspects of building and maintaining trails and their associated structures and facilities. Such persons have gained their expertise through either technical training or through experience. Segment stewards often rely on TA’s to assist with such specific problems that occur on the trail. These include such things as safety, trail design and lay-out, construction of extensive water control devices; switch-backs; retaining walls; trail head designs and signage; gates; and the safe operation and use of chain-saws, cross-cut saws, grip-hoists, and high-lines. Finally, most land management agencies have professional employees who have direct responsibility for trails, often as a portion of a larger recreation responsibility. ATA Segment Steward Handbook 5 March, 2014 For example, within the Forest Service, these people could be responsible for the trails within a Ranger District or a Region of a named forest. As a segment steward, this person is your primary point of contact with that land management agency. 3. Additional Training and Professional Development. The Arizona Trail Association strongly encourages all who are associated with the ATA and the AZT to take advantage of professional development training when they are available. The ATA will seek to offer training courses at no cost or to subsidize such courses to reduce the course fee. Such courses include the VOC / OSI two day “Crew Leadership for Trails” course and its “Train-the-Trainer” course to become an instructor for this leadership course; the Wilderness Medicine Institute’s “Wilderness First Aid” course; the American Red Cross CPR course; and “certification” courses such courses offered by various land management agencies.