Group nets funds to buy final trail parcel

SANDPOINT — Members of the Friends of the Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail never thought all their hard work would pay off so quickly.

Nonprofit associates recently announced they successfully reached their funding goal of $400,000 to acquire the final parcel of the Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail. With the first stage of fundraising complete almost a year ahead of schedule, the announcement essentially guarantees public access to the mile-and-a-half waterfront trail for the future. Volunteers intend to honor the many foundations, companies and individuals that contributed to their success with a monument along the trail.

“When we first started out, we were fairly sure we could reach our fundraising goal in time, but we never anticipated we’d do it with a year to spare,” said group member Nancy Dooley.

The moment of truth arrived at the end of August, when a pair of anonymous donations tipped funding over the goal threshold, Dooley said. While nonprofit members are officially in celebration mode, however, everyone agrees that their work is far from over.

“The four-year acquisition plan was really the first big step for us,” nonprofit member Susan Drumheller said.

Dooley said once the excitement settles down, the Friends of the Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail intend to discuss their next big goals. These include securing portions of railroad right-of-way to complete Ponderay access, establishing an underpass under the railroad and master-planning future trail amenities. In the more distant future, volunteers hope to see the trail extend to Kootenai and Ponder Point — an effort that will require cooperation from the railroad and the U.S. Army Cops of Engineers.  

In fact, efforts to enhance the trail have already begun thanks to donations from Sandpoint Rotary Club. As a result, hikers and bikers can enjoy the additions of a picnic table, bench, garbage can and Mutt Mitt dispenser.  

It’s been a long haul for group volunteers and city officials to see the fruition of their goals. The process began in 2011, when representatives of the city of Sandpoint negotiated a deal with trail property owners. Under the arrangement, Sandpoint would purchase the first two property parcels, Ponderay would buy the third and volunteers would raise funds for the fourth. There were a few open questions inherent in that deal — would the city councils support the purchases? Would fundraising be completed in time?

It didn’t take long for answers to arrive. Sandpoint finalized the first two purchases in 2011 and 2012. Ponderay has the next purchase inscribed into its budget. And the Friends of the Pend d’Oreille Bay Trail are ready to go in 2014 when the call arrives.

“I’m really grateful for the cities supporting us on this,” Drumheller said. “What it did was really create the momentum that carried us to future success.”