Idaho Trails Association to celebrate volunteers

The Idaho Trails Association will be holding a special Volunteer Appreciation Party and general meeting on Saturday, May 13 near Sandpoint, Idaho.

The general meeting is open to the public and will include special presentations and demonstrations on search and rescue services, bear safety, special tools ITA uses, and some new hiking and backpacking gear.

We’ll even have a rescue helicopter and crew at the meeting. The presentations start at 2:00 pm at 877 Heath Lake Road in Sagle, ID.

The ITA was founded in 2010 to help maintain hiking trails in Idaho. In the first year of operation, 13 ITA volunteers worked on 1 trail near McCall, Idaho. Six years later, in 2016, 222 volunteers spent 3,796 hours working on trails throughout the state. One of the areas where ITA is growing fastest is here in northern Idaho and this success is due to our members and volunteers. The event on May 13 is in recognition of their hard work.

In addition to a “thank you” party for our volunteers, the Idaho Trails Association has arranged to have experts talk about skills those volunteers, members, and local hikers can use to stay safe while enjoying our public lands. Topics we’ll cover include:

- What to do if you need to be rescued while hiking or camping. Experts from the Priest Lake Search and Rescue (PLSAR) organization will talk about how to prepare, how to contact Search and Rescue, and what to do until they arrive. PLSAR provides the search and rescue service for the Bonner County Sheriff’s department and has been saving lives here since 2001.

- How helicopters are used in rescue operations. The highly regarded Two Bear Air organization will fly to and land at our meeting in their Bell 429 helicopter. Their crew members will show and tell us about their incredible machine and the service they provide. Two Bear Air has an amazing record of successful rescues in Idaho and Montana since they started flying in 2013.

- What to do to avoid and how to react to encounters with bears and other wild animals. An expert from the Idaho Department. of Fish and Game will give us the latest advice and then demonstrate the use of bear spray.

After these presentations, everyone will have a chance to visit with the experts, try the cross cut and other saws that the Idaho Trails Association uses on field projects, and look at some of the latest and best gear for hiking and backpacking. We’ll then talk about the projects planned for 2017 and how to volunteer to help.

Following all of that, ITA will provide dinner and refreshments for our members and volunteers who worked on projects in 2016. Members of the public who sign up ahead of time can purchase dinner ($15 per person) and stay for the rest of the program to learn more about ITA and how we can all help to keep our hiking trails open.

To sign up for the dinner, please go to the ITA website at www.idahotrailsassociation.org. Click on the lead story titled “May 13 Northern Idaho Appreciation Party” and then on the signup button. If you have any questions, send an email to tom@idahotrailsassociation.com.