REI Announces Grants to Local Nonprofits
Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI) annually donates a portion of the previous year’s operating profits to organizations that care for and increase access to popular outdoor recreational areas. The grant recipients for 2016 are the Gallatin Valley Land Trust, Montana Conservation Corps, Yellowstone Park Foundation, and Friends of Hyalite.
The 2016 REI grant to GVLT will provide ongoing support in the development of the new Bozeman Pond Park. Located on Bozeman’s west end where much of the city’s growth is occurring, the park will be an important hub in the urban trail system, connecting a climbing boulder, natural playground, off-leash dog park, and fishing pond to the larger community. The REI grant will help to fund the construction of trails, a kiosk trailhead sign, and natural playground.
MCC brings young people together to work on conservation projects as a means of developing a strong connection to the land while helping them develop as leaders and citizens. The REI grant will engage young people in the stewardship of the heavily used Middle Cottonwood and Bridger Foothills National Recreation Trails, both of which are major access points to the Bridger Mountains. The improvements will include re-routing the trail away from the creek, modifying the grade, and creating erosion control structures. Given the increasing demands on Bozeman’s trails, the improvements will better accommodate higher traffic and require less maintenance in the future. In celebration of National Public Lands Day in September, REI volunteers will team up with MCC crews on this grant-funded project.
The REI grant to the Yellowstone Park Foundation will contribute to the five-year comprehensive Trails Fund Initiative by supporting trail improvements in the greater Old Faithful area. With increasing visitation to our country’s first national park, particularly during the 2016 National Park Service centennial, the 1000+ miles of trails in Yellowstone are badly in need of repair. Only twice during the 20th century has the NPS committed to improving and expanding Yellowstone’s trails, the most recent of which was almost half a century ago. Through the Trails Fund Initiative and the REI grant, front and backcountry trails will be restored to protect natural resources and to enhance the visitor experience.
Friends of Hyalite is dedicated to the stewardship of, access to, and support for year round recreation in Hyalite Canyon, the most heavily used recreation site in the northern Rockies. With annual visitation at approximately half a million people, public demand for information about Hyalite is considerable. The REI grant to Friends of Hyalite will be used to produce a summer recreation map to improve the recreational experience for hikers, mountain bikers, climbers, and other visitors by providing map and trail information that is currently in high demand but does not exist elsewhere.
