Hope is on the horizon for connecting youth with the great outdoors. With the help of stimulus funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) had the opportunity to hire a youth crew to assist in a trails maintenance project within the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area (SPRNCA).

Special places like the San Pedro River corridor have been set aside by Congress as part of the National Landscape Conservation System in order to conserve these treasured landscapes for future generations. So, a perfect opportunity existed to put this concept into practice by contracting the next generation in American Conservation Experience (ACE) to help complete a project that will improve nearly 58 miles of trail within the conservation area. In total, nearly $800,000 was awarded through stimulus funding to complete this effort.

ACE was awarded $36,000 for six weeks of work on the Trail Maintenance and Reconstruction Project. The eight person crew out of Flagstaff, Ariz., had students from around the United States in their early twenties who wanted to make a difference in their world. 

To recognize this unique opportunity of acquiring stimulus funding for the SPRNCA, the BLM hosted a tour for interested stakeholders and members of the public that highlighted the overall vision of the project.

Arizona Associate State Director Ray Suazo joined the event, thanking ACE and the BLM employees for their innovative work and dedication that goes beyond the scope of simply widening a pedestrian pathway, but promotes forward thinking that acknowledged the need to make the trails system durable and lasting for years to come.

The stimulus funds for entire trail upgrade support two primary projects. In addition to the Trailhead and Maintenance Project, the Trailhead Access Renovation Project will provide for enhanced recreational and administrative access into the SPRNCA and improve visitor health and safety facilities at 10 trailhead portals.