Successful Bake Days!!!

An immense thank you to Great Harvest University for their Bake Days Fundraising and to the community participation!!!

We raised over $9,000 toward our downtown bike racks project! Details about the project here.

Winter Family Fun Day

Another successful Winter Family Fun Day was held for the 5th year in a row on January 6th, 2018 at the Elkhorn Hot springs. The event was sponsored by the US Forest Service, the Beaverhead Trails Coalition, Pioneer Mountain Education Foundation and the Elkhorn Hot Springs.

About 60 participants of all ages enjoyed games, races, beacon search, cross country skiing and snowshoeing loops. The younger attendees built bird feeders while the older attendees learned about snow safety and winter wildlife. All could then warm up with hot coco and snack, and a soak in the Hot Springs at a reduced price!

Thank you very much to all the sponsors, volunteers and participants for a very fun day out!

BTC featured in Backpacker Magazine

The Beaverhead Trails Coalition's High Trails Project is featured in the March 2018 issue of the Backpacker Magazine! 

The outdoor oriented publication comes back on how the High Trails Lands were once public and became private in a land exchange in the 80's. It briefly describes how the Beaverhead Trails Coalition is working on getting the land back to public use, with the help of generous contributions from grantors and the community.

Enjoy the article and order your copy at www.backpacker.com.

Photo: Ben Moore

Great Pint Night Fundraiser on November 3rd!!!

Thank you to all participants to the Pint Night Fundraiser hosted at the Beaverhead Brewing Company on November 3rd. 

We had a lot of fun listening to the great music from Bill Dwyer, showing off our projects, and meeting with all of you! We also had a raffle with prizes generously donated by the Dillon Patagonia outlet store, and Tee-Shirts for sales!

A special thank you to the Beaverhead Brewing Co, Patagonia outlet store, M. Stan Smith from Big Sky Cinemas for the yummy popcorn, M. Bill Dwyer and to the generous sponsor of an new acre in the high trails project!

Wonderful new trail work done!

Come to the high trail area and check out the new trail work done recently, mainly on the dry fall section of the Grand Canyon area. On Saturday, October 28th, a group of volunteers including USFS trail experts, BCHS Key Club, BTC members and a few other volunteers worked hard to improve our trail system. First, check out the the great photos, then check out the system in person and the major improvements. This work will help the trails last for a long term, and help prevent erosion. If you are interested in donating to help gain more land and expand our high trails system, click here. If you would like to learn more about the high trails area, click here!

New Benches!!!!

This past spring, our beloved bench was stolen from our high trails system, as well as a bench the BLM had installed on their section of land. On October 14th, a group of BTC members and volunteers worked hard and installed not one but two new benches on the trail system. Come check out the new benches with great views! Thank you to the McNeill Family, for their memorial bench donation in honor of Bob and Chris McNeill, and to Bill and Roxi Mancoronal at General Welding and Repair for their donation of the second bench!  See the map below for the locations of the new benches! 

If you would like to donate a bench to the Dillon Town Overlook trail system, on your own, in honor of someone, or perhaps in memorium, please contact us! We would love to make that happen! 

Below are pictures of the new benches, the area they overlook, and the amazing volunteers who helped install them. Keep scrolling to see the map and where the benches are now located. 

Come check out the new Cairns!

Thank you to all who came and helped build new cairns on Tim's Ridge. This is a newer trail on the farthest southwest corner of the trail system. The trail is still being worked on, and as it develops the cairns will help guide you along the way. Check out these great pictures of the area being developed for all to use! 

Thank you University of Montana Western!

We would like to extend a large "Thank you!" to Wendy Ridnour and her class from the Environmental Department from the University of Montana Western. They worked hard on October 12, 2017 to rid the area around the iconic "M" on the hill of invasive weed species. Then October 13th, they all returned to plant native plants in the area. Enjoy the pictures from the hard work, and if you see any around town, give a big thank you! 

Welcome our New Executive Director! Celine Beaucamp-Stout!

We have exciting news! Please welcome our new Executive Director, Celine Beaucamp-Stout! 

Celine grew up in the north of France, in Arras. Later she moved with her family to the French Alps region, finished high school and continued on to earn her bachelor degree in Environment and Geology from Université de Savoie. Afterwards she travelled to Montreal and finished a Masters degree in Economic geology from the Université du Québec à Montréal.

Later she moved to Vancouver, and then moved to Elko, Nevada as a mining geologist. She met her now husband and the rest is history. They later moved to Dillon, MT to be closer to his family in the summer of 2015. 

Since moving to Dillon, MT, Celine has volunteered with the Forest Service hydro group, subbed in the schools, and began working at the University of Montana Western. 

Along with being the Executive Director for the BTC, Celine is also a Yellowstone Geology Tour Instructor with Road Scholar, Geology Adjunct Instructor with the Environmental Sciences Department, and a Substitute Teacher at Beaverhead County High School. 

On the weekend you may find her around the area hiking, camping, fishing, gathering wood or taking a scenic drive in the Grasshopper Valley. She also loves a good cup of coffee, and strolling our downtown area. If you see Celine, introduce yourself and say hi! 

On another note… our former Executive Director, Kathleen Wagner will still be working with the Beaverhead Trails Coalition, in a lesser capacity. She will be continuing to write grants for the BTC, maintain website, and help with work overflow. Kathleen also will help with finalizing our Five Year Strategy. 

Great turn out at the Public Meeting!

The BTC held a public meeting on Wednesday, September 13th. The meeting was at the Old Depot Theater, from 6:30 pm to 8 pm. It was well attended by the public and discussion encompassed the proposed trail on Noble Ave. This trail will run along Noble Ave, from Highway 41 to Skihi St. The proposed trail will be 1400 feet in length, divided into 4 segments for engineerings purposes. The cost of the project is estimated currently to $126,000 plus the cost of a protective fence/net along the segment near the golf course, protecting walkers/bikers from stray golf balls. A gravel trail is proposed instead of paved, as it will keep costs and maintenance down. Grant funding from the LOR Foundation and United Way will pay for the pre-engineering costs, and then the BTC plans to apply to Fish Wildlife and Parks for a grant of $90,000. If we do not get this grant, we will aim next for a $45,000 grant. This trail would provide much needed connectivity between the two parts of town.