Upper Valley Trails Alliance to Host Regional Trails Forum on May 12, 2010

The Upper Valley Trails Alliance will host a community trails forum, Trails Connect 2, on Wednesday, May 12, 2010 from 6:00 to 8:30 PM at the Montshire Museum of Science in Norwich, VT.

Since the first Trails Connect Forum in 2008, the Trails Alliance has been working on a number of community projects including:
- The Upper Valley Loop Trail – a signed bike loop using existing bicycle infrastructure in Hanover, Norwich, Hartford, and Lebanon
- The Mascoma River Greenway – a proposed extension of the Northern Rail Trail that will ultimately connect the villages of Lebanon and West Lebanon and
- The Upper Valley Trail Finder – an online trails database for non-motorized public access trails in the region.

“All of these projects were action items identified by participants from the 2008 forum,” says Russell Hirschler, Director of the Upper Valley Trails Alliance.

The purpose of Trails Connect 2 is to share updates on community trail projects and then engage the participants to help the Trails Alliance prioritize and move forward on the next set of key trail projects in the Upper Valley. “It is so important for us to hear what our constituents want in terms of future trail projects. In addition we need input on how our organization should focus its resources,” added Hirschler.

The evening will include Trails Project Updates, a Demonstration of Upper Valley Trail Finder, and Community Input and Learning Sessions, such as:
- Expanding the Upper Valley Loop Trail
- Mountain Biking on Trails: Issues and Solutions
- Building Capacity for Your Trail Group
- Healthy Eating Active Living and others.    

Light refreshments will be served. Trails Connect 2 is co-sponsored by the Upper Valley Trails Alliance and the Montshire Museum of Science.