Mancos Trails has been named Mancos Valley Resources’ Project of the Year.
The group was honored after a year of trailblazing at Mancos Town Trail, Mancos Spur, Chicken Creek nordic area and the Aqueduct parcel.
Mancos Trails Group was founded in 2012 in line with the Mancos Board of Trustees’ adoption of the town’s master trails plan.
Mancos Valley Resources, a nonprofit, is the leading fiscal sponsor for 14 charitable projects in the Mancos Valley.
It took the Mancos Trails Group under its wing in 2017 “with the mission of promoting trail stewardship, developing and maintaining sustainable trails and promoting positive trail interactions among all trail users in Mancos,” a news release said.
“We’re super-lucky to have them under our umbrella,” said Kim Cox, Mancos Valley Resources administrator.
In 2021, Mancos Trails built 17 miles of trails with the help of more than 6,700 volunteer hours, according to Don Hoffheins, vice chairman of Mancos Trail Group.
By November, the group aims to complete an 8-mile stretch of trail at the Aqueduct parcel.
It finished a third of the multiuse, nonmotorized trail on the Bureau of Land Management parcel a mile from downtown. Horse trailers now may park where the old landfill was.
The group was honored in a Feb. 15 Zoom meeting, Cox said. A summer celebration likely will follow.
“That group, they have a really solid base of volunteers,” she said.
Mancos Trails has provided a social outlet for the community, she said.
“It was a bit of a surprise but a great recognition of the accomplishments we had in 2021,” said Robert Meyer, chairman of the Mancos Trails Group.
The “single most gratifying” endeavor was the completion of 10½ miles of trails in the Chicken Creek area, he said.
“That was a huge thing that’s been in the works for a few years,” he said.
Only 1½ miles remains to be finalized there.
The volunteer organization needs more board members, Meyer said.
Those interested in assisting with volunteer and membership coordination, mapping and GIS, grant writing, accounting and general office work should contact mancostrailsgroup@gmail.com.
“We just appreciate the support of everyone in the Mancos community and outside of the community,” Meyer said.
Donations to Mancos Trail Group may be made through its website, www.mancosvalleyresources.com, or by mail to P.O. Box 204, Mancos, CO 81328.
