Joseph Branch Trail Consortium nears end of year fundraising goal
By Garrett Christensen on Thursday, December 26th, 2024 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
JOSEPH – With less than a week to go, the Joseph Branch of the Trail with Rail project is on the cusp of hitting its end of year fundraising goal of $20,000 dollars. The last update provided by the Joseph Branch Trail Consortium indicates the organization has around only $5,500 dollars left to fundraise. The money will help pay for day-to-day operations of the project going into 2025.
For those unfamiliar, Joseph Branch Trail with Rail is a program meant to create a 63-mile non-motorized trail connecting the communities of Elgin, Minam, Wallowa, Lostine, Enterprise and Joseph. The trail, built alongside pre-existing railroad tracks, is intended to be accessible for hikers, cyclists and horseback riders, while also preserving the rails for future use. The project will also feature pocket parks at various trailheads within city limits, including the Elgin Trail Head Pocket Park that opened in May 2024.
Aside from the fundraising efforts, the Consortium has a handful of other updates as the year wraps up. The project recently received a $500 grant from the Wallowa County Cultural Trust Coalition to install a new piece of art at the Wallowa Trailhead Pocket Park in the City of Wallowa.
Trail with rail recently received a visit from someone instrumental in the original 2021 grant that helped pay for the construction of the Elgin pocket park and trail segment. Jodi Bellefeuille, coordinator of the State Parks grant program, recently visited the region and toured the park and trail section with board president Shannon Donovan. Quoting from a recent Consortium newsletter, Bellefeuille reflected:
“It was so great to FINALLY see this project up close — to actually walk out the trail along the Grande Ronde River and explore the Pocket Park Trailhead. After seeing just a line on paper for so long, it exceeded my expectations to see the trail in person! It’s so rewarding to experience how our grants positively impact small, rural communities like Elgin in ways that will last lifetimes. And it’s been wonderful working with the Joseph Branch Trail team.”
For more information on the project, visit: https://www.josephbranchtrail.org/
