Union County Chamber of Commerce Receives MERA Non-motorized Map
By Garrett Christensen on Wednesday, September 28th, 2022 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
LA GRANDE – (Release from the Union County Chamber of Commerce) The Union County Chamber of Commerce, as the fiscal agent, recently completed a new Mt. Emily Recreation Area (MERA) guide for nonmotorized use. This project was funded, in part, by the Eastern Oregon Visitors Association’s Regional Grant Program* and driven by the volunteer efforts of many individuals and contributions of different entities throughout Union County. The guide is available locally at the Union County Chamber of Commerce, Side A Brewing, Mt. Works, Eastern Wheel Works, and Eastern Oregon University Outdoors Program, in addition to being robustly distributed throughout Washington, Oregon, Idaho at welcome and visitor centers, airports, and other highly visible stopping points.
“This project has been long in the making and it was an incredible experience to see so many different volunteers come together to make it happen,” Bart Barlow, project leader, commented. Volunteers with a wide variety of backgrounds came from organizations including Eastern Oregon University, Union County Public Works, the Blue Mountain Singletrack Trails Club, and more.
The non-motorized guide for MERA includes robust trail descriptions and ratings in addition to additional content and trip-based itinerary information. This guide is the first of many more coming, based on funding availability, with others focusing on winter recreation, overnight itineraries, and overlapping with other assets including the farm trail and other outdoor recreation and events. To start, five thousand guides were printed and being distributed regionally. “It is very exciting to have so many local partners come together to make this possible,” Suzannah Moore-Hemann, project volunteer, “it wouldn’t have been possible without everyone’s critical input and the crucial support of the Eastern Oregon Visitors Association.”
*The Eastern Oregon Regional Grant Program is supported by the passage of House Bill 4146, through Travel Oregon, the statewide tourism marketing organization. Travel Oregon was required to establish a Regional Cooperative Tourism Program (RCTP) to invest twenty percent of the statewide lodging tax in Oregon’s seven designated tourism regions. EOVA serves as the appointed Regional Destination Management Organization (RDMO) for the Eastern Oregon region and implemented the RCTP on behalf of the region.
