Bend Don’t Break: Casey Andrews, Executive Director for COTA (Central Oregon Trail Alliance)

In this episode of Bend Don’t Break, Aaron Switzer sits down with Casey Andrews, Executive Director of Central Oregon Trail Alliance, to talk about stewardship, public lands, and the people who make Central Oregon’s trail system possible. Casey shares her path from working in national parks and forests across the country to leading one of the region’s most impactful outdoor nonprofits.

Casey and Aaron explore the realities of trail maintenance in a high use and fragile environment, the growing role of nonprofit partners as federal staffing declines, and why Central Oregon’s volunteer culture is so unique. The conversation highlights how trails are more than recreation infrastructure. They are economic drivers, community connectors, and shared responsibilities that require long term care and collaboration.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome to the Ben Don't Break Podcast. We are powered by the Source, Ben's locally owned media company and weekly newspaper. This podcast is our eddy in the rushing waters of local journalism. We are glad that you're taking some of your time to listen to us chat with people who shape our local community. Support us through our member program at Bensource.com.

SPEAKER_00 0:22

Thank you to our presenting sponsor, Remax Key Properties, a family-owned full-service real estate brokerage specializing in residential, luxury, commercial, new construction, and ranch and land properties. Their new state-of-the-art facility at 42 Greenwood Avenue is a modern collaborative space and the new home of the Bin Don't Break Podcast Recording Studio.

SPEAKER_01 0:45

I'm Aaron Sweitzer, publisher of The Source and producer, co-producer of this fine podcast with Megan Burton, who is unfortunately off-screen and sitting far too far away from the microphone to participate. Today we have Casey Andrews from Coda. She brings 15 years of experience working in public lands with roles spanning the National Park Foundation, National Park Service, and U.S. Forest Service. During her time with the Forest Service, she worked closely alongside Central Oregon Trail Alliance on trail planning, grant development, and getting projects from idea to dirt. Her background centers on building partnerships that actually work, as opposed to the other kind, coordinating across agencies, nonprofits, and volunteers to create and maintain trails that last and reflect the needs of the community. Casey is originally from Marquette, Michigan. She studied outdoor recreation, leadership, and management at North Michigan University before earning a graduate degree from Western Washington University. Outside of work, Casey spends as much time as possible on Central Oregon's trails with her family. For her, trails aren't just recreation, they're places where community stewardship and connection to the landscape come together. Casey, thank you for being here.

SPEAKER_03 1:59

Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_01 2:01

So before we dive into your work in the Forest Service and this other stuff, how did you get here from Marquette, Michigan? Were you originally from Michigan? Was that a I am.

SPEAKER_03 2:13

I'm originally from Northern Michigan. Marquette, Michigan. I'm a youper for those of you who are from that part of the country.

SPEAKER_01 2:19

A youper?

SPEAKER_03 2:20

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:22

Are you familiar with it?

unknown 2:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 2:24

I'm from the lower pencil. Okay. She understands.

SPEAKER_01 2:27

I got two youpers.

SPEAKER_03 2:28

Yeah. I'm not a youper.

SPEAKER_01 2:29

You're not a youper.

SPEAKER_03 2:30

Technically a troll. But um We got a youper and a troll. Um yeah, we're getting into the real detail of Michigan here. Um yeah, I'm I'm from northern Michigan and um spent most of my childhood there, uh, running around in the woods and starting to build trails informally, which is where I learned a little bit. I started to learn a little bit about land management and land ownership.

SPEAKER_01 2:54

And were you a recreator back in uh Uberville? It's true.

SPEAKER_03 2:59

Yeah, I have been from the start. They pretty much put you on a pair of cross-country skis as soon as you can crawl. So, yeah, I've been on on various trails uh since I was tiny. And then I actually moved overseas for a while. I was in Sri Lanka in India with my family and building trails. Um I wish. They were actually building houses. They worked for habitat for humans. Okay. Um, and it was, even though I didn't know it at the time, I was eight years old. I started to get to see how culture impacts land use and connection to place, and um how fortunate we are in certain places of the world to have that that connection close at hand. Uh yeah, so it's been a long adventure. Um, and then finally came back to the US.

SPEAKER_01 3:45

Okay. And uh But your family was over there. You came back with your family. And did you come back? You would you leave from Michigan, come back to Michigan?

SPEAKER_03 3:53

Yep. Okay. Yep, it's like a magnet in uh northern Michigan.

SPEAKER_01 3:56

I hear that about oopers.

SPEAKER_03 3:58

Yeah, it's hard to get away. Um yeah, so we came back to northern Michigan and that's where, like you mentioned, I went to school there. Yeah. Outdoor recreation.

SPEAKER_01 4:09

So when you're going to school uh in outdoor recreation, what was your what was your vision for what you thought you might get into with that degree? Or were you just really a heavy recreator?

SPEAKER_03 4:21

Um, a little bit of both. One, I I think in undergrad I realized, wow, I can make being outside a career. Yeah, why would anyone do anything other than this? And then I learned about like finances and money and that kind of thing. And yeah, uh, you know, but I stayed hooked. Um for me, it's always been really interesting to see how people connect with place, the the natural environment, how they recreate, and how that impacts people as stewards. And again, I'm using terminology I've figured out over a 30-year career. Um, but uh yeah, I've always been really interested in that and then connecting people to their public lands. And so yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:01

Yeah, I can remember when I was in high school, they um, of course, they gave us all tests about what we were gonna do for careers and what we should do. And uh ever every one of mine was outdoor, outdoor rec, work outside, work in the forest, plant tree, you know, all these things. And I just read and was like, oh, yeah, that's not happening. You know, pursued all these like in-office things. And gosh, do I look back and regret that boy look at being such a poo-pooer of uh working outside, but then wanting to spend all his time outside.

SPEAKER_03 5:33

So well, you know, it's a balance. You either live to work or work to live, and uh there are benefits to both sides of that coin. So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:43

So you graduate with the outdoor rec and then you are off to where?

SPEAKER_03 5:47

Uh I moved out to Washington and I knew I wanted to go to grad school at Western Washington, um, but needed residency. So I started working kayak guiding. I worked for Olympic National Park. Wow. Um I got some time as a climbing ranger. Beautiful kayaking ranger. It's been a lot of fun. Um so that's what got me out to the Pacific Northwest and engaged with uh the National Park Service. Um and then I moved into working with the National Forest Service. So I worked in um in the Tetons and was a riding ranger for a while. Um and again, through all this, I I started seeing all these different types of trails, trail systems, how they were formed, how they were managed, how they were not managed or maintained. Um and developing this like great passion. I'm an absolute trail geek. Yeah. Um, so much so that your listeners would just, you know, switch this podcast right and off. Uh so I won't do that. I won't torture anyone out there.

SPEAKER_01 6:52

I know they're all I mean, I'm so jealous of this path already that I'm I we're not even all the way to the end. And I'm like, oh yeah, just kayiding in the Olympics, and then over to the Tetons, switch over to riding, start learning about those kind of trails.

SPEAKER_03 7:10

It's been so fun. Yeah. It's been so fun. I won't, again, you know, for all of you out there thinking about this career, it's amazing. You'll be, what did they say, paid for in sunsets? Um, it's a very nice way of putting it.

SPEAKER_01 7:22

There's something to be said for it, I gotta say. Like I've I'm definitely, you know, if you were, you know, making a great living doing accounting, we wouldn't be having this conversation.

SPEAKER_03 7:34

I bet accounting is really cool. I don't, you know, it hasn't been my it depends on your brain. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:39

But as listeners go, I think we're all voting trail guide in the teetons.

SPEAKER_03 7:46

I might be partial to that route.

SPEAKER_01 7:48

Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_03 7:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:50

So, um, and so that was your kind of your entry into the Forest Service. And she's did so you did were you working, you're working as a ranger. Did you come begin to work here with the Forest Service?

SPEAKER_03 8:02

Um, no, I had I was going through grad school at Western at that point and um was studying technically environmental education, but I did a focus on international relationships with resource protection and recreation. Um and so I was able to go to a couple of different countries and see how different folks uh built trails and connected their communities to those trails. Um and through that experience, I was actually working at Olympic National Park when they were taking down the Elwa Dams. And um Yvonne Chinard came out for the grand opening of the river, I guess you could call it that, the first explosion of the dam. Um it doesn't sound so elegant, but um, he came out to give a talk, and I in my you know, younger graduate self, all dressed up in my little ranger uniform, just wearing Patagonia. Well, well, yeah, you know, everybody on their own. Um and I I just built up enough courage to pull him aside and say, hey, I'm working on this for my graduate research. I'm I'm looking at places to go to see how different cultures have interacted with their trail network. You know, I'm just so nervous. I'm just sweating through that polyester uniform at this point. And he was like, you know what? I've got an idea. You should go down to Patagonia and work at Patagonia National Park. It's a park I've been working on with um at that time it was Conservation Patagonica, now it's Tompkins uh conservation. And I said, heck yeah, send me up. Um and was able to go down and work with an international trails team down there. Wow. And learn a community.

SPEAKER_01 9:41

You got a direct referral from Yvonne Chenel.

SPEAKER_03 9:43

Yeah, I mean, like that's my one name draw. And if it's a pretty good name draw. It's I mean, I think I had maybe 15 seconds with this fella. So, you know, like claim to fame right there. Um, but I did get connected um going down there. The Tompkins were down there at the time, um, and just got to see a completely different way of working on trails and being able to work with a group of people from different What was it about what they were doing down there? So they were when I was down there, they were designing the trail system. And it's a really cool example of um converting land from uh historical use, which there was grazing, it had been slightly overgrazed, and they were turning it into a national park. And instead of saying, you know, um we're gonna hire, we're gonna bring in rangers that have not lived on this land who don't have a connection, they actually hired all the the livestock folks, the grazers. And they um brought them in as rangers. And so they were learning how to build and maintain trails for people instead of sheep. Um and so it was it was really comical conversations, I will say. Um, some of their perceptions of what is an appropriate slope for a trail is slightly different than what we use for humans. Sheep are different. Yeah, I was like, wow, well, that that is a direct route. Um that is just straight up the mountain there. Um, but it was really good cultural exchange. It um, like I said, was a funny experience along with uh very educational. And then I was able to bring those ideas back for my graduate work and um great just continue to to grow that love of trails.

SPEAKER_01 11:22

How long were you down there?

SPEAKER_03 11:24

Only like three months.

SPEAKER_01 11:25

Oh, okay. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 11:26

Yeah. So it was just a Have you been back? I have not. Since it's been fully designated and open to the public, I have not, and I'd love to go back to the house.

SPEAKER_01 11:34

Yeah, that'd be incredible. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 11:37

Yeah. So then you come back from graduate school and And I I this is when I switched over from the federal government to the National Park Foundation. Um there was an initiative that um some folks uh might be familiar with, the Every Kid Outdoors program, where uh fourth graders get free passes to all public lands and that opens it up for their family. And I was part of that initiative when it was just launching. So it hadn't been solidified into a um kind of continuous budget. It was, I think, a two-year initiative. So I was the director of the every kid at the time, every kid in a park initiative. They've changed the name to be more inclusive um and brought together all different partners, um, transit partners, uh folks from major league sports teams. Essentially what we were trying to do is connect with kiddos that um they might be able to see my rear from their backyard, but they'd never been there. And so yes, it was great. We got them this passed okay, there's about 25 barriers between them and getting to that mountain. Um so it was really enjoyable. I was able to go to DC and talk to some congressionals, and that got solidified into a permanent budget. Um and then jumped after that, I jumped back um into the national forest. So was in Hood River for a while before coming down to the Deschutes.

SPEAKER_01 13:06

And then here you worked for the Deschutes National Forest. It's uh and you said in your intro, um, and you were working with Coda at the time.

SPEAKER_03 13:14

Yeah, so it's been great. I've had a ton of overlap with Coda over the last couple of years.

SPEAKER_01 13:19

Central Oregon Trails Alliance. Did we did we spell that out in the Coda Coda? Coda, coda. Everybody out there is like, what is this?

SPEAKER_03 13:27

Um yep. Um, so what actually drew me to the Deschutes was the trails partners um in Deschutes National Forest. There are 32 trails partners, which is phenomenal. It is such a testament of how involved Central Oregon is in stewarding and helping kind of shepherd the the trail system here. I've never heard of that robust of a trails partnership program.

SPEAKER_01 13:54

Um there was always, I mean, I've been here for quite a while. There has always been this remarkable amount of collaboration between BLM, Forest Service, Coda, kind of a how it's a cultural touchstone for the areas that yeah, we're gonna work with these folks. And it was just how you work with them. Um, of course, we do um through lay it out events, we do running races with on Forest Service and BLM and um and they've been incredible to work with. You know, it's it's you know, as long as you're willing to work with them and you're not telling them the way, then there's usually a path forward that allows you to do a certain level of recreation. So it's been great.

SPEAKER_03 14:39

Absolutely, yeah. It is a government process and you have to have patience and commitment to get through it. But once you do, it's uh yeah, it's a good group of people.

SPEAKER_01 14:48

Yeah. So then working, so you understood the relationship while you were working there, but then I mean you've only been in this this is a new position for you with Coda, six weeks in. Um so we're gonna ask you a lot of historical things about it. Let's go.

SPEAKER_03 15:05

All the details I feel fully downloaded.

SPEAKER_01 15:08

But why uh why'd you make the leap?

SPEAKER_03 15:11

That's that's a great question. Um, you know, I think the trails partnerships drew me to the Deschutes National Forest, and they also drew me right on out of the National Forest. Um, it was time for me to make a switch. Um, I think it's really important to have a balance working between public and private. Um, but honestly, working alongside Coda for the last couple of years and seeing the amazing work that they've been able to do, it was just so encouraging. Um there have been some changes in the federal government workforce as of late. Um little news flash for everyone out there. The Dissutes National Forest has one trails employee for over a million acres. It's over 2,000 miles of trail. Um, and so it's been really hard. And and like a little pitch for them is if you ever get frustrated, you know, why isn't this happening? Why isn't this? It is not that the heart isn't there, it's just that the uh the budget and the staffing are not there right now.

SPEAKER_01 16:10

I think anybody who's paying attention has seen like uh they've been decimated. It's it's been a little bit. And I don't, I mean, it'll be very interesting this summer because I think this is the time when rubber's gonna meet the road on on usage, and um I think people are gonna be shocked. I mean, they're gonna be shocked to learn that, you know, when I I can be political. You you can't. You can but I'll just sit here quietly.

SPEAKER_03 16:37

Right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:38

But you know, I I really do think you're gonna get an up-close look at um why we pay for government employees and and why you have stewards and trail and why you limit trail usage. And I mean, you can already see it in spring uh with some of the trails that I've been on where I mean people are taking uh three-wheelers, four-wheelers, quads out and into areas I've never seen them in before. And it's, you know, of course they are. So well, we'll come back to Coda. I don't know if I got too far afield, but well no, but you're working with these folks. I mean, is you're you know, you have one person now.

SPEAKER_03 17:15

Mm-hmm. Yeah, and that's you know, for me, seeing the amazing work Coda has been doing, uh, another huge draw for me to Central Oregon, or the people like the community here is absolutely amazing. It's very different from other places I've worked in where maybe somebody will see something. It's like the TSA, if you see something, say something. Well, like people take it the next step here and they they actually steward and they say, Hey, I see this going on. Can I help? Um, just last year we had over 3,000 volunteers come out with Coda. That's 22,000 hours of volunteer and and that to me is such an amazing testament of what this place has to offer. Yes, we have the amazing national forests and BLM and rivers and lakes and mountains, um, but the people are really what make this an amazing draw. Um so for me, that's what drew me right out onto the government was this is an amazing group of people that are really committed to their donating hundreds of hours individually and or financial support to the organization. And Dakota has 600 miles of trail right now that it's stewards and it plans to grow. Um we just did our strategic plan, the 2030 plan, and we hope to add 50 miles of new trail of single track um and uh adopt 50 more miles of trail that is currently not being maintained or stewarded. Um and you know, continue to grow the organization to to meet the demand because it doesn't seem as though Central Oregon is slowing down in growth.

SPEAKER_02 18:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 18:51

Um the trails alone. Uh there was an economic study of the the local economic impact of trails, and it's something around 86 million a year to to bend area and redbend and sisters.

SPEAKER_01 19:04

So um well, we feel like it's I mean, regard uh I I often wonder about the validity of of some of these surveys, but um you know it's core to the culture. It's if you ask somebody why'd you move here, the first thing they're gonna say is, Well, I'm a mountain biker. Yep. And I I so badly want to know, like, okay, you're a mountain biker. How often do you get out on that mountain bike? You know what's the tread look like on that rear wheel? So I but that that is it's great for Coda because for sure, the second thing that they ought to be doing after they say I'm a mountain biker, oh, and I'm a member of Coda.

SPEAKER_03 19:49

We would love that. Uh yeah, same shameless pitch here is uh we've got 2,000 members and we're we're hoping to grow to 5,000. We have about 1.3 million rides on just about every trail that we maintain. So um yeah, if you don't feel like picking up a tool um and helping us out at a trail, trail up event or a volunteer event, we would love your engagement through membership. It means the world to us, and and that is how we're our funded for a nonprofit.

SPEAKER_01 20:16

I as we're sitting here talking and uh and uh rapidly trying to connect these some of these things, you know, the the lack of stewardship by the government uh in these natural areas where your trails are, um by default, that's gonna fall to you a good bit of it. A good bit of like I'm sure, like if I'm seeing some trail abuse on a trail I know is maintained by Coda, I'm not call, I'm not calling the Forest Service.

SPEAKER_03 20:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:48

You know, and whether you want to take that call or not, I'm probably calling Coda to say, hey, I just saw these guys ripping, you know, ripping on their dirt bikes uh down fills. What, you know, yeah, what are we to do?

SPEAKER_03 21:04

It's an interesting um like symbiotic relationship uh in that the Forest Service is the regulatory power. So they they own the land and they they set the regulations on that. They also have law enforcement, uh, which Coda is happy to not have. Um I think the the most extreme law enforcement you'll see from Coda is maybe a stern look if you're doing something or a disapproving, like really. Um, you know, that's that's not our role. Uh we we're here to develop sustainable. Shame can go along.

SPEAKER_01 21:38

Shame, shame is a tool of the volunteer.

SPEAKER_03 21:42

Yeah, tool, yeah, tool of the volunteer. Yeah, it's like somebody's cane, but you know, Pulaski. Um yeah, so it is an interesting relationship, but it is the partners have really had to step up um in recent years and um help sustain these these trends. And again, as the use continues to grow, um we are you know, we have job security, I I think, as far as uh our volunteer workers that have job security. I guess that doesn't, it's not a job, but there'll be endless work that we have and and we're really excited about that. I mean, we're at a a point in the organization of growth um since 2021 when Coda hired their first um employee, which was the previous executive director and Andrews. No relation. I have to clarify that. I've had to clarify that a couple of times. Same last name, but um just a uh you know good friend. And um, but uh we've grown to five staff now, and from maybe 10,000 hours of volunteer work to 22,000. Um it's it's been an amazing time of growth and we're here for it. You know, we're excited and we're we're absolutely honored to be trusted as the steward of of the trails here in Central Oregon.

SPEAKER_01 22:58

I I'm curious, I remember when there was all the discussion about e-bikes and everybody was teeter-tottering on um I think they're probably still teeter-tottering if they've been run over on the river trail by one of those teams, but nonetheless, um out on trail, it's philosophically contentious. Um and I I know the pendulum was swung to usage, but I'm and and the hope, I mean, I remember when we editorialized in favor, the hope was that the e-bikers were going to join Coda, that there was going to be this, because there's more use, there would be more, a larger pool to draw from to conserve trails, appreciate nature, kind of the wild ducks unlimited model of you know, everybody under the tent. Have you seen that since you've started been your six weeks?

SPEAKER_03 23:53

Well, in my six weeks, my tenure with Coda, um I've done extensive data research. Uh no, we we definitely are seeing a lot more engagement from the e-bike community. And as I mentioned, our role isn't to set the regulations, but to try and ensure that we keep Central Oregon, that spirit of Central Oregon alive, which is if you're out on a trail, wow, nine times out of ten, you're gonna have a great engagement with somebody. Everyone's just excited to be out there, um, really positive, and we want to see that continue.

SPEAKER_01 24:26

And that percentage stay high. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 24:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:30

So we've actually Because we've all also had the one percenter.

SPEAKER_03 24:33

Oh, the one percenter is potent when you do come across them. It is uh it is an experience for sure. It usually sticks with you for a minute. But um yeah, we've been engaging a lot with doing a little bit of e-bike 101, um, sharing information about the new regulations coming out, sharing that it is class one only. Yeah. Um, so um maybe a few of you have encountered the the high schooler on maybe a different class of e-bike um going slightly faster.

SPEAKER_01 25:02

I don't think they know what a class is. I don't it's just e-bike. It said uh e-bikes were allowed, and so I'm here.

SPEAKER_03 25:10

Yes, I I will say there's a little bit of self-management in that unless you it is quite hard to take one of those higher classes of e-bike out on a single track and manage it with that amount of speed, unless you are really, really good at mountain biking. Um but yeah, we thus far haven't seen too much um I I guess conflict out there. April one is gonna be our our like opening day because that's when the wildlife restrictions lift off of the Phil's Trail area. But again, I I think the reality of it is that e-bikes have been out there for a very long time. And the hardest thing sometimes to communicate to folks is sometimes it takes a form of development or plan to actually mitigate impact. And so right now, e-bikes have been out there, that's the reality of it. Um, and there just hasn't been any management around it. And now at least it's hey, here's 161 miles of trail that you can legally ride on. And here's the other uh portion of trail that that is not designated as e-bike. So I do think there's gonna be a little something out there for everyone. Um and yeah, we'll be out there. We'll again we have information on our website about all the trails that are are now legal to have e-bikes, when it's legal to have them. We're happy to answer any questions. So just reach out to us. Um again, our hope is to keep the amazing culture of biking in Central.

SPEAKER_01 26:34

Keep it nine out of ten.

SPEAKER_03 26:36

Yeah, and and uh core of it, be nice.

unknown 26:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 26:40

Uh we're all out there riding bikes in the woods. Uh just try and and uh be nice to each other and um recognize that there are gonna be a few one-offs here and there, but hopefully they're minimal.

SPEAKER_01 26:52

You mentioned a little earlier in your um in your work, school work on soils, moisture and soils. Uh we're getting in. Yeah, let's go in that, yeah. So Central Oregon, not the best dirt to retain uh its its form, let's just say, after after someone, how do you and it's one of the reasons I know Coda is is so important, so it's an easy snowball for you, but um I don't know if mountain bike, the people in the mountain biking community here, and maybe I shouldn't speak for them, but do they realize like it's a fragile environment? Like it's not you go to Oak Ridge or you go somewhere where there's clay soil, and those trails hold up pretty well. Yeah, you know, and you're sure you're popping roots, but those roots are holding all that soil in place. Here, I mean, uh over time I go and I visit trails I've biked on for decades, and they're canyons now. Yeah, little stones that you used to pop over are now things you're riding by. You know, we're down in it now. So I'm I'm I mean, that's gotta be some consideration as some of these trails are aging and um starting to get a little not long in tooth, but low in valley.

SPEAKER_03 28:09

A little spiny. Yeah. Uh yeah, yeah. It is something that is definitely a complexity that is a reality here in Central Oregon. We get the moon dust that is uh You don't want to be third. Yeah. You don't want to be second. You don't even want to be second. Yeah, yeah, it is the spacing of bikes becomes a real, real thing halfway through this summer. But yeah, it does add into the maintenance element. Um, and I think with trail work, if we're doing a fantastic job, you never know we were there. And that is um it's kind of a thankless job, but also it is one of those things where I think some people go, Well, why would I become a member of Coda? Like the trail's been built, it's done, it was funded.

SPEAKER_01 28:54

Yeah. Right.

SPEAKER_03 28:56

Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_01 28:56

Um Great Bank. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 29:00

The thousands of hours that sometimes go into each individual trail every single year to continue to maintain as we get into that hotter, drier season um, to clear trail uh clear the uh trees out of the trail. We've already hit a couple hundred trees just this spring on routes that people are very regularly riding. Um so it takes a lot of work and it takes a lot of thought in the planning process of how can we build this to actually have holding features to have some chance of success mid-summer. Um, but yeah, it's it's it's a fun uh battle. We're always gonna be covered in dust.

SPEAKER_01 29:39

Well, my I mean, I is it is it fair to say that some of these trails that was were there not an organization to maintain them, they would become unrideable.

SPEAKER_03 29:53

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 29:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 29:54

Absolutely. I mean, even one year without maintenance, um, some of our trails could nearly disappear. I mean, just the shrubbery alone, you know, like all the veg work that we do to clear back um the trail, all the irrigation work we do, that the drain ditches, if you come out and do a trail work day, uh, little disclaimer is that you will never be able to ride a trail and look at it the same way again. You will I uh yeah, my my family is always like, just leave her when we're hiking or biking, because I stop all the time and I'm like, hold on one second, I just gotta cut this back. Or I I oh this this looks like it's clogging.

SPEAKER_01 30:30

I'm gonna just look where this guy just rode off to the right.

SPEAKER_03 30:36

Yeah. Yep. Um, so it is absolutely a reality that these trails require constant maintenance. Um, and yes, there are some seasons where it calms down slightly, but um, we have a report form on our website for down trees. Anybody can go on to coda mtv.com, report a down tree, and it is actually kind of magical how quickly it disappears. The the Sawyer group that is engaged with uh Coda, they are so fast, so prompt. Um but that's both fantastic for the rider, and again, it's something that a lot of people don't see. There might be a handful of people that see that tree down before it magically disappears. And um, there aren't uh trail ferries, although our volunteers are pretty magical in the amount of time and energy they put into it and what they are willing to drop to go out and sound I mean if you've ridden Mirac and you've seen all the little pecker woods off to the side, and there's just and every one of those cuts, I'm like, who came through here?

SPEAKER_01 31:39

Yeah, there's there's hundreds of trees here lining this trail, about that far from taking my pedal. But oh yeah, you know, and I I those are the guys I always I mean I'm I'm amazed at how they're banked and and all the work that goes into it. But I'm I'm always very impressed by the fact that they cut all those trees back because you're riding with a chainsaw, you know, in some in some cases. I mean, you know, yeah. I know they're hand sawing them really, but I won't disclose one way.

SPEAKER_03 32:09

Yeah, it's cleared, you know, it's the important thing. Right. Yeah, it is usually with handles.

SPEAKER_01 32:16

Well, we are at the end of our period. I know when we started, you were like, I don't really have much to say. I've only been in my position six weeks, but you were wrong.

SPEAKER_03 32:28

Thank you for guiding me through this conversation and the time with you all.

SPEAKER_01 32:33

Is there anything that you would like to say to readers, viewers, watchers that we didn't touch on?

SPEAKER_03 32:40

Um, I think the most important thing is just a massive thank you to all our donors and our members. Uh without you, we could not be doing this work. Um, for every position that we have with CODA, it leverages hundreds, if not thousands, of volunteers. So thank you so much. And if you do enjoy the trail network, um we would love it if you would think about joining our team as a member. Um, it is not much more than a beer or two at a local brew pub, and it helps sustain the trails for this year. Uh, it kind of adds to the the legacy of Central Oregon.

SPEAKER_01 33:14

You probably make up for that beer at the end of the trail build anyway. Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_03 33:19

If you come out for a trail up event, you get a beer. Just gonna say that.

SPEAKER_01 33:26

Uh well, Casey, thank you for being a part of the podcast and for everything you're doing out there.

SPEAKER_03 33:31

Thank you so much for having me.

SPEAKER_01 33:33

This has been the Ben Don't Break Podcast. I'm Aaron Schweitzer, producer. Uh, if you like what you heard, please go to our website, bensource.com, and become a member and support us so we can keep bringing folks in like Casey. Thank you.

SPEAKER_03 33:50

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 33:52

You've been listening to the Ben Don't Break podcast, powered by the Source Weekly. To read, hear, and see more of what we do, go to BensOce.com.