The Mat-Su Trails and Parks Foundation was established in 2011 to meet the growing resource needs of trail users and trail groups in the Mat-Su Borough. The Foundation is ultimately hoping to support the development of an integrated system of trails throughout the borough. In 2011, the Mat-Su Health Foundation donated funding for the Trails and Parks Foundation to develop an internal Master Trails Plan, and Agnew::Beck was hired to help facilitate and support the process. This project involves extensive community outreach, including coordination and facilitation of a series of trail user group and community meetings – approximately 30 meetings total – at the beginning and toward the end of the planning process. Our team is integrating the results from face-to-face meetings, as well as an analysis of previous community, area and regional-level plans into two tools for the Trails and Parks Foundation: 1) a list of regional priority projects – this list will help focus Foundation future planning efforts; 2) recommendations, or a “Trail Toolbox”, on how the Foundation can best support grassroots efforts to build and maintain trails and parks.
