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The Tripod Iditarod Historic Trail Alliance November 2014 2015 Dues due Dues notices have been sent out to all members, along with a membership survey. If you haven’t renewed your membership, please do so. Also please complete the membership survey and return it with your renewal. Annual meeting The annual membership meeting of the Iditarod Historic Trail Alliance will be held December 3-4 in Anchorage. The 3rd will be a workshop day for the Board and the 4th will be the annual membership meeting at the Millennium Alaska Hotel, 4800 Spenard Rd. The annual meeting is the time for election of board members, reports from Federal and State agencies and from organizations that have projects that affect the trail. It is also the time for the Board to set priorities and plan for the future. Ballots for board members will be sent out soon, along with proxies for the annual meeting.
If you are not attending the annual meeting, you need to send in a proxy. This is very important because a quorum for the transaction of business at the annual meeting is 25% of the voting membership in person or by proxy. The Iditarod Historic Trail Alliance promotes public awareness of the Iditarod Trail and its gold rush and Alaska Native heritage by encouraging education programs and historical research, assisting in the protection, improvement, maintenance and marking of the trail, developing partnerships that foster stewardship commitments and support from land owners, local communities, organizations and others. The trail for all seasons iTREC! The fall workshop for the Iditarod Trail to Every Classroom (iTREC!) teachers was held in Seward at the community meeting room in the Community Library and Museum on November 7-9.
The teachers made presentations on their curriculum planning since the summer meeting in Girdwood and received more training in place based education both indoors and out. The workshop participants also visited the Seward Museum, where a group photograph was taken. Iditarod Historic Trail Alliance PO Box 2323, Seward AK 99664 IditarodHTA@gmail.com http://www.Iditarod100.org Remember when you file for your 2015 Permanent Fund Dividend on line, you can donate all or part of it to the Alliance through the Pick, Click, Give Program. The Tripod Alaska Trails receives award The Coalition for Recreational Trails Annual Achievement Awards recognize outstanding use of Recreational Trail Program funds. Award winners were recognized, in June, in Washington DC during the annual celebration for Great Outdoors Week.
Ten projects were chosen as award recipients for 2014, including all that this is the best route ever tried to the interior of Alaska. Colonel Revell considers the feat a most remarkable one considering the fact that the mail had to be hauled over bare ground for hundreds of miles He gives all the credit to the boys who were entrusted with the work of bringing the mail in. Each and every one of them, he says worked as though the beating of the scheduled time would be a personal triumph for himself. The mail came in so late at night that there were few to meet it, but the splendid work done is none the less appreciated. The quick trip shows clearly that this is the way now for all interior travel. “Iditarod Pioneer” November 28, 1914 FIRST MAIL VIA SEWARD ARRIVES one from Alaska: Mobile Trail Tools Trailers.
Alaska Trails’ two mobile trailers are rented by trail constructors or donated for use by nonprofits and volunteer trail builders. The trailers, one in Fairbanks and one in Anchorage, have supported trail building by local, state and federal agencies, service groups and Girl and Boy Scouts. Both trailers are equipped with over 50 different hand tools and safety equipment. Alaska Trails invested funds from a Recreational Trails Program grant in 2013 to replace the popular tool trailers and purchase new tools and equipment to outfit them.
From the past… “Seward Daily Gateway” November 23, 1914 FIRST TRAIL MAIL ARRIVES The first mail arrived from the Iditarod last Saturday [November 21] night five days ahead of schedule and so made it absolutely certain once for The hearts of the people of this district were gladdened on Wednesday last [November 25] by the arrival of the first mail since October 4. About noon word was telephoned in from Discovery that the mail had arrived there, and from that time on there was a buzz of excitement until the mail had been delivered, sorted and distributed. The successful completion of the first trip over the new mail route within the time limit was taken as a happy augury for the future, and it is quite generally believed that the regular weekly service thus inaugurated will furnish the best service the district has ever enjoyed.
Janet Smith passes Janet Smith, 79, died at her home in Anchorage on September 10. In 1974 - 75 she was one of seven adult leaders of Girl Scout Troop 83’s Iditarod Trail Restoration Project, which restored the Crow Pass Trail from Girdwood to Eagle River. The project was suggested by Chugach State Park Park Ranger Doug Fesler, who trained the 25 girls, who participated in the project, in trail clearing. Funding came from the Alaska Bicentennial Commission, Readers Digest Foundation, Girl Scouts of America, America the Beautiful Foundation and local businesses and individuals. The girls broke into groups of five along the trail, with a leader wielding a machete to clear the path and others following with detail work using handsaws and pulaskis.
Accessibility guide A Summary of Accessibility Standards for Federal Outdoor Developed Areas, a new guide on achieving accessible outdoor sites, including trails and camping areas, is now available from the U. S. Access Board. The complete guide is available at www.AmericanTrails.org/resources/accessible The 112 page document discusses and illustrates provisions of accessibility guidelines the Board issued in 2013 for outdoor sites developed by the federal government. These guidelines provide detailed specifications for accessible trails, beach access routes, and other components of outdoor developed areas when newly built or altered.