The Pole Mountain Project has received a national award from the Coalition for Recreational Trails.

The project, which is a cooperative effort between the University of Wyoming –based Wyoming Conservation Corps, the Wyoming Pathways organization and the U.S. Forest Service’s Laramie Ranger District, in order to build and maintain trails in the Pole Mountain unit of the Medicine Bow National Forest.

Volunteers contributed more than 3,000 hours of work on nearly 19 miles of non-motorized trails in 2017. Phase 2 of the project will begin this summer, according to a UW news release.

“This project was supported by a variety of organizations and community members, which led to the development of rich partnerships that will allow this project to grow well beyond year one and into a long-term, sustainable trail program,” says WCC Program Director Patrick Harrington in a statement.

The award was presented Tuesday, June 5 in a ceremony in Washington, D.C.

The Coalition for Recreational Trails is a federation of national and regional trail-related organizations. It aims to build awareness and understanding of the national Recreational Trails Program, which returns federal gasoline taxes paid by off-highway recreationists to states for the development and maintenance of trails.

More From KOWB 1290