Sisters Trail Additions & Realignments (S.T.A.R.) Project Approved
Sisters - Deschutes Trails Coalition
The Sisters Ranger District of the Deschutes National Forest recently signed its approval of the Sisters Trail Additions and Realignments (STAR) Project, which includes the creation of nearly 17 miles of new trail and formalizing 30 miles of existing routes, including the realignment of 12 miles of trails to improve wildlife habitat and protect natural resources.
These trails, which will be constructed over the next several years, include hiking, mountain biking, and equestrian trails, and are the first new trails in the Sisters Ranger District in over 15 years. The STAR project includes trail actions on 19 existing and proposed trails to meet the need for unique recreational experiences, trail connectivity, restoration or abandonment of fire damaged trails, additions of existing routes to the official Forest Service trail system, and/or realignment of system trails. The project decision and more information can be found here.
Multiple local nonprofit volunteer trail organizations were involved in the planning process and/or will be doing the on-the-ground implementation work. These include Sisters Trails Alliance (STA), Oregon Equestrian Trails (OET), Save East Cascades Trails (SECT), and Central Oregon Trail Alliance (COTA).
“The STAR project will help us achieve the Sisters Country Vision goal of a livable city and region that remains welcoming even as we grow. Planning for these projects has been an exciting, collaborative process with trail users, our partner groups and the Forest Service. We look forward to working together to expand the trail system with new and improved equestrian, bicycle and hiking trails, and facilitate access for everyone to enjoy the beautiful recreational areas throughout Sisters Country.” STA Executive Director Stephanie Presley.
“We are thrilled to play a role in restoring trails and improving access for the public to enjoy the outdoors.” Mark Scott (SECT)
“This is an exciting opportunity for the town and the region to increase the variety of trails and trails for mountain bikers. These new trails will offer more progressive, downhill oriented biking which, to date, has not been present in this region of Central Oregon.” Cody Gardner (COTA's Sisters Chapter Representative).
All of the groups involved expressed deep gratitude to the Forest Service for making this project possible. In this era of reduced budgets and staffing for federal agencies, the groups emphasized that the work their groups do requires agency approval and direction. When the agency doesn't have capacity to coordinate volunteer efforts, projects like STAR can't happen. The groups urge everyone to support Federal funding for our land management agencies.
S.T.A.R. Project georeferenced map can be found here.
The S.T.A.R. project includes trail actions on 19 existing and proposed trails throughout Sisters country.
