Fred Willenbrock: Group unveils plans for 25-mile bike/walking trail in Bonner County

Dozens of rural community projects have been launched with grand visions straight out of “Field of Dreams” – “If you build it, they will come” – but many never produced the promised results.

Once in a while, however, there’s a project that launches a struggling rural economy, and one with that potential is gaining traction in North Idaho. It has broad community support and a dynamic woman leading the charge to a spring construction start date. It may take years to complete and loads of fundraising, but it’s a start.

After three years of planning, the promoters of a 25-mile bike and walking trail between Dover and Oldtown, Idaho, have just published design plans and study results. Liz Johnson-Gebhardt, executive director of the Priest Community Forest Connection, said last week that work on the project will begin in the spring.

Steve Linton, a Priest Community Forest Connection board member, said he’s ready to provide land for the western section of the proposed trail. Linton owns a large parcel there, where he operates Tri-Pro Cedar Products. He also said he’s eager to jump on excavating equipment and start work.

Linton is a long-distance bike rider, but as a 16-year member of the Priest Community Forest Connection, he also believes the trail is a way to use the natural beauty of the region and improve the local economy. His fellow board members, including recently elected Bonner County Commissioner Jeff Connolly, have similar goals.

The Priest Community Forest Connection group started with another unique project and many doubters. But their goal was the same: improve the economy using the natural resources around them.

In the past, they might have just proposed more logging. Today, they look at every possibility.

Their method is collaboration – bringing all parties together to gain new ideas and coming to a plan of action together. The group’s first success was a forest stewardship program. That project brings cash for Johnson-Gebhardt’s salary and some expenses.

The Priest Community Forest Connection contracts with the federal government to manage forest health improvement projects like thinning, stream restoration and tree planting. These stewardship contracts have created local jobs and some timber for sawmills. The government officials have said they have gotten good return on tax dollars spent.

The Pend Oreille River Passage Trail plan gained momentum this summer with dozens of people adding input via meetings and a survey.

The trail will cut across the Idaho Panhandle connecting Oldtown and neighboring Newport to the growing trail system in Sandpoint. It hits towns, parks, beaches, a dam and other outdoor viewing attractions.

Johnson-Gebhardt said the Idaho Transportation Department has agreed to let the group locate the trail on the right of way. Highway 2 in that area was designated U.S. Bike Route 10 this summer.

The Priest Community Forest Connection is in discussions with BNSF Railway officials, Avista and some private property owners to obtain the rest of the trail right of way.

The cost of construction will be in the millions of dollars, and Johnson-Gebhardt is working on that, too. Grants, donations and fundraising are in the works. She’s going full time on this and full speed. But she emphasized that there are many people and groups working with her.

“I just see so many positives,” she said.

To borrow another line from the movie that could summarize this group’s efforts: “If you believe the impossible, the incredible can come true.”

Fred Willenbrock recently retired after a 30-year career as a community newspaper publisher in northeastern Washington and North Idaho.