Trail management groups spearhead etiquette campaign

Outdoor enthusiasts may have already begun to notice the new signage going up as several area trail management groups have come together to launch Outside Kind Flathead, a new trail user courtesy campaign aimed at reducing conflicts.

Organized by Whitefish Legacy Partners, the new campaign is a partnership between Foys to Blacktail Trails, Gateway to Glacier Trails, Rails to Trails Northwest Montana, Flathead Area Mountain Bikers, Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation, Flathead National Forest and Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, put together in an effort to remind everyone to recreate with courtesy and kindness as area trails grow more popular.

“We started talking with others around the valley who manage trails to ask what they are seeing and get a better perspective on what is needed. As we were having those conversations, it became apparent that everyone needs that kindness messaging,” Director of Lands and Partnerships for White Legacy Partners Margosia Jadkowski said. “We don’t have a lot of user conflict around here and we feel very fortunate about that. We are seeing use increase on all of our trails year after year and there are a lot of new users out there, whether they be visitors or locals who are just discovering all of these great trail networks in their backyards. As those new users get out there, it is important that we don’t develop user conflict issues.”

Created by the Outside Kind Alliance and led by One Montana, a nonprofit based in Bozeman, the Outside Kind brand was inspired by Ski Kind and Play Kind, brands created by the Winter Wildlands Alliance and Granite Backcountry Alliance.

As more groups join the alliance, the hope is that trail users will see a more consistent message when it comes to accepted practices on Montana’s trail systems.

“If we are all putting out the same messaging around the state, it will be less confusing for the users. It really amplifies what any one organization can do as far as outreach and exposure,” Jadkowski said. “There are other communities in Montana that have similar frontcountry recreation trails where user conflict has gotten really bad really fast. In some places it has torn their community apart and made it pretty unpleasant. That is something we definitely don’t want to see happen here. A lot of times, kindness and just being friendly can really determine how a person feels about their experience when meeting other users on the trail. People need to think about how their actions can affect other people. A smile and a thank you can go a long way.”

Launched May 2 and working with a $20,000 budget from Whitefish Legacy Partners this year, as well as a $5,000 grant from Whitefish Community Foundation and $3,000 each from Explore Whitefish and Discover Kalispell, Outside Kind Flathead has already set to work creating a website, trail signage and education materials for its five tenets: be courteous, aware, safe and inclusive, and to leave no trace.

With many kinds of users on the trails, Outside Kind Flathead will target different groups with its initial six user-group specific campaigns in the Flathead Valley this year: Hike Kind, Wag Kind, Ride Kind, Trot Kind, Run Kind and Ski Kind.

“It sounds like a great idea and is something that is really needed on the trails,” said Erynn Castellanos, an Education and Partnership Specialist with the Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation. “It's important for people to understand that there are many different kinds of trail users out there and that not everyone is familiar with how to approach different types of user groups.”

While exact numbers are hard to come by, all of the participating groups agree that trail usage in the area has been on the rise, both with visitors and locals discovering new ways to recreate.

As Whitefish Legacy Partners estimates it costs the organization $1,400 per mile to maintain trails and $5,800 per trailhead per year while Fish, Wildlife and Parks says it is spending more and more each year on trail cleanup, all organizations involved hope the new kindness messaging will help curtail destructive behavior.

“This is a great way to share messaging around the community and with people who are visiting about how to recreate responsibly. It is especially important now as we are seeing more and more usage of our trail system with all user types,” Flathead National Forest spokesperson Tamara Mackenzie said. “There has definitely been a large increase in the number of people who are not as familiar with outdoor recreation visiting the area. Anything we can do to help push forward that kindness message is helpful. Whitefish Legacy Partners have really stepped up their game when it comes to educating locals and visitors. It’s really cool to see.”

“We were already seeing an increase in all kinds of recreation before the Covid pandemic, which is great. We are lucky to have the resources and opportunities for outdoor recreation here, but with that comes the responsibility to make sure those same opportunities will be available for future generations, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Region 1 spokesperson Dillon Tabish added. “We love this area, but we don’t want to love it to death. This is an effort to really get out ahead of the tidal wave of growth we are seeing. I think we are really at a watershed moment here in western Montana with the amount of growth we are seeing and the amount of visitation we have. Sustainability is going to be the call we are all going to have to answer moving forward.”

While the different groups involved advocate for several different kinds of trail users, they all agree that courtesy on the trails is the key to a fun experience and the future of the trail system.

“We are all doing what we love on the trails. There shouldn’t be any hard feelings between any user groups. At the end of the day, it is about reaching an understanding between groups so that everyone can enjoy the outdoors and their time on the trails,” Flathead Area Mountain Bikers director Greg Theis said. “Just being friendly goes a long way.”