Dozens of local volunteers from REI, Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust, Washington Trails Association, and the U.S. Forest Service teamed up to repair trails in the Middle Fork  of the Snoqualmie River Valley to celebrate National Public Lands Day Saturday, Sept. 26.

Projects included clearing brush and debris from the CCC Trail, as well as building the new Pratt Bar Trail. Volunteers of all ages were cheered on by the U.S. Forest Service’s Smokey the Bear.

Saturday’s volunteer event celebrated the culmination of REI’s Every Trail Connects campaign, in which REI donated $68,790 to repair the prized Middle Fork Snoqualmie River Trail.

The Greenway coalition, including public land management agencies, conservation and recreation groups, and local citizens, has spent years designing a plan that balances conservation and ecological health with increased human visitation in the Middle Fork Valley.

The Mountains to Sound Greenway is the 1.5 million-acre landscape connecting Puget Sound and central Washington.

Founded in 1991, the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust works to promote public land acquisitions, connect a continuous regional trail system, teach people of all ages about forests and wildlife, and mobilize thousands of volunteers to care for the landscape.

The Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust is leading a campaign to designate the Mountains to Sound Greenway as a National Heritage Area. Learn more at www.GreenwayHeritage.org.

Washington Trails Association is the nation’s largest state-based hiking nonprofit organization. WTA has a nearly 50 year history of being the voice for hikers in Washington state—protecting hiking trails and wildlands, taking volunteers out to maintain trails, and promoting hiking as a healthy, fun way to explore the outdoors.

Learn more at www.wta.org.