Continental Divide Trail Coalition

Stewardship- In 2023, CDTC continued work to cooperatively steward the CDT including providing 15,971 volunteer hours dedicated to trail stewardship activities. This included supporting 10 volunteer projects, 5 Trail Adopter Trainings, and over 100 Trail Adopters who conducted regular trail maintenance along the CDT. Success included adding over 60 miles of trail easements of the CDT in New Mexico and production of over 30 gates to support trail infrastructure across southern New Mexico. It also included continued efforts to participate in the American the Beautiful For All Coalition, support of the Monumental Shift Coalition, the Next 100 Coalition, and continued support of the Partnership for the National Trails System. CDTC continued work with Tribal Nations to support relationship building through work on Kiosks across the Carson National Forest, Gila National Forest, and released a video amplifying the voices of Indigenous Tribal ELders from the Pueblo of Acoma. CDTC also began coordinating activities in support of the 100th anniversary of the designation of the Gila WIlderness. CDTC continued supporting signage across the CDT and saw over 300 miles of the CDT re-signed by volunteers, youth corps and CDTC staff.

Community Engagement- CDTC began to expand support and work with the 21 Gateway Communities along the CDT including in person visits with all 21 Gateway Communities. This included launching a series of small business roundtables across Montana with Gateway Communities, and conducting the biennial Small business survey and report. CDTC supported several Gateway community events including Leadville CDT Days, Pinedale Outdoor Festival, and Hidalgo COunty Get Outdoor Hidalgo Event. In addition CDTC worked closely with HIdalgo County , NM community to gain designation as CDTC's newest Gateway Community (effective January 2024). CDTC launched additional efforts to work with local community chamber of commerce to continue to serve as a clearing house for communities along the CDT that are not officially designated. Finally CDTC once again hosted its annual Gateway Community Summit to educate and inspire community engagement along the CDT.

Public Information Outreach and Communication- CDTC once again hosted CDT Trail Days in Silver City, NM and welcomed over 2500 people to participate in the free and family friendly events. In addition, CDTC supported over 25 events across the CDT that reached over 2,000 people and helped raise awareness about the CDT and cooperative stewardship efforts. In addition, CDTC implemented a new incident response protocol to support effective dispersal of trail information to the public at large and released and updated website to increase access to Trail Information. CDTC continued work with Tribal Nations to support use of the CDT Youth Hiking Guide including the second year efforts with the Pueblo of Acoma and launch of the program with Zuni Pueblo Youth Enrichment Program. CDTC participated in partnership activities with Latino Outdoors, Next 100 Coalition, 52 Hike Challenge and Nuestra Tierra Conservation Project to create free opportunities to engage in outdoor recreation along the CDT in CO and NM.