Navigating how trails get funded

By Gorman

If non-profits and oversight were mistletoe and Twelfth Night, the Mammoth Lakes Trails System would have a merry Christmas.

The ‘system,’ as it’s called, is a partnership between Mammoth Lakes Recreation (MLR), the National Forest Service, Mammoth Lakes Trails and Public Access (MLTPA), and the Town of Mammoth Lakes.

Those four governmental and non-governmental organizations work together to oversee all trails in and around Mammoth Lakes. At first blush this ‘system’ looks like a labyrinth of bureaucracy, but Mammoth Lakes Trails Coordinator Joel Rathje says it’s more like a Swiss watch.

“My job is to thread the needle through the red tape,” Rathje said, “and I’m doing it well.”

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