
NEMO River Valley Chapter members on Joanna Trail, armed with trash bags and maintenance tools
The Joanna Trail Project is an example of a community coming together to provide recreational opportunities and education for a wide range of trail and trailhead users, while stimulating the local economy by attracting visitors to the area.
The Joanna Trail Project is an important one for north Missouri trail and trailhead visitors. Joanna Trail is a destination for day-users and campers— equestrians, hikers, geocachers, backpackers, runners, and mountain bikers. In addition, the amenities at Joanna Trail’s Frank Russell Trailhead— fishing pond, nature area, pavilion, picnic areas, and rest rooms (all handicapped accessible) are attractions.
The Joanna Trail itself provides over 30 miles of varied scenery, surfaces, and wildlife-viewing experiences. The NEMO River Valley Chapter of the Show-Me Missouri Back Country Horsemen plays an important role in keeping the multi-use trail maintained and marked to ensure successful navigation by its users.
This work is accomplished with members and their horses and mules putting “boots and hooves to the ground,” clipping, sawing, cleaning and marking all segments of the trail and its loops, to provide a positive experience and keep it safe.
A Leave No Trace Trainer teaches visitors why "Pack it in Pack it out" is important, and provides a hands-on horse experience
Several chapter members are certified sawyers, for this purpose. In addition to trail maintenance, members assume responsibility for rest stop destinations on the trail, the remote Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, and the picnic area near the Log Cabin.
The NEMO River Valley Chapter has partnered with the Corps of Engineers personnel on several projects, including a RTP grant of $75,210, which resulted in restrooms at Frank Russell and Spalding Trailheads, which are two major staging points for trail users. Back Country Horsemen members donated and installed hitching posts, and refurbished tables at these trailheads, as well as destination points on the trail.
The chapter took advantage of Trail Maintenance Incentive funds available from the state organization to provide new bulletin board maps and ethics signage, and directional markers to trailheads at trail intersections. Due to the partnership, there are seven equestrian-friendly campsites in the stall area at Frank Russell Trailhead, and demand for them in riding season is high.
Construction of the Joanna Trail bulletin board in the Frank Russell Equine Friendly Campground
This project has been supported not only by local Back Country Horsemen, but also by local Boy Scout Troop 177 and their adults, high school FFA and Vocational students and their teachers, White Tails Unlimited members, and other FOREST (Mark Twain Lake “friends” group) members.
Ongoing efforts to maintain and shape the trail include: altering the trail’s path across ditches to minimize erosion; mowing grass in the equestrain campground and around the waterborne restrooms; re-marking the trail; and removal of flood debris in low areas.
Additionally, a new loop trail, named the Cow Llick Loop, has been designed to accommodate an interest group that has been limited by the trail's difficulty. This loop trail is laid out for young families who cannot take their children on a long hike, but still want to get them into the outdoors. This quarter-mile loop just off of the Joanna trailhead provides a limited incline hike through shaded upland forest. The Joanna Trail is quickly becoming an outdoor recreational destination for visitors, and has been meeting the ever-changing needs of diverse users for over a decade with essential help from its diverse network of partners and volunteers.
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2020: Blue Ridge Tunnel Rehabilitation & Trail Project
2020: Milan Trail Huggers Nash Stream Bridge
2019: Weed Patch Mountain Trail
2018: Ouachita National Recreation Trail Shelters - Arkansas and Oklahoma
2017: Anthracite Outdoor Adventure Area - Pennsylvania
2016: Kanab Creek OHV Bridge - Utah
2015: Blanca Peak and Ellingwood Point Trail Project - Colorado
2014: Abbott Motocross Park - Nebraska
2014: Millersburg Historic Park and Trailhead - Michigan
2013: East and West Twin Creek Bridges - Michigan
2012: Chattahoochee Nature Trails - Florida
2012: Tahoe-Pyramid Bikeway - Nevada
2011: Iron Range OHV Recreation Area - Minnesota
2010: Agassiz Recreational Trail - Minnesota
2009: Sam Houston Multiple-Use Trail - Texas
2008: Wanoga Snopark Shelter - Oregon
2007: Potato Knob Trail at Holly River State Park - West Virginia
2006: Indian Canyon Trailhead - California
2006: Upper Waiakea ATV/Dirt Bike Park - Hawaii
2006: County Line Acres Bikeway - Ohio
2005: River Bluff Trail Project - Indiana
2005: Red Creek Bridge - Michigan
2005: MKT Trailhead Project - Missouri
2004: Diana Bend Conservation Area Trail Project - Missouri
2004: Sweetser Switch Trail Project - Indiana
2003: Jane Addams Trail - Illinois
2003: Hatfield-McCoy Regional Recreation Area - West Virginia