The Banadad Ski Trail Needs Your Help
To Friends of the Banadad Ski Trail ,
I’m writing to you today because I know you care about the Banadad, and we need your help. As you may know, the Banadad Trail has been maintained by the Banadad Trail Association since 2009. We formed to ensure that the trail will continue for generations. As a nonprofit organization, we solicit grants and membership to pay for the maintenance and grooming of the trail. We accomplish this by contracting grooming services and counting on the many hours given by volunteers each summer to clear and widen the trail. Last year, our efforts included building a new bridge on the trail.
One of the most unique features of the 29K Banadad Trail is the access from each end, offering the options of skiing the trail from one to the other, skiing to the yurt for an overnight experience, or skiing in and out of the BWCA from the West End or from the East End.
Right now, we face our biggest challenge yet to ensure the future of the Banadad Trail.
Due to a recent change in property ownership on the West End, access to the Banadad is at risk. The new owners are working with us and support a reroute of the Banadad across their property, which will include a more scenic route for the western trail and improving the parking area and access. We must raise the money for this project or we could lose access to the trail!
The cost for this project is $11,340, which includes an appraisal of the land the trail will be on, a survey of the new route, and trail and parking lot construction. . The good news is that the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has awarded us a $7,800 Trail Connection Grant. This grant is a “matching grant” requiring us to raise 25% of the amount we are awarded in order to access any of the funds, plus we need to pay for and complete an appraisal prior to obtaining the grant funds. Altogether, the BTA must raise $3,540, with $1,500 needed before the end of summer.
We need your help. Can you donate $25, $50, $100, or $250 to support the reroute? Any amount, large or small, will help.
Go to our page at GiveMN.org: http://givemn.razoo.com/story/Banadad-Trail-Association or send a check directly to the Banadad Trail Association, P.O. Box 436, Grand Marais, MN 55604
With “a little help from our friends” we can complete this project in time for the upcoming ski season!
Sincerely,
Linda M. Bosma, President, Banadad Trail Association
