Oakley officials and the South Summit Trails Foundation are working on the project which will also keep the Weber River clean. The trail, dubbed the Weber Pathway trail, runs parallel to or near the Weber River.
Construction on the trail project began about seven years ago and is a joint project with the Summit Land Conservancy. When complete, the Weber Pathway Trail will stretch almost 15 miles. About 70% of the trail is currently connected.
The area of focus for Saturday’s work was near the new Riverbend end Park, the Oakley Campground and Oakley Trail Park. The volunteers worked in three groups to remove weeds, brush and build burn piles.
The locals came with their own chainsaws, weed trimmers and tree pruners in hand. Their goal was to clear enough space for an excavator to come in and cut the trail.
Hank Bates from Oakley said he helped because the Weber Pathway will benefit the community.
“To just have a place where people can ride horses more, you know, a little less interaction between bikers and horses on the same trails. Just have some more variety, spread people out,” he said. “It's always fun to have a new thing to explore too.”
Trails foundation co-founder Howard Sorenson said there are just two pieces of the trail that need to be finished. The main connection that’s unfinished runs through the heart of Oakley and Sorenson said there’s a good reason why.
“There's a reason that's not finished. The rest of the river was under tremendous pressure for development. People wanting to build houses on the river and put up the signs, keep out. No trespassing, no fishing, no swimming,” Sorenson said.
Since the center of Oakley wasn’t facing development pressure and the area is already zoned for the trail, Sorenson and his team focused on the other areas. He said the team spent thousands of hours working with local ranchers to preserve areas for the trail and prevent development by the river.
“Every rancher has different desires and wants for their land," Sorenson said. "One may say, I can't get any lots for my children, and so maybe we'd work with that rancher to say, well, what if we worked with the municipality that you give up something very precious riverfront, and in turn, they give you additional building lots. And so the river wins, the public wins, and the rancher wins.”
Other ranchers received tax breaks or 20 acres of ranching land for 10 acres of riverfront land.
Further, Sorenson said when the project was pitched 30 years ago, there was a lot of opposition. But now, around 80% of locals support the project as they want more connectivity and trails.
The entire trail will be finished in three to four more years.
