Iditarod Historic Trail Alliance (IHTA)
OUTREACH
Education —
The place-based, service-learning educational training for K-12 teachers, Iditarod Trail to Every Classroom (iTREC!), graduated its ninth class of teachers.
iTREC! is a yearlong professional development program that provides teachers with place-based, service-learning skills to help today’s youth become lifelong stewards of Alaska’s public lands, natural resources, and cultural heritage. Within the first 10 years of this long-running , successful partnership between the Iditarod Historic Trail Alliance, BLM and Forest Service, over 126 teachers have completed the program and are now engaging over 18,000 students in thirteen different subject areas in 11 communities along the INHT.
Dog Sled Race — In Anchorage, the BLM partnered with the Iditarod Trail Committee to hold the Ceremonial Start of the Iditarod Dog Sled Race at Campbell Tract, the location of the BLM’s Anchorage Field Office and home of the Iditarod NHT Program. The BLM Field Office prepared the Campbell Tract for the Ceremonial Start end chute for the 60 dog teams and arranged bus transportation for the over 2000 event viewers.
PROTECTION
Rehabilitation — The Nome Kennel Club (NKC) with grant assistance from the IHTA and dedicated volunteers, rehabilitated the Topkok shelter cabin located about 43 miles southeast of Nome along the Iditarod Trail between the Safety and White Mountain.
Maintenance —
U.S. Forest Service employees completed trail construction, brush clearing, and tread repair projects on the Southern Trek of the INHT at Vagt Lake, Turnagain Pass, Winner Creek, and Trail of Blue Ice.
The Chugach National Forest employees also constructed seven new backcountry dispersed campsites along the INHT, complete with bear boxes. The sites are located off high traffic trails keyed towards the less experienced backcountry users in Crow Pass, Portage Pass, Turnagain Pass, and Upper Winner Creek.
CAPACITY
Funding — IHTA continued a Challenge Cost Share Agreement with USFS to promote education and develop stewardship.
Planning — The IHTA held a strategic planning work session to develop plans for 2021.
