Oregon-California Trails Association (OCTA)
OUTREACH
- Events — OCTA co-sponsored a symposium in Vancouver, WA with the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation; celebrated its 35th annual convention in Council Bluffs, IA (its first-ever convention in Iowa).
- Solar Challenge — OCTA partnered with the NPS offices in Omaha and Santa Fe to assist in staging the 2018 American Solar Challenge, which will feature dozens of collegiate teams racing their solar-powered vehicles nearly 2,000 miles along the Oregon Trail.
- Trail Journals — OCTA has digitized over 400 original trail journals since it launched a separate website (www.octa-journals.org) for that purpose three years ago.
PROTECTION
- Advocacy — OCTA used $20,000 from its Pat Loomis Preservation Endowment to engage legal assistance in defending against the building of the Boardman (OR) to Hemingway (ID) Power Transmission Line, which would be built alongside or on top of the Oregon NHT for most of eastern Oregon and crossing the trail on at least eight different locations.
- Partnerships — OCTA began partnering with St. Joseph, MO to assist the city in developing its downtown area to fully capitalize on its California, Pony Express, and Lewis and Clark NHT history; contributed to the Three Trails Corridor project that when completed will give the public access to 47 miles of trails in the shared corridor of the Santa Fe, Oregon, and California NHTs throughout the Kansas City metro area.
CAPACITY
- Grants — OCTA won a grant from the PNTS to hire an intern who will work out of the city planner’s office in St. Joseph, MO in 2018 to help implement the development plans for the city; won two grants from the Malcolm E. Smith, Jr. Foundation, Inc. to assist in building a new website and to develop a comprehensive brochure program. These two grants will heavily emphasize the 50th anniversary of the National Trails System Act and the 175th anniversary of the Oregon Trail.
Unless otherwise indicated, all material in Pathways Across America is public domain. All views expressed herein are perspectives of individuals working on behalf of the National Trails System and do not necessarily represent the viewpoint of the Federal agencies.
