Organizations involved in the project to reconnect the historic Treadwell Ditch Trail announced on Wednesday, July 30, that the “multi-decade effort” has been successful, fully reconnecting the Treadwell Ditch Trail from Eaglecrest to South Douglas.
The historic trail follows along the Treadwell Ditch, a 14-mile-long aqueduct constructed between 1882 and 1889 to supply water to the Treadwell Mines, once the largest gold-mining complex in the world.
The reconnection of the 13.3-mile trail was made possible by the combined efforts of six partner organizations: the Alaska Department of Fish and Game; Juneau Community Foundation; U.S. Forest Service; City and Borough of Juneau; U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Wildlife Restoration Program; and Trail Mix, Inc. According to a July 30 press release, these groups worked alongside the Volunteer Trail Maintenance Team, founded by “passionate local retirees and hundreds of community volunteers to bring the trail back to life.”
Meghan Tabacek, executive director of Trail Mix, Inc, said the history of Trail Mix and the history of the Treadwell Ditch Trail are intertwined, with the local trail stewardship founded in 1993 by community members who “recognized that interagency cooperation was key to the success of Juneau’s trails.”
Tabacek said the reconnection of the Treadwell Ditch “encapsulates Trail Mix’s mission to steward a safe and enjoyable trail system by bringing people and resources together for trail improvements and activities.”
The $1.2 million Treadwell Ditch Trail Renovation Project was funded primarily by a federal grant through ADF&G, using Pittman–Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration funds provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The grant covered 75% of the project’s cost, according to the release, with the remaining 25% provided by the Juneau Community Foundation, CBJ, Trail Mix, Inc., and community donors.
Over the past five years, the project installed 33 bridges and 25 culverts, hardened the trail with thousands of pounds of gravel, and rebuilt degraded sections across the 13.3-mile route. Forty-five Trail Mix crew members worked on the trail, contributing 10,638 hours of labor. More than 25 members of the Volunteer Trail Maintenance Team, formed by locals to care for the Ditch, put in an additional 8,000-plus volunteer hours.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held at the Blueberry Hills trailhead Aug. 1 at noon, and a community celebration will occur at Savikko Park on Aug. 2 from 1 to 4 p.m. The celebration will feature food and remarks about the significance of the restoration project.
The press release also acknowledges the original stewards of the land, the Aak’w Ḵwáan and T’aaḵu Ḵwáan, whose “care for these lands spans millennia.”
