And Now for a Bit of Good News... the Trail Crew is Back!

With restrictions on construction work relaxed, this week marked the first full working week for our Trail Crew since April 1, and we couldn’t be happier to have them back out building new trails and maintaining the ones you love most. Social distancing and safe trailwork practices are the number one priority for our team at this time, and the crew here at MBOSC is taking every precaution we can to stay safe and comply with regulations from the Santa Cruz County Health Officer.

We’ve all seen the flood of visitors to our public spaces, and now more than ever, the value of trails is clear. Our team made a careful return to the trails this week, and with masks and sanitizer aplenty, we’re proud to share that they’re busy helping local land managers keep trails in proper working order.

So, where have they been working? The Crew’s had shovels in the dirt over at Chanticleer, where the new pumptrack was just opened, and is hard at work on the Sawpit Trail reroute as well. They’ve also been out at Glenwood Preserve in Scotts Valley completing some much-needed maintenance and finishing up the trails on the east side of the preserve, and are getting back to work on the Saratoga to the Skyline Trail after a pause during the shutdown.

While our Trail Crew is making their way back out into our public spaces, things are still far from normal across Santa Cruz County and around the world. If you do head out to the trails, please follow our trail use guidelines and help keep our community safe.

While we’re glad to be back out there, the reality is that much of our funding comes from events and fundraisers that we've unfortunately had to cancel due to COVID-19.

If you’d like to give back and support our team of trail experts, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to MBOSC’s 2025 Vision or renewing your MBOSC membership. Additional tax incentives are now available to those who give to non-profit organizations. For taxpayers who don’t itemize deductions, a new $300 deduction has been established. This is a big deal, and means that if you donate $300 to a charitable non-profit, you can write off the entire donation on your 2020 taxes without itemizing. For individuals who itemize, the cap on charitable giving deductions has been raised from 50% to 100% of adjusted gross income.

If you’re already a member and are looking for additional ways to give, you can provide much-needed COVID-19 relief to communities near and far, and enter to win the Ibis of your choice (ANY model, ANY build!), by donating to our Trail Aid fundraiser here. For every $5 you contribute, you earn one entry into our Ibis giveaway on May 26, and 25% of each contribution will be given to the COVID-19 relief fund of your choice. We’re aiming to raise $80,000 for public lands and public health over the next two weeks, and every single dollar gets us closer to that goal.

We’ll continue to share Trail Crew updates from the field, and if you see our team out there, please give ‘em a big “thank you!” as you pass (from 6’ away & behind a mask, of course).

[caption id="attachment_12187" align="alignnone" width="182"] Even the wildlife is glad to see the Trail Crew is back![/caption]