The Santa Barbara County Trails Council is a grassroots membership organization that has worked vigorously on behalf of people of Santa Barbara County to enhance the county’s trail network for over 50 years. We are inclusive in our support for volunteering, collaborating and advocating for trail access on behalf of hikers, runners, bikers, equestrians and all others who use trails for outdoor recreation. To achieve our goals we provide trail-related planning, design, mapping, construction and maintenance for city, county, state and federal agencies.

OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Strategic planning, community outreach, program development, trail advocacy, new trail initiatives, fundraising and continuing trail maintenance programs are managed by the Board of Directors and the organization's Executive Director, Mark Wilkinson. Please contact us to share your enthusiasm for trails in Santa Barbara County.

Otis Calef, President
Dan Gira, Vice President
Paul Herning, Treasurer
Kevin Wallace, Secretary

Committees

If you are interested in volunteering please check out the opportunities listed below.

Many dedicated citizens are helping the Advisory Committees of the Santa Barbara County Trails Council to add new trails to the Santa Barbara County Trail System as well as maintain the existing trail network. These volunteer efforts are applied for the most part within several key committees. The list of committees and ongoing/current tasks appear below. Contact Mark Wilkinson, Executive Director, or any Trails Council Board Member if you want more information about how to get involved in these activities.

Executive Committee | Otis Calef, Chair

• Maintain a strong and active board, recruiting new members/advisors as necessary
• Maintain working subcommittees, coordinating shared/overlapping activities
• Seek trail easements and agreements as needed
• Plan budgets; oversee all financial operations of SBCTC

Trails Advisory Committee | Kerry Kellogg, Chair

• Enhance recreational trails for public use within Santa Barbara County
• Promoting trail planning, development, maintenance and management among local government agencies
• Develop service agreements with county and city agencies

Volunteer Advisory Committee | Chair Position Open

• Monitor the trails, report problems, and pick-up a pulaski, mcleod, shovel, or loppers as needed
• Promoting trail maintenance among volunteer trails organizations and non-profit organizations
• Support needs of other committees

Trail Stewardship Committee | Dale Parks, Chair

• Plan, monitor, and maintain natural habitats along trails maintained by the Trails Council
• Promoting trailside habitat restoration among volunteer trails organizations and non-profit organizations
• Plan and carry out habitat restoration events throughout the year

Events Advisory Committee | Chair Position Open

• Organize weekly recreational hikes
• Oversee trail run series planning and event hosting
• Plan and carry out awareness building and similar events throughout the year

Development Advisory Committee | Chair Position Open

• Build membership; Conduct regular membership drives
• Send out membership thank you packets and renewal notices
• Find the resources (fundraising) to maintain/extend the Santa Barbara County Trails network

Community Outreach Advisory Committee | Chair Position, Chair

• Maintain ongoing relations with non-profit/for-profit stakeholders and advocates
• Secure community support/endorsement for trail development and maintenance projects
• Increase the number of people from diverse and underserved populations participating in our programs
• Maintain ongoing relations with the city, county, state, and federal agency leadership/staff

Communication Advisory Committee | Chair Position Open

• Solicit or write a "news" item covering accomplishments
• Prepare and distribute press releases
• Prepare Annual Report and other advocacy reports
• Keep web site up-to-date with relevant news and articles
• Support needs of other committees

Volunteers Needed

As a non-profit trail centric organization, we rely on people volunteering to help us meet our goals and objectives. We have positions open on our advisory committees in addition to the need for people to volunteer for trail maintenance. We collaborate with the Santa Barbara Mountain Bike Trail Volunteers, Los Padres Forest Association and others to coordinate trail volunteer projects throughout the county. Go to www.sbvolunteers.org to learn about upcoming trail maintenance events and register for event notification via email.

We are currently looking for volunteers with the following interests

• New Trail Advocate
• Event Planning
• Membership Development
• Fundraising
• Grant Writing
• News Editor, Writer or Reporter
• Publicity, Public Relations
• Graphic Design
• Photography
• Trail Maintenance

Contact us to volunteer.