Breaking Ground on the first trailhead

May 2023 — A very well-attended groundbreaking celebration took place in Elgin, launching the project’s very first trailhead, which will also serve as a pocket park for the City of Elgin. The event featured a lunch at the Train Depot, followed by remarks by the Elgin Mayor, and then the planting of a cottonwood tree on the site. Attendees also rode pedal-powered railbikes out the tracks a ways to see where the new trail will be located, and they did a super cleanup job picking up trash in the railroad corridor. If you missed the big event, you can see highlights in the video to the left. Enjoy!

Walking Tour Builds Excitement for Trail

April 2023 — A well-attended walking tour of the the future site of the project’s first trailhead/pocket park and the first short trail section in Elgin was a success on April 12th. The La Grande Observer newspaper did a nice feature story on the event, noting the excitement that is building as the project moves toward construction of the first trailhead. The video to the left shows some highlights of the walking tour.

JBTC secures New odot Planning grant

January, 2023 — The Joseph Branch Trail Consortium has been awarded a second Transportation Growth Management (TGM) grant of from the Oregon Dept. of Transportation, this one to fund planning for 13 miles of trail between the City of Wallowa and Minam, including a 1-mile, ADA-compliant path within the city limits of Wallowa.

The new grant comes a year after the nonprofit was awarded a $191,000 TGM grant for a 15-mile trail section out of Elgin and a $142,000 Oregon State Parks grant to fund construction of the project’s very first trail section and trailhead (that will also serve as a pocket park for the City of Elgin). Full story.

JBTC Wins grant from Cycle Oregon

February, 2022 — The Joseph Branch Trail Consortium received a grant from Cycle Oregon for $18,000 that will fund construction of a covered gazebo and landscaping at the trail's soon-to-be built western trailhead in downtown Elgin. The trailhead will also serve as a pocket park and community gathering place for the residents of the City of Elgin.

The Cycle Oregon grant follows two other recent grants to the organization that total more than $272,000: an Oregon State Parks grant to fund construction of the first ADA-compliant trail section and the trailhead (that will also serve as a pocket park for the City of Elgin), and a grant from the Oregon Dept. of Transportation that will fund development of a detailed refinement plan for the next 15- mile trail segment between Elgin and Lookingglass. Full story.

JBTC Awarded $272,000 in Grants

November, 2021 — The Joseph Branch Trail Consortium has received two grants totaling more than $272,000 that will fund construction of the first trailhead and inaugural trail segment, as well as final planning and design for another 13-mile segment. One grant, from Oregon State Parks' Recreational Trails Program, will fund construction of the trailhead, which will also serve as a pocket park for the City of Elgin. A second grant, from the Oregon Dept. of Transportation, will fund development of a detailed refinement plan for a planned 13- mile segment of the trail between Elgin and Lookingglass. Read the full story…

Mountain Medicine - Aging well: Healthy lifestyle habits for seniors

In this Wallowa County Chieftain article, Miles McFall writes about the negative effects a lack of physical activity can have on aging adults, along with the benefits that exercise and socialization have. He also discusses the shortage of adequate options for shared, outdoor activity in this region.

This is another example of how building a trail along the railroad corridor could help build our community’s health and safety.

Participation in outdoor recreation activities cuts healthcare costs by billions, new report shows

Jan 7, 2019: A recent Oregon Parks and Recreation study finds that outdoor recreation saves the state $1.4 Billion in health costs annually. The study also indicates easy access to areas to recreate, like community trails, is key.

volunteers spruce ‘rail and trail’

June 28, 2017: JOSEPH — Oregon Outdoor Recreation Day was recognized by about 30 local trail enthusiasts who picked up debris along the railroad tracks between Joseph and Enterprise where the Joseph Branch Trail is proposed. The event was sponsored by the Joseph Branch Trail Consortium that is working with the Wallowa Union Railroad on a proposal to construct a six-mile trail along the railroad. 

“The cleanup day exemplified what rail and trail is all about,” said Kim Metlen, owner of the Rail Rider pedal cars. “About 32 neighbors from Wallowa and Union counties found a surprisingly small amount of litter.”

Businesses back trail project

Oct 11, 2016: The Joseph Branch Rail with Trail project recently received a resounding vote of confidence in an informal poll of business owners.

The results of the Wallowa County Chamber of Commerce’s first online poll of members indicates that the overwhelming majority of the 125 members who responded support the Joseph Branch Rail with Trail project. A majority of members also support the chamber in actively promoting the project.

Trail gets look from project stakeholders

May 30, 2016: JOSEPH — Constructing a trail along a portion of the Joseph Branch Railroad got another look by organizers and adjacent landowners recently — bringing up both concerns and support.

WURA’s Onboard

Feb 11, 2016: The Wallowa Union Rail Authority has given an initial green light to the first stage of an effort to create a 63-mile trail along the WURA line from Joseph to Elgin.

During its monthly meeting Feb. 9 in Wallowa, the WURA board unanimously adopted a resolution advancing the construction of a six-mile pilot segment from Joseph to Enterprise, the southernmost part of the six-segment proposal.

The resolution reads:

“WURA approves in concept the construction of a trail, with the railroad in control of the project, that a pilot segment be from Enterprise to Joseph, and that WURA initiate negotiations with the Joseph Branch Trail Consortium (JBTC) for a Memorandum of Understanding.”

WURA opens door to potential rail/trail pairing

Nov 6, 2013: Although slowly, the immovable object is beginning to move and what was an impossibility 11 years ago has been shown new light.

On Monday, Oct. 28, the Wallowa Union Railroad Authority (WURA) passed a resolution to study the possibility of having a trail constructed within the 63 miles of railroad right-of-way it owns between Joseph and Elgin. The idea has been bandied around frequently since WURA was born in 2002, sometimes sparking heated reactions, but not until that Monday night in the Wallowa Senior Center did the WURA board of directors make a definitive decision in support of the rails and trails concept.