Jocko Valley Trails

Abstract

The Jocko Valley Trails Master’s Project team assisted community members and tribal employees in the planning and conceptual design of a non-motorized trail system in the Jocko Valley, located on the Flathead Reservation in Montana. The Master’s project team worked closely with community groups and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal government, through meetings and public outreach, to create trail design recommendations. Specifically, this project developed a series of tailored trail feature recommendations, educational/interpretation options and trail design alternatives for the Jocko Valley community. On a broader scale, a detailed report on the current status of trail systems on American Indian reservations throughout the United States was written. The major findings from this research were then combined with information gathered from comprehensive personal interviews with tribal natural resource managers to offer insights for tribes considering trail development on their reservations. Unlike other trail development research, these findings are sensitive to the unique challenges and benefits trail systems may provide reservation communities.