Travel Oregon Awards Grant to Hopkins Demonstration Forest
Forests Forever Inc received a grant of $53,405 last year to help improve the trail system at the Hopkins Demonstration Forest. The Oregon Tourism Commission, dba Travel Oregon has awarded over $2.4 million dollars through its Competitive & Recovery Grant Program to support economic recovery by investing in projects that enhance and expand the visitor experience and prepare communities and visitors for COVID-19 safe travel. For this grant cycle, Travel Oregon received more than 400 applications with a request greater than $18 million.
“These projects directly support Oregon’s tourism economy, from iconic Oregon attractions like the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, to outdoor trail development, to retrofitting outdoor events to meet public health standards,” said Todd Davidson, CEO of Travel Oregon. Many of these entities have been closed or were unable to hold their event in the last year because of Covid. Our goal is to support these businesses, events and attractions as they operate safely, restore vibrancy and create economic stability in communities across the state.”
The grant helped to reconstruct a portion of the trail system, replace the treated decking on the bridges, and resurface a large portion of the trail system with gravel. “We were extremely appreciative to receive the grant from Travel Oregon which enabled us to upgrade the quality of our trail system after the damage from the ice storm last year so that visitors can enjoy their time in the forest,” said Ken Everett, Executive Director of Forests Forever. Work on the trails started last summer and was completed in the fall of 2021.
