The Forest Service works closely with the Pacific Northwest Trail Association (PNTA) and other partners on the management and maintenance of the Pacific Northwest Trail. For more information about how you can get involved, contact the PNTA or the Forest Service's Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail administrator.

Section 2c of the National Trails System Act describes the importance of working with partners on National Scenic Trails:

The Congress recognizes the valuable contributions that volunteers and private, nonprofit trail groups have made to the development and maintenance of the Nation's trails. In recognition of these contributions, it is further the purpose of this Act to encourage and assist volunteer citizen involvement in the planning, development, maintenance, and management, where appropriate, of trails.

 

Partnerships

• The PNTA

  

  The Forest Service has a long-standing partnership with the PNTA whose mission is to protect and promote the PNT and to enhance recreation and educational opportunities along the trail. The PNTA contributes thousands of volunteer service hours and hundreds of thousands of dollars every year to maintaining the PNT.

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• The University of Montana

  

  The University of Montana has partnered with the Forest Service since 2017 on projects related to visitor use management and resource protection. Dr. Jennifer Thomsen (Principal Investigator) and a team of University of Montana faculty and students monitor visitor use at locations across the PNT in Montana and Idaho. They have performed geospatial analyses and other studies related to how visitors use and experience the PNT.

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• Partnership for the National Trails System

  

  The Partnership for the National Trails System advocates on behalf of the National Trails System as a whole for land preservation and stewardship resources. The PNTS collaborates with the USFS and the PNTA to help sustain the work related to the PNT.

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Forest Service Partnership Resource Center