Green and bronze belts

While the Greenbelt winds along the river in the valley, many members of the Green River Greenbelt Task Force have dreamed for years of a "Bronze Belt," a system of trails on the hills above town. With work on the Skyline Trail making significant progress, this dream is starting to become a reality.

The Greenbelt Task Force has been celebrating multiple achievements lately as they move forward with their goals for development and expansion. The progress on the Skyline Trail is one of the most obvious recent successes, but Greenbelt Task Force Chairman John Freeman shared that there are lots of other projects happening as well.

Skyline Trail

To celebrate all the progress on the Skyline Trail over the past year since the project first broke ground, the Greenbelt Task Force will be hosting a "First Hike, Bike and Invoice Burning Celebration" at the Skyline Trail parking lot on Upland Way this Saturday, May 3 at 11 a.m.

"Participants will watch as Searle Brothers Construction and the Green River Greenbelt Task Force will burn the invoice for the construction done on the Skyline Trial in 2024," a press release about the event explained. "Originally, Searle Brothers was going to build the trail donating their equipment and their operators for the cost of fuel and consumables. The GBTF could afford this agreement because of a $100,000 donation from the Dustin Shilcox Foundation. This January, Searle Brothers donated all their work in 2024 to the citizens of Green River and Sweetwater County. It is believed that this is a million-dollar donation."

Along with the invoice burning, the event will encourage participants to put the Skyline Trail to use, walking or biking either part or all of the trail. Those who reach the quarter-mile marker will receive a free t-shirt, while those who walk the entire four-mile trail will have their names placed in a raffle. Raffle tickets can also be purchased.

The Skyline Trail is a multi-use, non-motorized trail that has been designed to be accessible and barrier free, so specially-designed wheelchairs will be able to navigate most of the trail. The trail has three entry and exit points, being accessible from Upland Way and the Western Wyoming Community College Green River Campus, as well as at its top point along the ridge of South Hill and the "top of the world" spot.

"If you come up to the top here you can go and take some wonderful pictures," Freeman noted, pointing out the view of the town and the Green River valley that can be seen from the top of the trail.

The Skyline Trail has already begun to be used by hikers and bikers, and is open for use now. Freeman did note, however, that those who use the trail should be aware that there is still some ongoing construction, and he encouraged anyone on the trail to steer clear of construction areas for everyone's safety.

As work continues, the Skyline Trail still has several additions that the task force hopes to make to finish it out.

Throughout this year, the plan is for a road base surface to be added to the trail, along with informational signs, benches, wind breaks and more features to promote specialized wheelchair use and accessibility. Most of these additions will be possible thanks to a $154,000 grant from the Wyoming Outdoor Recreation Group. These projects are also a chance for more community partnerships, with Freeman pointing out that the Green River High School welding department has already been working on features for the benches that will be put in.

Searle Brothers has also done work to make sure the trail will be durable and easy to maintain, Freeman noted. With the compacting of the raised trail surface and the plans to put down a five-foot road base, which is essentially a type of gravel surface, Freeman believes the trail will stay in good shape. He also noted that work will be done to hydroseed to preserve natural vegetation growth in the areas around the trail.

Even with more projects to be done, just making the Skyline Trail into a reality is an accomplishment. Freeman gave credit to Tom Wilson and Bill Lewis, the task force's "trail guys," and to Searle Brothers, saying there wouldn't be a trail without them.

"I always thought that it would be nice to have trails that went up to the top, and I thought that would never happen," Freeman said. "Thanks to Tom Wilson and his vision, it's there."

Scott's Bottom

Some of the other most recent projects that have helped the Greenbelt Task Force have taken place at FMC Park and the Scott's Bottom Nature Area.

One of the biggest projects took place last week, when Trout Unlimited and Western Midstream came out and did a $700,000 project to restore the original bank along the river. They built up the bank, along with putting in trees and root balls along its edges to help create fish habitat.

These groups, along with members of the Greenbelt Task Force and employees from the City of Green River, also worked to help restore and upgrade the main trail that goes through the area, putting down recycled asphalt along the path. Part of that work was cut short due to weather, so Freeman explained that they still have about a half-day's work to finish the rest of the trail.

This week, students from Expedition Academy also did work in the area, spending time on habitat projects to help promote growth of the cottonwood trees. The trees no longer get the same amount of water as they used to because the area doesn't flood since the Fontenelle Dam was put in, so the trees aren't reproducing, Freeman explained. The students from EA worked to help trim back growth to promote vertical growth, helping spur new development for the trees.

The Greenbelt Task Force also has ongoing plans to continue making better trails in the area, as well as blocking off old road to promote better safety and regulation of the area.

Second Saturdays

The Greenbelt is also excited to see even more work done in the future through the new "Second Saturday" program. The idea is that on the second Saturday of every month from May through September, the task force will work with volunteers to get work done.

"Depending on how many volunteers we have, it will determine what projects we go with," Freeman explained.

The program will allow volunteers to help with ongoing projects, including the additions to the Skyline Trail and further development around Scott's Bottom.

The task force has plenty of ideas for upcoming projects as well, from making more ADA accessible entrances to the greenbelt to wanting to put in another "bronze belt" trail that goes up to Castle Rock. For now, they plan to keep working on the projects they have and finding ways to make their goals happen.

"So, the Greenbelt Task Force has been busy," Freeman said, jokingly calling the members of the board "over-achieving" and "ambitious," but noting that they get things done.