K’é Community Trails Coalition

The K’é Community Trails Coalition is a collection of volunteers committed to formalizing walking paths in Crownpoint, NM to improve community connectedness. The effort began in 2018 at a Crownpoint Chapter Community Watch and Awareness meeting when community members expressed a need for safe walking paths for local youth. As a result, the Crownpoint Chapter, Navajo Technical University (NTU), Office of Diné Youth (ODY), and regional partners like the University of New Mexico’s Prevention Research Center and National Park Service worked together to develop a trail work plan based on three years of community feedback. As a result of that feedback, the Coalition’s aim is to address: (1) active transportation, (2) better community health; (3) recreation and fitness, (4) connection to land and people; and (5) visitor and tourism opportunities. The Coalition aims to maximize the trail’s functionality to improve health outcomes, enhance education, and celebrate the diverse and layered cultural and environmental history of the region. The biggest achievements of the Coalition have included: (1) formalizing just under a mile of trail (known as ODY Loop) utilizing summer youth workers, (2) producing a 50-page comprehensive trails action plan that resulted from a 3-year community engagement process, and (3) obtaining a $19,000 grant through the NM Clean & Beautiful program that saw the construction of a trailhead sign, directional signage, and community mural. Crownpoint has also developed an annual Earth Day clean up event. The Coalition is currently in the process of withdrawing/designating an additional 1.33 miles of trail on Tribal Trust land known as Hashtłishnii Trail. Hashtłishnii Trail connects with ODY Loop, and will be the first trail formalized under the K’é Community Trails Network. A Crownpoint Chapter resolution has been approved and funding has been obtained to conduct a GIS survey and archeological and biological clearances. Once the land designation is secured, further work to formalize the trail will be pursued. Additionally, the Coalition has been in discussion with the Navajo Regional Indian Health Services Office to construct a pump track on ODY Loop. The pump track will be a springboard to developing bike trails adjacent to the K’é Community Trails network.