Stolen boards set back improvements to Treadwell Ditch Trail

Groups of volunteers spread across the new Under Thunder trail on June 2 as part of the National Trails Day celebrations.The crews worked on clearing logs and debris and re-vegetating muddy areas along the trail. Erik Boraas, executive director of Trail Mix, cuts logs to be hauled off the trail.
Erik Boraas, executive director of Trail Mix, cuts logs to be hauled off the Under Thunder trail in  2012. (Photo by Heather Bryant/KTOO)

Volunteers working on the Treadwell Ditch Trail made an unwelcome discovery Monday morning — $1,200 worth of materials had been stolen from the Blueberry Hill parking lot.

Trail Mix Executive Director Erik Boraas said the wooden boards went missing sometime between Friday and Monday morning. They belonged to kits being used to build new bridges over the north fork of Eagle Creek and over Falls Creek.

They were specially made in Oregon. With the added cost of shipping, the trail maintenance organization is looking at a setback of up to $3,000. And it’s losing valuable construction time.

“It’ll put us back a month, so it’s a real blow to the community because we’re trying to get these in before the end of the summer,” Boraas said.

Trail Mix has spent the last few years making improvements to the Treadwell Ditch trail. Last year, they put in three new bridges.

Boraas said volunteers have been on the trail multiple times a week this summer laying down gravel on muddy portions.

Boraas said the boards are 10 feet long and 6 inches wide, have pre-drilled holes and smell strongly of a preservative chemical.

“If they could be returned, we don’t want to press charges, we just want to get these bridges in,” Boraas said. “Put them back in the parking lot and we’ll be very happy and so will the community.”

Trail Mix’s day-to-day operations are funded by local donors.

The organization receives funding for construction projects like bridges from federal and state grants, as well as the City and Borough of Juneau.

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