MORGANTOWN — A national leader in sustainable trail development, Richard Edwards has been appointed recreation infrastructure development coordinator for the West Virginia University Brad and Alys Smith Outdoor Economic Collaborative.
Edwards joins WVU after 21 years with the International Mountain Biking Association as the trail solutions director of community engagement and education.
“There are a lot of challenging trails here, but we need to concentrate on the full spectrum of trail opportunities to include entry-level hiking and mountain biking to introduce people to outdoor recreation,” Danny Twilley, assistant dean of the collaborative, said. “Hiring Rich, one of the most notable trail designers and builders in the country, will help West Virginia accomplish these things.”
Edwards gained quite the reputation in the trail building community and is known for the care and effort he places into design, with special attention to sustainability and working with the topography of the land. He brings this knowledge, experience and creativity with him as he seeks to reimagine trails in West Virginia that will shape the state’s communities for years to come.
“I want to assist West Virginia community leaders in developing compelling trail experiences that contribute to their communities being renowned as desirable places to live, work and play through outdoor recreation,” he said, “I see an opportunity to really make a difference over the next decade. We can have world class trails here, and West Virginia is within a day’s drive from half of the U.S. population.”
Edwards’ mission is about empowering communities in West Virginia to help make outdoors accessible through education and toolkits.
“It’s important for the long-term success that communities take ownership and have the resources to maintain their outdoor recreation assets as the state grows,” he said. “They also need to ensure that trail users are ready for that experience, especially if there are not a lot of trails in the area. Start easy and ramp up the difficulty level.”
And of building and maintaining trails, the Collaborative believes in the power of those already here.
“People are going out of state for trail development, but we have trail builders in this state. We have to support and develop them,” Twilley agreed. “Let’s give West Virginians the skillset and the knowledge base to build high quality, sustainable trails in our communities.”
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