Oregon: County approved for grant to improve CZ Trail

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Oregon Parks and Recreation matches $75,000 for $150,000 in total funding
Jan 10, 2018

A desire to memorialize a friend has turned into $150,000 in grants and services for Columbia County’s Crown Zellerbach Trail (CZ Trail).

The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD) approved a $75,000 matching grant request to provide improved access, safety and services along the 23-mile trail, which runs from Scappoose to Vernonia. Additions will include kiosks, maps, signage, safety crossings and user amenities.

It all started with an idea to memorialize a friend and $6,000 to do so. After Wayne Naillon, a cycling enthusiast and trail advocate passed away in 2016, family members and friends gathered the funds in the hopes of finding a way to honor him.

“Wayne loved the CZ Trail and wanted more people to know about it, so we thought that promoting use of the trail would be a good way to memorize him,” Naillon’s friend and co-manager of the Wayne Naillon Memorial Trail Fund, Dale Latham said.

Latham and family member Marcus Iverson approached the county with the idea of using the $6,000 to improve access to the trail. That’s when Casey Garrett, the county’s General Services Manager, suggested the county apply for a grant from OPRD, which they did in May 2017. By December, the initial donation of $6,000 had turned into an approved $150,000 matching grant, with promises from the county, Oregon Equestrian Trails, and cartographer Jeff Smith partnering to provide labor and pro bono personal services. Smith was a good friend of Naillon’s and is an active advocate for biking trails in Oregon...

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