Trail Skills College Course Curriculum
To help our volunteers succeed in their trail work, PCTA collaborated with many partners to develop a Trail Skills College curriculum.
Crew Management
Crew Management Skills Include:
Crew Recruitment
Perform inclusive and proactive recruitment and hiring (i.e., hiring beyond basic knowledge, skills, and abilities) of diverse crew members and staff.
Crew Training
Implement a training program that provides crew members with the skills, knowledge, and behaviors that are necessary for high quality trail operations, the implementation of trail management goals, safe operations, overall effectiveness and team engagement.
Crew Management
Work closely with agency/organization personnel and volunteers to schedule, assign specific tasks and general duties, ensure appropriate safety and operational equipment is assigned, and provide overall management of personnel in carrying out assigned project work.
Jobsite Safety
Demonstrate ability to create a site- and task-specific job hazard analysis and manage a safe job site.
Performance Management
Create and utilize a systematic approach for oversight of agency/organization personnel and volunteers to ensure skills, knowledge, and behaviors meet agency/organization standards for high quality trail operations, the implementation of trail management goals, safe operations, and overall effectiveness.
Crew Recruitment
Perform inclusive and proactive recruitment and hiring (i.e., hiring beyond basic knowledge, skills, and abilities) of diverse crew members and staff.
Crew Training
Implement a training program that provides crew members with the skills, knowledge, and behaviors that are necessary for high quality trail operations, the implementation of trail management goals, safe operations, overall effectiveness and team engagement.
Crew Management
Work closely with agency/organization personnel and volunteers to schedule, assign specific tasks and general duties, ensure appropriate safety and operational equipment is assigned, and provide overall management of personnel in carrying out assigned project work.
Jobsite Safety
Demonstrate ability to create a site- and task-specific job hazard analysis and manage a safe job site.
Performance Management
Create and utilize a systematic approach for oversight of agency/organization personnel and volunteers to ensure skills, knowledge, and behaviors meet agency/organization standards for high quality trail operations, the implementation of trail management goals, safe operations, and overall effectiveness.
Resources for Crew Management:
Documents and Media
• Video Trainings
• Training Programs
• Calendar
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Documents and Media for Crew Management
Trail Fundamentals and Trail Management Objectives
This publication provides comprehensive guidance and instructions for applying Trail Fundamentals and Trail Management Objectives. This recently published version includes the original 2008 content, along with updated photos and formatting.
SCA Leader Teams Handbook
This handbook defines the role of the SCA and the Programs’ policies and guidelines. It is to be referred to and followed. There are three sections- general information, a section specifically for the Leader Team Crew Leader, and a section…
Youth Conservation Corps Reference Manual: A Coordinator’s Guide
This handbook is intended to provide consistency among the National Park Service (NPS) units responsible for implementing the Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) and to offer guidance for establishing and operating the YCC throughout the NPS.
Bike Parks: IMBA's Guide to New School Trails
This book examines all phases of planning, designing, building, and operating these facilities, with real-world success stories and multiple essays provided by leaders in the field.
Managing Mountain Biking
Managing Mountain Biking is IMBA's guide to overcoming user conflict, minimizing environmental impact, managing risk, and providing technically challenging riding for all levels.
Trail Skills Training Library
Recorded Trainings for Crew Management
Trail Competencies and Skills
This webinar will discuss the Trail Competency Framework and how they are being used for program and curriculum development, workforce development efforts, bolstering trail stewardship capacity, and professionalization of the trail industry.
Making Organizations Inclusive: Stories of Deaf Gain in the Outdoors
This webinar will provide you with some of the needed tools, understanding, and resources of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing so that you can be more inclusive, respectful, and successful.
Making Organizations Inclusive: Stories of Deaf Gain in the Outdoors
AllTrails will bring together case studies from their Public Lands Partners to have an open discussion about how they are working to mitigate these issues through their Public Lands program and contribute to improving the overall experience of…
Digital Transformation of Trail Management and Monitoring
Mike Linnane of Evolve Technologies and award-winning Trail Manager Eoin Hogan will present on the development path of the world’s first integrated digital trail management system. The webinar will outline the evolution from a paper-based trail…
Risk Management: Lessons Learned from Near-Misses on the Trail and in Trail Work
What can we learn from near-misses on trail, and in trail work?
Risk Management During Trail Construction
This webinar will discuss best practices to reduce risk to your trail crew, company, agency, or organization during trail construction activities.
Further Education
Training Programs for Crew Management
Trail Academy
Trail Academy is our free class series that teaches students how to tackle any trail-related challenge. Courses are hosted both in the field and online, and are a great starting point for anyone looking to become a certified Trail Crew Leader or…
Trail Sustainability Institute
The Trail Sustainability Institute (TSI) is NWTA’s internal training classes for everything related to trail building. We want to make sure our trail builders are knowledgeable in not only how to build/maintain fun trails, but ensure those trails…
IMBA Trail Solutions Advanced Trail Building School
Partner with IMBA Trail Solutions and create with confidence. By deploying a complete range of skills–including visioning, detailed design, professional construction, and training for stewardship–our comprehensive approach saves resources.
PCTA Trail Skills Course
Because wildfires, wind storms, floods, gravity, and vegetation growth are constant threats to the PCT, the annual maintenance and reconstruction of the trail is a never-ending and monumental undertaking. Such work, historically carried out by…
Trailbuilding Professional Certificate
The Trailbuilding Professional certification integrates field-based training using hand tools and heavy machinery with first responder training, geospatial information science and technology (GIST), natural resource management, and business…
Trail Master Steward – Introduction Course
The Trail Master Steward online course is intended to provide volunteers, trail organizations, and land managers both a foundational understanding of the values inherent in trail stewardship as well as introduce the basic skills required to be…
Training Calendar
Upcoming Trainings for Crew Management
Custom Trainings
There are 57 trainers on TrailSkills
with Crew Management experience
Hire Workers
There are 216 workers on TrailSkills
with Crew Management experience
Alex Bradley
Middlefield, CT
Trails Stewardship Coordinator
Connecticut Forest and Park Association (CFPA)
Melissa Green
Silver City, NM
Trail Project Coordinator
Gila Chapter Back Country Horsemen of New Mexico
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Know of a good resource for this skill? Let us know! From webinars, to workshops, to PDFs, we'd like to add them to our resource library.
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