Ice Age Trail Alliance
Conserve, create, maintain, and promote the Ice Age National Scenic Trail
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
On a day-to-day basis, Ice Age Trail Alliance staff and volunteers work to conserve, create, maintain, and promote the Ice Age National Scenic Trail. More broadly, our work addresses two critical needs: (i) for people to build a good connection to the environment and (ii) for people to build good connections with each other. The first need is met primarily through people using the Ice Age Trail: learning more about the Ice Age landforms, plant and animal communities, and water resources found along the trail while walking, hiking, backpacking, and snowshoeing. Secondarily, our volunteers build a good connection to the environment as part of caring for the Ice Age Trail and the land over which it passes. The second need is met primarily through group volunteer activities, such as our local volunteer chapters and trailwide MSC Program. These activities allow our volunteers to build connections and camaraderie with others in their home communities and beyond.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Trail
Ice Age Trail Alliance staff and volunteers work year-round to build new Ice Age Trail segments and maintain existing ones. Building new segments of Trail is typically done via the Alliance's MSC Program. Each year, the Alliance conducts around 10 MSC events at locations along the Ice Age Trail. Each project typically runs four days, and features 100+ volunteers from around Wisconsin and beyond who build boardwalks, bridges, trail tread, and more. The new segments established through MSC projects are recognized as some of the finest examples of hand-built footpath in the nation. Volunteers maintain the existing sections of Ice Age Trail primarily via activities organized through Alliance volunteers chapters. These 19 chapters, spread out across the Ice Age Trail route, are led by volunteers and supported by Alliance staff members.
Land Conservation
The Ice Age Trail is not yet complete. One step in completing the Trail, and one of our goals, is permanently protecting the land.
The Ice Age Trail Alliance is a land trust accredited by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission. This means we complete land transactions and own land and conservation easements that protect the Trail. We also work with our state and federal agency partners, counties, local communities and other land trusts to protect land for the Trail.
Permanent protection of the Ice Age Trail also involves the responsible management of land that we own or hold easements on. We regularly manage and monitor our properties. This includes activities such as (i) building new Ice Age Trail sections, parking areas, dispersed camping areas and loop trails; (ii) managing the impacts of invasive species; (iii) monitoring properties that have easements; (iv) marking property boundaries; (v) restoring native landscapes; and (vi) keeping properties clean of litter.
Outreach and Education
The Ice Age Trail is an educational trail by nature. The glacial features and multitude of biomes created by the glaciers are natural classrooms throughout Wisconsin. The Ice Age Trail takes hikers past these environments and truly provides a lifetime of learning.
We believe strongly in sharing this natural story with tomorrow’s leaders as they realize the mental and physical benefits of enjoying a stroll on the Ice Age Trail. We work with youth, schools and community groups through a variety of venues, most prominently our Saunters program and service learning.
Our Saunters program aims to honor Henry David Thoreau’s statement – “It is a great art to saunter” – while infusing core educational concepts into trips on the Ice Age Trail. The program is a collaboration between the Alliance and school districts and community groups across Wisconsin dedicated to taking youth on hikes.
Where we work
External reviews
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of volunteers
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Total number of volunteer hours contributed to the organization
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Number of unique website visitors
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
The primary goals of the Ice Age Trail Alliance are to:
- Work, in our capacity as a land trust, to secure lands upon which new segments of the Ice Age Trail can be built. The Ice Age Trail is currently about half-complete. To finish the Ice Age Trail, the Alliance works with key partners -- including the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, National Park Service, and private landowners -- to identify and acquire property/easements.
- For new segments of the Ice Age Trail, conduct an extensive trail layout and design process before our volunteers begin construction. The trail layout and design process ensures all regulatory requirements are met, and yields a trail route that works in harmony with the landscape. This results in a trail that not only lasts longer and is easier to maintain, but also allows hikers to enjoy their experience because of what is under foot, rather than in spite of it.
- Harness the power of volunteers to build new segments of the Ice Age Trail. Each year, hundreds of volunteers devote tens of thousands of hours to building new segments. Much of this work is via the Alliance's nationally recognized MSC program, and nearly all is done without the use of power equipment.
- Harness the power of volunteers to maintain existing segments of the Ice Age Trail. There are more than 600 miles of the Ice Age Trail established so far, and keeping those segments in good shape for trail users is a demanding task. Volunteers work to maintain the trail primarily through activities organized by the Alliance's many volunteer chapters spread along the trail's route.
- Provide volunteers with top-notch training. Through the Alliance's Mobile Skills Crew program, Ice Age Trail Alliance University (IAT-U), and chapter-based trainings, volunteers have the opportunity to learn new skills and also challenge themselves with leadership opportunities.
- Provide volunteers a fun, satisfying experience. Whether it's a small-scale chapter event on a weekend morning, or a multi-day MSC event with 200+ participants, Alliance staff and volunteer leaders work to ensure that volunteer participants have a good time, are given meaningful jobs to perform, and have the opportunity to connect in a meaningful way with fellow volunteers.
- Provide information about the Ice Age Trail and the Ice Age Trail Alliance so that people are aware of our work and understand how to find and enjoy segments of the Ice Age Trail. We provide this information through our website, social media platforms, eNews announcements, wayfinding app for mobile devices, and suite of guidebooks.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Much of the Alliance's work is guided by a strategic plan (updated every three years). A committee comprised of Alliance board members, other volunteers, and staff guides the creation of our strategic plan. This committee conducts direct interviews and meetings with stakeholders and organizes a facilitated Strategic Planning Retreat. Workgroups representing a cross-section of the Alliance are charged with crafting strategies, goals, and action steps for each of the four specific strategic areas through which we focus our work:
• Conserve Land and Create Trail: The Alliance, by fostering quality trail design, construction, management, protection, and maintenance, ensures an excellent Trail and trail experience for current and future users. The Alliance creates a contiguous corridor of protected lands that host the Trail at a sufficient width to support its natural and cultural resources and enhance user experience.
• Enhance All User Experiences: The Alliance strives to strengthen and expand opportunities that benefit the Trail with targeted messaging and attention to diverse audiences and imaginative partnerships.
• Engage Our Supporters: The Alliance has developed creative pathways into the organization. There are opportunities for volunteers to contribute their talents while maintaining high-quality volunteer events.
• Strengthen the Alliance's Capabilities: The Alliance is soundly positioned in a manner that the Board, staff, chapters, and volunteers understand their roles and responsibilities, and that ensures continuity and purpose consistent with the mission and vision of the organization. The Alliance has robust, diverse revenue streams to support and expand its capacity for operations, programs, endowment, capital improvements, and land acquisition.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
The Alliance strives to meet its goals by drawing from the following resources:
- A staff of 21 working together at our headquarters building in Cross Plains, WI.
- An 18-member board of directors representing various regions across the Ice Age Trail.
- 19 volunteer chapters spread across the Ice Age Trail route.
- Hundreds of volunteers. In 2021, the Alliance engaged 1,578 volunteers contributing 69,502 volunteer hours. Those hours are equivalent to the work of 33 full-time employees.
- More than 5,500 dues-paying members who provide a foundation of support to complement funding the Alliance receives from government/corporate/foundation sources.
- Key partners such as the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the National Park Service, local governments, businesses, and private landowners.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
The Ice Age Trail Alliance was established in 1958. Since then, Alliance supporters have worked to establish more than 680 miles of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail's 1,200-mile route. The Alliance has worked in support of the purchase of 20,455 acres permanently protecting 128 miles of Trail in an otherwise shrinking wilderness landscape.
Each year the Alliance has worked hard to tell its story, raising the profile of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail to unprecedented levels. In 1979, the first person hiked the entire Ice Age Trail route. Twenty years later (1979-1998), only 10 others had joined that person. In the 20 years after that (1999-2018), 185 more had accomplished the feat. And in the 4 years since then (2019-2022), over 205 more people have completed the Trail.
In the future, Alliance staff, volunteers, members, and partners will continually strive to:
- Permanently protect lands for future and existing segments of the Ice Age Trail.
- Build new segments of the Ice Age Trail that are some of the country's finest examples of hand-crafted footpath.
- Support our volunteers through fun, rewarding events and opportunities to learn new skills and grow as leaders.
- Grow the next generation of environmental stewards through our Saunters youth education/service learning program.
- Raise awareness of the Ice Age Trail and the Ice Age Trail Alliance, attracting more and more people to our cause.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Ice Age Trail Alliance
Board of directorsas of 01/04/2023
Patti Dreier
Retired
Term: 2021 - 2023
Maureen Skelton
Matt Underwood
Timothy Yanacheck
Patty Dreier
Edward Madere
Nancy Peterson
Robert Funk
John Kolbe
Rob Malewicki
Sue Greenway
Dana Chabot
Ellen Drought
Mark Glasser
Meg Schmitz Layton
Kurt Lingel
Linda Mertz
Fred Stadler
Benjamin Swanson
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes