ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — After Tropical Storm Helene, many Western North Carolina hiking and biking trails were destroyed, suffering from flooding, felled trees and other damages. They may have stayed that way without Pisgah Area SORBA and its mighty team of volunteers.
Volunteering for bikers, hikers and more
Pisgah Area SORBA, or Southern Off-Road Bicycle Association, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and developing over 150 miles of biking trails in the Pisgah Ranger District. With a volunteer base of over 450 and events scheduled all year long, the organization has been instrumental in restoring the woods of WNC.
“When Helene happened, we were one of the nonprofits that was invited by the rangers to come in and help open the forest, clear the trails,” said Stacey Wiedrich, director of engagement for Pisgah Area SORBA. “We cleared over 250 trees and reopened over 20 trails in three days, which was crazy. Our volunteer list, currently it’s 450 that are active, went all the way up to 1,600. So, obviously, people were like, ‘I want to help,’ and what was great is we still are getting new volunteers all the time.”
No matter which trail Pisgah Area SORBA is working on, the group aims to reflect the wishes of the community around it.
Take Bent Creek Experimental Forest, for instance, where the nonprofit sponsors 29 different trails.
“One of the things we found that’s really important is surveys that we put out before we start a project, to get the community’s feedback on what they would like to see, how they currently experience the trail,” Wiedrich explained. “ The community here really wants these trails to stay somewhat in this raw, natural, technical character that it’s known for, and a lot of times, trail construction can smooth out a trail. That’s something people here don’t necessarily want to see, so we take it really seriously.”
What Pisgah Area SORBA volunteers do
Pisgah Area SORBA volunteers are tasked with several preservation strategies around Bent Creek, but the biggest, by far, is drain work. Digging, clearing and protecting ditches that prevent water from collecting is a vital part of maintaining a healthy trail.
“These drains are super important to make sure that that doesn’t happen,” Wiedrich said. “Over time, you know, the fall and debris and storms, these things can get really clogged up. So, drain work is kind of a constant.”
Another basic volunteer task is “brushing,” the process of taking lopping shears to brush sticking out into the trail. Overgrowth can be dangerous for mountain biker sight lines and make multi-use paths narrower.
“Drains and brushing would be your more basic maintenance, kind of Trail 101 if you’re a newer volunteer. We do have a lot of volunteers that end up taking certification classes to become a trail crew leader, which is really great, ’cause then they’re able to tackle some bigger projects,” Wiedrich said. “Currently, we have 35 trail crew leaders in our organization. These are all volunteers. They are so dedicated. They’re out at least once a week.”
Wiedrich said that the estimated value of an hour of volunteer work is $34.79. With 1,412 hours reported so far, Pisgah Area SORBA volunteers have already contributed $49,123.48 to trail recovery in 2026.
Beyond the woods
The organization’s work is not confined to trail maintenance, either.
“We have just created a new program that’s called Kids and Trail Stewardship,” Wiedrich said. “Our goal with this program is to teach middle school and high schoolers about how to take care of your community resources, and that you do have a voice in it. And to teach them what advocacy means, what stewardship means and that there is a career path in trails, in outdoor recreation.”
Pisgah Area SORBA is currently piloting the initiative with local high school mountain bike teams. Wiedrich emphasized that the program was different from a typical “kids on bikes” program.
“People just seem super excited about it, ’cause there’s a lot of programs that get kids on bikes. We’re not in that business. What we want to do is teach them how to take care of the resources in their communities,” Wiedrich explained.
While Pisgah Area SORBA protects trails for everyone, they have a special interest in cyclists. Wiedrich herself is a passionate mountain biker with a background in pro BMX competition. The next major cycling event on the Pisgah Area SORBA calendar is WNC Bike Fest, a free festival and fundraiser. The event will take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, May 16 at Ecusta Brewing Company in Brevard, N.C.
The nonprofit has big plans for the future, too.
“Our strategic plan for the next 5 years? It’s how do we keep engaging more and more volunteers? How do we bring more awareness just to what trails need? How do we expand trail opportunities for people that live in different areas that don’t have access to the national forest?” Wiedrich shared. “And how do we get more kids engaged? It’s just really cool seeing it all starting. It’s so much work, but we’re seeing it all starting to happen.”
For more information about volunteering with Pisgah Area SORBA or statistics about their work in the community, visit www.pisgahareasorba.org.