Trail Builder Steve Flagg
Giving back to the community one trail at a time
Behind every successful park or trail effort you will find a Trail Builder, an individual that shepherded the dream into reality, giving time, money or both in pursuit of the goal. The following is a Question & Answer feature on one such Trail Builder -- Steve Flagg. Flagg is the founder and co-owner of Quality Bicycle Products (QBP). He also serves on the boards of the International Mountain Biking Association (IMBA) and the Bikes Belong Coalition. Steve recently sat down with Minnesota Trails magazine to answer a few questions.
Q: Tell us about Quality Bicycle Products (QBP) and how it helps build trails.
Quality Bicycle Products is the largest parts and accessories distributor in the cycling industry. At QBP we believe bike trails are healthy for everyone: children, athletes, suburban commuters, grandma and grandpa, bike dealers and bike vendors. When you build more trails, more people will bike and want to bike. That's why we hired a full-time advocate to lobby local and federal governments for trail building funds. The results have been pretty impressive so far. Working with grassroots citizens' groups and legislators, QBP has helped secure $4.5 billion in federal funds for a host of bike and pedestrian related projects, including: the Safe Routes to School Program, which makes it safer for children to walk and bike to school, and the Non-Motorized Transportation Pilot Program, which develops transportation networks for cyclists and pedestrians in Minneapolis and three other U.S. cities.
Q: How did you get involved in park and trail building efforts?
I've always been an avid user of the Minnesota park and trail system. When our family took vacations we'd go to places like Gooseberry Falls and other various places up north. And when we had children we did the same. I consider our park and trail system to be one of Minnesota's greatest resources. I've definitely been teed up to be a huge park and trail supporter and so when Quality Bicycle Products became more successful we hired a full-time bicycle advocate to work on trail issues. Personally, I've always had a passion for cycling and that alone makes it all the more worthwhile to continue to build the network of trails that we have around Minnesota.
Q: What is Bikes Belong and what projects has the organization been involved in that have been especially satisfying for you?
Bikes Belong is the bicycle industry's voice when it comes to such things as trails and working with legislators to get more trails. Bikes Belong provides grants for up to $10,000 per project request. A large percentage of the requests we receive have to do with building recreational trails for bikes or pedestrians or for urban commuting. Often times when those requests come in we know we are providing seed money and that we're also leveraging public funding that is out there for these trails. In Minnesota we've supported several public trails, including the Willard Munger State Trail, the Lake Wobegon Trail, the Bruce Vento Trail, the Cuyuna Range Trail system, the Central Lakes Trail and the Mille Lacs Soo Line Trail overpass. Bikes Belong also gave a grant to the Minnesota Off-Road Cyclists (MORC). MORC was the group behind the fantastic Lebanon Hills Mountain Bike Trail. Lebanon Hills is now the model for a sustainable and environmentally friendly trail built in the metropolitan area.
Q: What motivates you to be involved with the Parks & Trails Council of Minnesota?
Growing up I used state parks and there is a certain legacy that I want to see continue on for my kids and my grand kids. I always look at the effectiveness of organizations that are out there, and I think that the Parks & Trails Council is a magnificent example of a nonprofit that is very effective in terms of putting its mission and vision statement to action. I really hold Parks & Trails high as a model nonprofit. At the end of the day they have results to show.
Q: What advice would you give to others who may want to help protect and expand our parks and trails?
I think there are a couple of avenues to pursue and one is volunteerism. I also encourage people to be conscious of the political environment that is out there and to talk to your elected officials about the importance of the natural environment and maintaining what we have and actually augmenting it. Being part of the political process and being aware of how to make things happen is very important. Talk to your legislators, your local officials, the governor and your congress people. That's the place to go. What we do today is going to impact generations going forward.