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Single track or singletrack is a narrow mountain biking trail that is approximately the width of the bike. It contrasts with double track or fire road which is wide enough for four-wheeled off-road vehicles. In addition it is frequently smooth and flowing, but it may also exhibit technical rocky sections and may be criss-crossed with tree roots. Single track riding can be quite challenging from a technical standpoint.The International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA), founded in 1988, regulates trail building, maintenance, and design factors. In the United States, the IMBA deals directly with UDSA precautions and regulations. Singletracks cover vast areas of both State and National park lands; the mountain bike community must be cognitive of the environment and social issues that accompany trail development. In recent years mountain biking has expanded exponentially; the expansion beings both positive community involvement and sport development but also environmental and sustainability concern.

Trail Building
The International Mountain Bicycling Association directly oversees where and how singletrack is made; in the United States trail building rules and regulations are established by the USDA under the Forest Service sect. Trail building is pertinent to mountain biking in that without trails there would be no riding, but mountain biking enthusiast must also be cognizant of potential environmental and biological damage. In Deborah Chavez’s brief on building and maintaining trails as it pertains to forestry managers, the USDA highlights several potential problems when it comes to trail building: effects on natural resources, use of designated wilderness, conflict with other users, and notable safety issues. These regulations are devised to make mountain biking sustainable; the IMBA strives to promote mountain biking in a way that trails made are done so according to previously ordained regulations and the idea that if built properly trail maintenance and environmental impact will be minimal. Mike Campbell a writer for, The Anchorage Daily News highlights an example of successful trail building. Singletrack Advocates or STA is a nonprofit organization that strives to build and maintain singletrack around Anchorage. Since its beginnings in 2007 STA has prevailed in legislation and construction of over 20 miles of new trails within the immediate Anchorage area. While many are supportive of trail expansion and development there are many objections to the increased demand for new trails and trail systems. Both those that support and those that oppose trail expansion must be active in legislation and construction of trails in order to promote singletrack as a progressive option.

Trail Maintenance
In 2000 Clemson University Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences conducted a study on mountain biking and the sustainability of the sport as it relates to the natural environment and social confines. Matthew Symmonds and research associates outlines four capacities that must be met in order to sustain a trail or trail system: Physical Capacity, the amount of space a given activity demands, Ecological Capacity, how much damage the environment can withstand before detrimental effect, Facility Capacity, what a given population needs in order to enjoy such recreational areas; and Social Capacity, the point at which one decides how many users the trail can accommodate comfortably at any one time. Mountain biking is a sustainable sport in that once a trail or trail system is made, it can be used for many years, but like accommodating for specific carrying capacities, there are many concerns in maintenance and use. Resource managers, typically employed by private or federal agencies, are in position to make judgment on how and when trail maintenance needs to be done. Resource managers take care of outstanding trail conditions such as the following: erosion control, trail widening and or rutting, shortcuts, soil decomposition, damage to drainage structures, damage to flora, fauna and water structures. In order to preserve the sustainability and progress the mountain biking community has seen in the most recent of years, trail maintenance must be continual, from being proactive in legislation, to environmental awareness in physical maintenance.

Community Involvement
Mountain biking became a popular form of recreation in the late 1980’s. As the sport grown so does the need for more trails and track. The Singletrack Advocates (STA) works to promote the use and development of singletracks around the greater Anchorage, AK, area. Since its beginnings in 2008, STA has constructed over 20 miles of singletrack and raised over $500,000 in private donation. Private foundations like STA depend on community support not only for funding but for the construction of trails as well. Programs like Anchorage’s Youth Employment in Parks get the youth of the community outside building trials that will be a lasting impact on the community. Janice Tower, founder of STA, describes the relationship of community involvement and trail development as a “win-win”, getting youth and adults alike to collaborate on a tangible accomplishment.