Kurt Loheit
CORBA and IMBA founding member and Mountain Bike Hall Of Fame Inductee Kurt Loheit was recently the recipient of American Trails’ Lifetime Service Award as part of the 20th American Trails National Symposium.
From the American Trails website:
The National Trails Awards is one way American Trails recognizes the exemplary people across the landscape of America who are working to create a national system of trails to meet the recreation, health, and travel needs of all Americans.
Lifetime Service Award: Kurt Loheit
This award recognizes an individual demonstrating long-standing, significant, and exemplary service to trail planning, implementation, and recreation.
Kurt Loheit has more than 20 years of experience as a passionate outdoorsman, who has been instrumental in organizing and leading trail programs with the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy and numerous other organizations across the nation, including the California Trails and Greenways Conference, founding the Los Angeles Chapter of Concerned Off Road Bicyclists Association, and being the Resources Director of the International Mountain Bicyclist Association. Kurt has been a leader of the hiking and mountain bike community’s efforts to contribute to the design, construction, and maintenance of sustainable trail systems. He has supervised trail projects and trail building schools around the country, he’s written about trail building issues in a number of mountain biking and land management publications, and he’s presented many times at national, state, and local trails conferences. In 2004 he was inducted into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame.
As one of CORBA’s “elders,” Loheit continues to provide guidance on trail related topics, from maintenance projects to advocacy concerns on both a local and national level. A resident of Rancho Palos Verdes, he has been instrumental in the ongoing transformation of the open space trails into cooperative shared use. Says CORBA Palos Verdes member Troy Braswell, “When cyclists in Rancho Palos Verdes were on the verge of being completely shut out, Kurt stepped forward to put us on the right course. He guided us from a disorganized bunch of ignorant bikers to a band of pretty effective CORBA PV warriors.
“The foundation for everything we have gained was paid for with his years of advocacy experience and countless hours of volunteer work. His position as a nationally recognized trails expert and committed volunteer has given him a highly respected voice in Rancho Palos Verdes. When the city or land conservancy has a question about trails, they go to Kurt. When we need direction through the political battlefield of advocacy, we go to Kurt.”
Loheit had this to say about the honor: “It really isn’t so much what I have done, its more about what others have done along with me. Everyone has a part to share in this award.”
We congratulate Kurt on this lifetime service award, and express our sincerest gratitude for his ongoing contributions to CORBA, mountain biking and trail user communities around the nation.
