CARROLL, Iowa, December 6, 2011 – Here’s an idea: The newspaper in the western Iowa town of Carroll, as part of its holiday gift package for its 22 full-time employees, bought each of them a trail user permit good for all of 2012 on the recreational trail that starts in that community.

The newspaper is the Daily Times Herald, and the trail is the Sauk Rail Trail.  That is a 33-mile paved trail stretching from Swan Lake State Park, just southeast of Carroll, to Blackhawk Lake State Park at Lake View.  Trail permits for a year’s use normally sell for $15 per adult.  For businesses that want to provide trail permits for their employees, the permits sell for $13 each for businesses with five to 50 employees, and $12 each for businesses with more than 50 employees.  Youths 17 and under can use the trail free.

Revenue from the user permits is divided between the Carroll County and Sac County Conservation Boards, which share ownership of the trail.

“Providing these passes (to employees) has a dual benefit,” wrote Douglas Burns in his column for the Daily Times Herald.  “You help your county and your bottom line by encouraging exercise.”

Burns reported that so far in 2011, the Sauk Trail permits have brought in $7,972 for the counties.  That’s up from $5,478 in 2010.  The increased usage of the trail, and thus the increased revenue, came after paving was completed on the full length of the trail.  The conservation boards use the permit receipts to help pay for maintenance of the trail.

On the Raccoon River Valley Trail in Greene, Guthrie and Dallas Counties, the fee for a year-long user permit is $10.  However, more than 400 people during 2011 decided to take the additional step of joining the Raccoon River Valley Trail Association for $20 per person, or $35 per family.   Those memberships bring one or two trail permits to use the RRVT for a year, plus making a contribution to the association, which does all the marketing and promotion of the trail.  For those who want to help even more, there is the “trail user plus” package of $50, which buys two user permits and makes a larger donation to the association.

“We’ve never had an employer buy trail permits for its employees, like is happening in Carroll, but then we’ve never really promoted that idea before,” said Carla Offenburger, of Cooper, the president of the RRVT Association.  “We’ve talked about doing something like that several times, but we’ve just never gotten around to doing it.  So, if any businesses want to do that now — buy trail user permits as gifts for its employees — we can make them available.  In fact, we’d like for companies to consider taking the additional step of buying memberships in our association for their employees.”

Providing those permits, and encouraging employees to make regular use of the trails for exercise, ”would be a good way to improve the health, fitness and morale of your workforce,” Offenburger said.   

She can be reached at (515) 370-1516 or by email carla@Offenburger.com.