[Lenoir, NC] — [June 23, 2026] — The Northwest North Carolina Mountain Bike Alliance (The Alliance), in partnership with the Southern Off-Road Bicycle Association (SORBA), has been awarded a historic $4.5 million subaward from the National Forest Foundation (NFF), made possible through USDA Forest Service funding through the American Relief Act, 2025. Funded through the NFF’s 2026 Strategic Projects Initiative, the grant kicks off the “Post-Hurricane Helene Recovery Partner Coordination” project to revitalize the hard-hit Pisgah National Forest and its surrounding communities.
This massive four-and-a-half-year effort will run through September 2030, allowing the organization to make a profound, long-term impact on the resiliency of recreation and trails in the region.
A New Era for The Alliance
For years, The Alliance has operated as a fully volunteer-led organization. To successfully manage a recovery effort of this magnitude, this funding will allow the organization to transition into a professionally staffed entity. The Alliance is already beginning the process of hiring its first-ever Executive Director and a Lead Trail Specialist, with more trail staff to be added as operations scale up.
“This grant represents a monumental turning point for The Alliance,” said Brian Massengill, President of The Alliance. “Transitioning to a staffed organization allows us to scale our operations like never before.”
Rebuilding on Two Fronts
The project focuses heavily on two major objectives: revitalizing over 50 miles of heavily damaged trails within the Grandfather District, and developing a thriving, highly skilled trail stewardship workforce capable of sustaining Western North Carolina’s trails far into the future.
“We are able to take the historically tragic event of Hurricane Helene to rebuild a more resilient forest and community of trail stewards,” said Philip Darden, Executive Director of SORBA. “The Alliance now has the opportunity to hire staff and develop trained volunteers to rebuild the trails in their region and also to make Western North Carolina one of the most skilled, trained, and experienced trail stewardship workforces in the country. And not just for our SORBA chapters, but all interested partners working to support trails in Pisgah.”
For more information on the award, visit the SORBA Announcement Page
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