Washington Trails Association director lives group’s mission

By Jessi Loerch / Washington Trails Association

When Andrea Imler is working, she’s striving to protect Washington’s trails and wild places for hikers to enjoy for generations to come. When she’s not working, there’s nowhere she’d rather be than exploring the trails of Washington — ideally for 10 days and 100 miles at a time.

Imler, who is Washington Trails Association’s advocacy director, embodies the mission of WTA, whether she’s at work or at play. Advocacy successes come on a long timeframe — and they’re complicated, with many players and places to consider. She knows how to plan for the big picture — and her love of long trails makes all of the work worth it.

Imler, of Edmonds, has lived in Washington her whole life. She grew up in the Olympia area on a 5-acre lot, where she was often told to “go outside and play.” Her family camped regularly, but it wasn’t until college that she really began hiking and backpacking in earnest. Imler studied at the University of Washington. She remembers that Wallace Falls off of U.S. 2 was one of her first hikes as an adult.

Now, in her role at WTA, she helps ensure hikers have a voice in planning processes for trails and other recreation sites around Wallace Falls and elsewhere.

When Imler graduated from college, she’d never gone backpacking before, but she asked for backpacking gear as a graduation gift. She hiked out the Wolf Creek Trail near Winthrop with friends. As she did more exploring, she quickly realized that hiking and backpacking were her thing.

In the early 2000s, she climbed Mount Rainier — and later climbed it two more times. She also hiked around the mountain with her father during an epically rainy trip. They completed the full Wonderland Trail — although they considered stopping many times. And while it was in some ways a miserable trip, it also solidified in her mind that longer trails are what she really enjoys. She even went back to hike the trail two more times.

From her weekend trail runs to her almost two-week backcountry adventures, Imler has personal experience across the state’s trail system and the professional expertise to help make the system even stronger.

Imler has been at WTA for five years. She knew she needed to work at a job where the mission matched well with her passions and where she knew she could make a difference. WTA was a good fit for her.

Since joining WTA, Imler has led the way in building the organization’s advocacy program. The issues she was working on when she first started are still important, from trail funding to access and hiker experiences. For the first few years, she was the only person in advocacy. She helped build up the program, create a stronger digital presence on the website and make use of digital tools to engage more activists to advocate for trails.

She also helped WTA hire a lobbyist, which has been instrumental in some recent successes, such as funding for a study to examine the health and economic benefits of hiking trails.

WTA is a leader in outdoor recreation in the state, which is something Imler is proud of. She credits WTA’s success to its ability to foster relationships, to hear all sides of an issue and to work with everyone. Imler also is proud that WTA has grown to be such a respected organization that WTA Executive Director Jill Simmons was invited to testify before the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Imler also now oversees a growing advocacy staff.

“Now, we’re a team of four people,” she said. “I’m very proud of that. It’s been my hope and dream since I started here to expand the advocacy program at WTA.”

With the recent addition of a larger advocacy staff, Imler is learning how to adapt. Leading a team and empowering others is a lot different than doing everything herself. It’s an exciting challenge. And one she’s happy to tackle.

“WTA has such a powerful mission,” she said. “It’s what drew me to WTA. We are able to use our advocacy to actually get work done on the ground.” She appreciates that her work and personal passions mesh so well, although she does sometimes find it hard to forget about work while she’s hiking.

“All my work stays in my brain when I am hiking. On the drive to the trailhead, I wonder if the road will remain accessible. As I hike, I see trails that are at risk of being lost. I constantly see reminders of the need for better public funding all around me,” she said. “It can be hard to let work go.”

On one of her high-country adventures, Imler had to power through about 100 downed trees. And as she was hiking, it was hard to stop thinking about trail access and what it takes to care for trails all across the state. She jokes that there are no road access gnomes and no trail work gnomes to ensure that trails are here for the future. It takes real people to speak up in support of trails and access. She’s honored that her role allows her to speak up for hikers from a place of passion and experience to help make a difference.

“Washington Trails Association is the voice of hikers in Washington,” she said. “I take that role very seriously. When I lose sight of the big picture, I’m reminded that it’s pretty powerful to speak up for trails — and we can accomplish more when we use our collective voice on behalf of hikers in Washington.”

Washington Trails Association promotes hiking as a way to inspire a people to protect Washington’s natural places. Get inspired to go hiking and learn how you can help protect trails at www.wta.org.