Who Is Alaska Trails Incorporated?

Alaska Trails Inc.: Who Really Benefits?

Alaska Trails Inc. is a nonprofit organization that claims to advocate for trail development, maintenance, and outdoor recreation access in Alaska. They promote their work as essential to connecting communities and strengthening Alaska’s outdoor economy. However, a closer look at their operations raises questions about their true priorities.

While they brand themselves as a grassroots organization focused on building and maintaining trails, the majority of their funding comes from government grants, with very little direct investment in actual trail construction. In 2023, Alaska Trails received over $1.2 million in funding, yet nearly 60% of that went to salaries, while grants and financial support for trail projects were minimal.

Alaska Trails is also the leading advocate for the Alaska Long Trail, a proposed 500+ mile route through the state that has raised concerns among landowners, motorized recreation users, and communities along the route. They have aggressively lobbied for state and federal funding, while failing to ensure transparency in how those funds are spent.

Additionally, many of their key decision-makers and board members are from the Lower 48, raising concerns about outside influence shaping Alaska’s trail policies without genuine local input.

This organization isn't about trails—it's about securing salaries...

Board Influence from the Lower 48

While Alaska Trails Inc. claims to represent local interests, the reality is that the majority of its board members are not even from Alaska. Instead, they are from the Lower 48, making decisions that impact our public lands and recreation without the firsthand experience of living, working, and recreating here. Below are their executives and in parenthesis is where they are from:

Meet the current Executive Director (as of 2025) Haley Johnston, previously the Deputy Director of Alaska Trails—a position that conveniently aligns with her personal business interests as the Owner and Lead Guide of Tundra Travels, LLC, an adventure tourism company she founded in 2020 (when the Alaska Long Trail started gaining traction politically). How convenient. With one hand pushing for publicly funded trail projects, and the other guiding private clients through Alaska’s wild landscapes, Haley has perfected the art of blurring the lines between nonprofit advocacy and personal profit.

Whether it’s pushing the Alaska Long Trail in front of the State's Transportation Committee, or ensuring that government-funded trails align perfectly with her own tourism business, Haley’s true expertise lies in leveraging public resources for private gain. She knows the value of access to exclusive, well-maintained routes—especially when other people are footing the bill. So, while Alaskans worry about land restrictions, federal oversight, and the impact of National Scenic Trail designation, Haley is busy ensuring that the right trails get built in the right places—for the right clientele...

At the end of the day, Haley Johnston isn’t just building trails—she’s building a business model.

Meet Steve Cleary, the prior Executive Director (retired this year 2025), the mastermind behind Alaska Trails Inc. Originally from Minnesota, Steve first arrived in Alaska in 1998—not to break trail, but to break into the business of securing taxpayer-funded grants. After years working with Alaska Public Interest Research Group (AkPIRG) and various advocacy roles, he took over as Executive Director of Alaska Trails in 2013, where his salary has steadily climbed—from $61,995 in 2020 to $94,419 in 2023.

Steve has perfected the delicate balancing act of “trail advocacy” and administrative self-preservation, ensuring that 60% of Alaska Trails' funding conveniently lands in salaries—because, after all as Alaska Trails says, "trails don’t build themselves", but paychecks sure do! While they claim volunteers and local communities put in over 1,200 hours of unpaid trail work, Steve and his team are busy lobbying for more government funding and keeping financial details just opaque enough to avoid too many questions.

With a board full of Lower 48 influence and a relentless push for the Alaska Long Trail—a project benefiting well-connected nonprofits more than Alaskans—Cleary has truly pioneered a new era of “sustainable” trail management… sustainable for his salary, that is.

Meet Mariyam Mendovaya, the Alaska Long Trail Coordinator—a role that sis a professional spokesperson for a project full of unanswered questions. Born and raised in Russia, Mariyam found her way to Alaska and quickly positioned herself as a leading advocate for the Alaska Long Trail. Mariyam’s expertise is more about spinning narratives, ensuring that public communications are just polished enough to sound official, but never clear enough to address real concerns. If a local landowner or motorized user raises a legitimate issue, expect a press-friendly, noncommittal response—because transparency might slow down the funding pipeline.

When confronted about the National Scenic Trails Act—which could bring federal land restrictions, loss of local control, and long-term trail management consequences—Mariyam waves it off as just a bunch of “scary words,” “menacing language,” and “legal blah blah.” Because, after all, who needs to take actual legal designations seriously when there’s grant money on the line?

As the face of the Alaska Long Trail initiative, Mariyam has mastered the art of public outreach without real answers, pushing forward a trail vision that conveniently benefits well-connected nonprofits while leaving Alaskans wondering: Who is really in control of our public lands?

Other Key Players in this Organization:

Maya Kaup, Communications Coordinator (California)

Ben Ervin, Trails Program Officer (Colorado)

Carl Battreall, Trails Project Manager (California)

Shirley Banks (Georgia)

Lisa Oakley (Washington)

Irene Turletes (Alaska)

Bryant Wright (Oklahoma)

Mark Spano (Idaho)

Katherine Ginsbach (South Dakota)

Grace Kubitz (Michigan)

Susan LaGrande (East Coast)

Molly Redilla (Michigan, North Carolina)

Debra Perala (Washington)

Follow the Money: Where Does It Really Go?

This tax filing raises serious concerns about financial misrepresentation, excessive salaries, and a lack of genuine trail-building efforts. While they claim to be building partnerships and trails, the numbers suggest that most of the money is going to staff salaries and vague "other expenses" rather than direct impact on Alaska’s trails.

Total revenue for 2023: $1,258,295

Salaries and compensation: $735,075

Percentage of revenue going to salaries: ~60%

This is a very high salary-to-revenue ratio for a nonprofit. Typically, nonprofits aim to keep administrative costs (including salaries) below 35% to maximize funds for actual program work. This suggests that a large portion of their funding is going toward payroll rather than trail development.

Revenue Breakdown from Alaska Trails Inc. 2023 Form 990

Based on their latest tax filing, here’s how Alaska Trails Inc. generated revenue in 2023:

Total Revenue: $1,258,295

Contributions and grants: $1,252,402 (~99.5% of total revenue)
- This includes government grants ($982,815)
- Other contributions, gifts, and grants ($254,102)
Program service revenue: $0 (down from $105,828 in 2022)
Investment income: $149
Other revenue: $5,744
Fundraising event revenue: $11,625 (net after expenses: $5,744)

99.5% of revenue comes from contributions and grants.

$982,815 (78%) is from government grants, indicating strong ties to state or federal funding.

In 2022, they earned $105,828 from program services (likely trail-related activities).

In 2023, this dropped to $0, meaning they no longer generated income from services, relying entirely on grants.

Fundraising events only generated $11,625 in gross revenue, and after expenses, netted just $5,744.

Misleading "10% Admin Costs" Claim

In their 2024 Annual Report which is presented to the public, as seen below, they claim only 10% of expenses go toward administration.
However, the Form 990 shows that salaries alone account for nearly 58% of total expenses.
If they are classifying salaries under "program services" instead of "administration," this could be a deceptive accounting tactic.
The annual report suggests strong financial health but does not emphasize how dependent they are on government grants, rather than self-sustaining income.

Minimal Grant Distributions

Only $9,160 in grants given out (less than 1% of revenue).
Given that they claim to be "building partnerships and trails," this number is shockingly low.
It raises concerns about whether they are truly supporting trail-building efforts or just keeping the money in-house.
Minimal grants given out: If they are securing millions in public funding for trails, why is less than 2% going toward external grants or local partnerships?

Other expenses jumped from $279,209 in 2022 to $497,648 in 2023—a 78% increase.

This is a significant hike with no clear explanation.

Questionable Revenue Drop in Program Services

Program service revenue was $105,828 in 2022 but dropped to $0 in 2023.
This suggests a major shift in their funding structure—possibly becoming overly reliant on grants and donations rather than providing actual services.

Grant & Project Claims

Alaska Trails Annual Report:
- Highlights securing $1.4M in state capital funds and federal appropriations.
- Mentions $2.348M for Iditarod National Historic Trail improvements and $2.18M for Denali Borough pathways.
Form 990:
- Shows $982,815 in government grants received.
- Does not clearly break down how this funding was spent.

🔴 Red Flag:

Where is the rest of the grant money?
- The tax filing does not show direct transfers or expenditures on these projects.
- The funding received is not fully accounted for in clear program expenses.

Alaska Long Trail Funding

Alaska Trails Annual Report:
- Claims millions were secured for the Alaska Long Trail.
- Race Across Alaska Winter Challenge (RAAWC) raised $120,000 for the trail.
Form 990:
- No clear expense category directly showing Alaska Long Trail expenditures.
- No clear indication of where the RAAWC funds are accounted for.

🔴 Red Flag:

They may be taking credit for projects funded by external agencies, rather than managing them directly.
No transparency on whether these funds are directly benefiting trails or being absorbed into payroll.

Lack of Transparency in Financial Oversight!!

No independent audit: Their tax filing states they do not conduct independent audits, which is unusual for an organization handling over $1 million in funding.
No document retention/destruction policy: Raises concerns about accountability and potential records mismanagement.

Final Takeaways

✅ What We Can Confirm:

They received over $1.2M in funding, mostly from government sources.
They paid out very little in grants ($19,218).
Volunteer contributions are significant, but financial support for them is unclear.

❌ Major Red Flags:

They claim only 10% admin costs, but salaries make up 58% of total expenses.
The majority of funding is absorbed into salaries rather than going directly to trails.
No clear documentation of how state and federal grants are allocated to specific trail projects.
Minimal grants distributed, despite claiming partnerships for trail work.
They claim millions in project funding but don’t show this money being used in their tax filing.

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