Speak out for the completion of the National Trails System
through increased National Trails System Operations funding for NPS, BLM, and USFS
and with full funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund and Historic Preservation Fund!
In April, President Barack Obama and the Department of the Interior launched the America’s Great
Outdoors Initiative as an ongoing Administrative Branch effort to promote Americans’ connection to the
out-of-doors and to bolster current conservation practices nationwide. We in the Partnership for the
National Trails System commend the Obama Administration for spearheading this critical national
conversation now. The Initiative (led by the Environmental Quality Council Chair, the Secretaries of
Agriculture and the Interior, and the Administrator of the EPA) will “conduct listening and learning sessions
around the country where land and waters are being conserved and community parks are being established
in innovative ways.” The goal of these listening sessions is to let the public weigh in on what our national
conservation strategy should look like, in three broad categories:
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Public lands conservation
Private lands conservation
Reconnecting Americans with the outdoors
Our task in the Partnership is to show what works and what is already being done in the National
Trails System, as well as what assistance we need to complete the Trails, so that the Federal government can
build on our successes and accommodate our needs. Four questions frame the input wanted from each
listening session of the Great Outdoors Initiative:
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What works now where you are, and can that model work elsewhere?
What are the obstacles and challenges facing conservation efforts?
How can the Federal government be a better partner?
What new tools are needed to foster teamwork and investment in the outdoors?
Our answer: Complete the National Trails System by…
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Fully funding the administration and management of National Scenic and Historic Trails by the
National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, and US Forest Service,
Fully funding the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) at the authorized $900 million per year
to increase outdoor recreation opportunities for all Americans, and
Fully funding the Historic Preservation Fund to improve national capacity to preserve the sites and
resources that culturally define the modern United States.
National Trails System: Reconnecting Americans with the Great Outdoors
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A National Scenic or Historic Trail implements a goal of America’s Great Outdoors by bringing the
outdoors to people. It beckons folks to use it, whether for a long-distance journey or just an
afternoon stroll. It provides both close-to-home and long-distance healthy recreation opportunities.
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100 communities of 50,000 or more people1 lie along National Scenic and Historic Trails. The National
Trails System, in short, has the potential to be part of the daily lives of many Americans.
The National Historic Trails provide hundreds of opportunities to experience key events of our
nation’s history in the places they occurred, and to learn about the people who lived them.
National Historic Trails and National Scenic Trails interpret the natural, cultural, and historic
resources along them in a variety of ways, including providing locations for school and other guided
field trips.
There are more than 1100 National Recreation Trails, and there is at least one in each of the 50
states. They range from less than a mile to 485 miles and cross federal, state, municipal, and private
lands.
Outdoor recreation supports over 6.5 million jobs and contributes $750 billion annually to the U.S.
economy, according to the Outdoor Industry Foundation.
National Trails System: Public and Private Lands, Ecological Connections
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President Johnson envisioned in 1968 that the National Trails System would crisscross the land,
north-to-south, east-to-west, connecting the entire nation. The 30 National Scenic and Historic Trails,
if completed, would span more than 50,000 miles through 49 states.
The National Trails System, if completed, would implement a goal of America’s Great Outdoors by
establishing connective corridors to ensure adequate distribution of habitat for vulnerable wildlife
species. Long-distance greenways such as the National Trails expand the access of endangered
species, such as the Karner Blue Butterfly, to critical habitat without which they cannot exist. They
act as veins through which biodiversity circulates. Through the Trails courses the lifeblood of the
planet.
Together, the thirty National Historic and Scenic Trails are corridors that link together at least 24
National Parks and Monuments, 70 National Wildlife Refuges, 92 Wilderness Areas2, and 39 other
diverse conservation areas, preserves, memorials, and historic landmarks of the National Park
System, National Landscape Conservation System, and National Wildlife Refuge System into a
network of “green infrastructure” that spans across America. As of 2004, at least 1700 miles of five
of the National Scenic Trails and 114 miles of five National Historic Trails were already located in or
along the boundary of wilderness areas. Another 660 miles of yet-to-be-completed trail are projected
to cross wilderness areas. The Scenic and Historic Trails also connect more than 300 State Parks.
Citizen Engagement in Stewardship of our National Heritage: An Experiment in Public/Private Partnership
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The National Trails System exists through complex public/private partnerships of shared
responsibility involving Federal, state, and local agencies and non-profit Trail organizations. The
National Trails System is the only major system of our public heritage that is managed in this
innovative and inclusive way.
A hallmark of the National Trails System is people-based stewardship of significant national natural
and cultural resources. Volunteers – not paid professionals – often take the lead in nearly all aspects
of managing trail resources: inventorying and database construction, planning, development,
interpretation, preservation, and maintenance.
See separate document, “Major Metropolitan Areas and the NTS,” for a short list of these communities
See separate document, “Wilderness Areas and the NTS,” for trail-by-trail numbers
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In 2009 alone, 27 non-profit Trail organizations contributed a total of $11,746,238 to the National
Trails System. From 1995 through 2009, National Scenic and Historic Trail organizations have
invested cumulatively $98,971,055 in our National Trails System.
In 2009, the volunteers for those National Trails organizations contributed 907,435 hours, valued in
excess of $18.6 million. Since 1995, volunteers have donated over 9 million hours, valued at over
$154 million. This outstanding work shows the ongoing commitment of volunteers to the National
Trails cause.
In 2009, nonprofits provided $30.5 million in volunteer labor and dollars to help sustain National
Scenic and Historic Trails. For 2010, Congress appropriated $29 million to NPS, BLM, and USFS to
administrate and manage these trails.
A Work in Progress: Challenges and Opportunities for the National Trails System
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The National Trails System is 42 years in the making, yet only one of the current 30 National Scenic
and Historic Trails is complete (the Appalachian Trail).
Altogether, 9,700 miles of the National Scenic Trails are currently open for use. But their total
authorized length is 16,400 miles. That some 6,500 miles of gaps in our National Scenic Trails to be
filled – mostly on private land that will need to be purchased from willing sellers.
For 16 of the 19 National Historic Trails (missing Ala Kahakai, Camino Real de los Tejas, WashingtonRochambeau), about 1,000 key natural and cultural resource sites still need to be preserved,
according to the National Trails System FY09 Annual Report. 232 of these sites were protected in
2009, but 154 more were threatened by development that year. 12,000 miles of auto tour route need
to be marked.
Without adequate agency operations, LWCF, and Historic Preservation funding, the necessary efforts
of Federal agency and non-profit partners to complete the Trails – land acquisition, trail construction,
and trail interpretation – will not be possible.
Full funding of the LWCF and Historic Preservation Funds will help National Historic Trail partners
protect critical cultural, historical, and natural resources along their Trails. Full funding of the LWCF
will enable National Scenic Trail partners to purchase land from willing sellers to close the many gaps
in these Trails and protect their ecosystems and scenic quality.