NATI A E I ON L SC N C, A HI T RI ON L S O C, AND RECREATION $It$ . 3 ' 1989 1990 99’ January 1991 National Park Service United States Department of th e Interior CONTENTS prepared by National Trails System Branch Introduction Recreation Resources Assistance Divis ion National Park Service National Scenic Trails i D C . Wash ngton, Appalachian Trail T O O O Continental Divide rail O O O O O O O O O O O O United States Department of the Interior Florida Trail Ice Age Trail Natchez Trace Trail T . North Country rail 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 cover photo credits Pacific Crest Trail Potomac Heritage Trail Cyclin g is a popula r a ctivity along the Des R a a i a Na H T Moines iver Tr il , recently des gn ted National istoric rails r T tional a a a . t S . Recre tion l Tr il Photo cour esy U . Idita od rail E i Corps of ng neers . Juan Bautista De Anza Trail and T 0 0 0 0 Lewis Clark rail 0 0 m : Bi a i a Ba t i a Nez iddle g Hole N t on l tlef eld long the Perce Mormon Pioneer Trail a a $ i a . N t on l Historic r il hoto by Jock hitworth - - T P Nez Perce (Nee Me Poo) Trail Oregon Trail bottom: Ca noeists enjoy the tran$ uil Delawa re Canal in ’ Overmountain T a a m a a t Victory rail Pennsylv ni , one of A eric s newly design ed Santa Fe Trail Na tional Recrea tion Trails . Photo courtesy Mary T T a and c a xa a VA . rail of ears Me ns Asso i tes , Ale ndri , Photo this page National Recreation Trails At 7320 feet along the Pa cific Crest National Scenic Tra il a t La an a a c i a . Devils Pe k, Cr ter ke be seen in the d st nce Tables and graphs : $ ia m . Photo by Nick ill s National Recreation Trails Status of National Trail Plans NSTS and NHTS : Established and Actual Trail Lengths . NPS Long-Distance Trails Expenditures Trails to the 21st Century : Th e Challenge Ahead INTRODUCTION This report tells how made available Appalachian Trail and the several million from by Congress in fiscal year (FY) 1989 and in FY USDA Forest Service budgets for the trails it - 1990 1990 for long distance trails was spent by the manages . In FY was authorized N NPS - National Park Service ( PS) . It also describes again for the long distance trails the four types of trails that make up the program . National Trails System under the authority of Th e t Th the National Trails System Act . sta us of is report describes the many ways that the 17 national scenic and national historic these funds have been used resourcefully to ’ trails in the system is also given . enhance the Nation s trail system . National Trails System Act National Trails System Branch The National Trails System Act of 1968 created Tracking these funds is one duty of the : al T three categories of trails Nation rails System Branch , a new program within the NP S Division of Recreation - National Sceni c Trails are continuous extended Resources Assistance . Other long distance routes of outdoor recreation within protected trails activities in the branch include helping The P NPS - corridors . Appalachian and acific Crest develop new policy for long distance i T . rails were the first of these tra ls management, offering professional train ing for trails managers and cooperating o al e o T r di i a Nati n Recr ati n rails are existing trails g oups, tracking and coor nat ng nation l recognized by the Federal government as part recreation trails, cooperating with the H of the national system of trails . American iking Society to publish and distribute a quarterly bulletin called Pathways o T al Acro America Side and C nnecting rails provide addition ss , and participating in a variety access to and between components of the of conferences and consultations involving T a i co- . h National r ils System national tra ls issues, suc as sponsorship of the 1990 National Trails Symposium in 1978 . In , a fourth category was added Iowa National Historic Trails which recognizes Th e T past routes of exploration, migration, and National rails System Branch also coor il r T d inates T P m ita y action . hese are not necessarily the National rails lan which is being $ : al continuous and feature outstanding high carried out at three levels loc , State, and $ n potential trail sites and segments . regional . Inventories of trails by i terstate region form the database for regional planning 1968 15 Since , more national scenic and efforts and are also published as regional trails r . historic trails have been added to the National di ectories for public use In addition, trail T NP n rails System . Of these the S administers plans are bei g assisted in selected States and 12 o 4 . , the USDA F rest Service manages , and metropolitan areas La T the Bureau of nd Management one . hese 17 trails crisscross the country from coast to Public-Private Partnership coast and border to border. Th e special appropriation of funds to the Appropri ations for Long Distance Trails National Park Service for long- distance trails is an indication of the significance of these trails Th e d lands and waters on which national trails to the American public . Although few ad i are located may be publicly or privately tional miles have been added to the system as . i owned at the local, State , or national level a d rect result of these funds so far, solid Certain Federal agencies responsible for these groundwork has been laid for building the trails have sometimes been reluctant to trails in ways unimaginable even two years ni t T T i address their unique admi s rative and ago . hroughout the National ra ls System operational issues whi ch often li e outside the government agencies are working together ’ agencies principal mi ssions of managing with private citizens to preserve and make parks , forests , and public domain lands . available for future generations many of the ’ i sites and routes of our Nation s great tra ls . To ri help b dge this gap , Congress made a new appropriati on of to the National Park Servi ce for long- distance trails in the 1989 budget . It augments the million for the Trails for All Americans Trail Success Stories NPS As r In cooperation with , the USDA Forest a result of the two yea s of congressionally L - Service, and the Bureau of and Management, appropriated long distance trails funds the national trails advocacy group called totalling a number of immediate American Trails recently released an analysis success stories can be highlighted : of the state of trails across the Nation today At about the time that these funds were Th e entitled Trails or All Americans . report u f first available, a small vol nteer group, contains a series of recommendations for l T T nf ca led the Natchez race rail Co erence, ini s obta ng steadier funding and support in the in Jack on, Mississippi, came together to future . Some of the recommendations that build and promote the Natchez Trace ’ - i : will affect the Nation s long distance tra ls are National Sceni c Trail alongside the T T Natchez race Parkway. his funding 0 Stronger protection of national scenic and t helped the group obtain tools, supplies, national historic rail corridors under the f . tw o 20 and signs A ter only years, miles T al National rails System Act, especi ly out of trail are nearly ready to be opened for side Federal boundaries . public use . 0 Cost sharing with States to protect trail In the loth anni versary year of the or o n r corridors . establishment of the N th C u t y National Scenic Trail and the North 0 More active technical assistance and T NCTA Country rail Association ( ) , funds organization building to benefit local trail were made available (by cooperative clubs . agreement between NCTA and NPS) to help 0 r establish a paid executive position for the Federal research on the envi onmental, NCTA m association . Now can expect greater social, and econo ic benefits of trails . success in acquiring private sector 0 l ni Development of a nationa trail sig ng and participation and donations, as well as standards system . greater management effectiveness, visibility, and continuity. Re— l estab ishment of a Federal interagency m h national trails committee to coordinate Someti es istoric trail routes overlap, as they do along the Platte River in Nebraska Federal agency trail activities . and Wyoming where the Mormon Pioneer and Oregon National Historic Trails Th e NPS National Trails System Branch plans n - coi cide . Aided by long distance trails to build on these ideas to strengthen the NPS T i funding, staff responsible for both , w National ra ls System Act to ork more these trails worked closely together to closely with State and local governments to coordinate solutions to common problems ensure cooperative trail protection and promo and minimize duplication and confusion tion, to meet regularly with trail personnel of the Bureau of Land Management and the among local trail groups and cooperating sites . USDA Forest Service, and to help link the The Overmountain long- distance trails to other urban and rural entire allocation for the Victory National Historic Trail in FY 1990 trails .