Rails-To-Trails: Creating Sustainable Access to America’S Federal Lands

Rails-to-Trails: Creating Sustainable Access to America’s Federal Lands

Kelly Pack Director of Trail Development Rails-to-Trails Conservancy

Greenbrier River Trail, West Virginia Monongahela National Forest Our mission…

…to create a nationwide network of trails from former rail lines and connecting corridors to build healthier places for healthier people.

1916: 275,000 miles active railway Rail-trail history in U.S.

1,872 open rail-trails | 21,312 miles 701 rail-trail projects | 8,110 miles

Capital Crescent Trail, D.C. and Maryland

400+ rail-trails on federal lands – 50% USFS – ~15% DOD – ~15% NPS

Paul Bunyan State Trail, Minnesota Chippewa National Forest Railbanking - A voluntary agreement between a railroad company and a trail agency to use an out-of-service rail corridor as a trail until a railroad might need the corridor again for rail service.

Historic Union Pacific Rail-Trail State Park, Utah Bureau of Reclamation Marvin M. Brandt Revocable Trust et al. v. United States

Medicine Bow Rail-Trail, Wyoming Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest George S. Michelson Trail, South Dakota Black Hills National Forest Iron Horse State Park Trails (John Wayne Pioneer Trail), Washington Bureau of Land Management Klickitat Trail, Washington Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area

Virginia Creeper Trail, Virginia Jefferson National Forest Elroy-Sparta Trail, Wisconsin Fort McCoy (DOD) Route of the Hiawatha/Olympian

Route of the Hiawatha/Olympian, Idaho and Montana Southern Tip Trail

• Virginia – USFWS

Southern Tip Bike & Hike Trail, Virginia Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife Refuge

Rails-with-Trails Rails-with-Trails are Common

• 217 trails (nearly 10% of rail-trails) • 2,221 miles (39% parallel to rail) • 42 states

Cotton Belt Trail, Texas Rails-with-Trails are Growing

60+ rails-with-trails in development

Five Star Trail, PA Rails-with-Trails are Safe

Two known fatalities involving trail user & train on RWT: South Bay Trail in Bellingham, WA (2008); Santa Fe Rail-Trail, New Mexico (2014)

Traction Line Recreation Trail, New Jersey

Schuylkill River Trail, Pennsylvania Bayshore bikeway san diego

Kelly Pack Director of Trail Development [email protected]

Rural areas receive almost twice as much funding per capita as urban areas from the federal Transportation Alternatives program.

Active transportation creates more jobs per dollar than highway projects (Garrett-Peltier, 2011) and attract business investment.