America's Best-Kept Secret: The National Recreation Trails

Parks & Recreation, March, 1999 by Deborah J. Chavez, Joanne F. Tynon, James A. Harding

While this group proceeded, the White House announced the Millennium Trails program. A national initiative of the White House Millennium Council and the Department of Transportation, the program will recognize, promote, and stimulate the creation of trails to "honor the past and imagine the future." Its three objectives are to recognize the more than 2,000 trails projects in honor of the millennium, stimulating new activities to celebrate and enhance those trails; to promote existing and new trails to the public; and to support the development of new trails through new federal and state funding and private partnerships. The roundtable discussed potential problems that could arise if both the Millennium Trails and the National Recreation Trail Revitalization Roundtable projects were underway simultaneously, and decided to delay active solicitation of new National Recreation Trail applications. They have, however, begun planning other efforts toward National Recreation Trail revitalization. These efforts include streamlining the National Recreation Trail application process to link National Recreation Trail designations to National Trails Day; initiating collaborative management with federal agencies, nonprofit groups, and outfitters; developing a National Recreation Trail Web site; producing an annual newsletter for all National Recreation Trail managers; and providing technical assistance to managers for networking and funding support.

Users of National Recreation Trails will benefit from the additional management actions -- including more knowledgeable managers and possible reconstruction efforts through partnerships -- planned by the roundtable.

Note: The authors suggest that those interested contact a local trail manager for guidance on finding their nearest National Recreation Trail.

References

United States Department of the Interior. National Park Service. 1993. Register of National Recreation Trails. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.

Tynon, J. F., O.J. Chavez, and J.A. Harding. 1997. "National recreation trails: A comprehensive nationwide survey." Unpublished manuscript.

--. April 1998. "National recreation trails: An overview." National recreation trails: A * comprehensive nationwide survey. Proceedings of the 1997 Northeastern Recreation Symposium, Bolton Landing, N.Y.

Zinser, C.I. 1995. Outdoor Recreation -- United States National Parks, Forests, and Public Lends. New York: John Wiley and Sons Inc.

Deborah J. Chavez, Ph.D. is a research social scientist at the USDA Forest Service's Pacific Southwest Research Station; Joanne F. Tynon, Ph.D. is an assistant professor in the Department of Forest Resources at Oregon State University; and James A. Harding is a graduate student in the School of Forestry at the University of Montana.

Research Update is edited by Dr. Irma O'Dell of Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.