2009
NEWS:
July 30 to August 2, 2009: National Conference,
North Country Trail
Association, Valley City, ND. Please volunteer to help the NCTA with
its dramatic new extension routes in Vermont, North Dakota, and Montana.
July 12-15, 2009: The National Trails Partnership will hold its
twelfth Conference On
National Scenic And Historic Trails at Missoula, Montana.
June 6-21, 2009: Beginning on National Trails Day, Ron Strickland and
famed photographer Bart Smith
hiked the newly-designated New England
National Scenic Trail from Long Island Sound (Guilford, CT) north to the New
Hampshire border. Their trek proved that the
New England Trail is ready to welcome hikers from all over the world.
[Pictured below (left), the pair completes their quest at the
Trustees Of Reservations Shelter near
Royalston, MA. Center: the Connecticut River's Oxbow glimmers in the
distance near Hadley, MA. Right: the smiles of hikers Ron Strickland (MA),
Al Duquette (TX), and Bart Smith (WA) attest to the Trail's many wonders.]
[Photos by Bart Smith.]
June 11, 2009: "Obama Creates Pacific Northwest
Trail." Seattle P-I, by Nicholas K. Geranios.
May 13, 2009: Tom Gilbert, superintendent of the North Country
National Scenic Trail, led a group of Park Service officials to Addison County, VT
to study how to extend the North Country Trail east from Crown Point, NY to the
Appalachian Trail in Vermont.
April 25, 2009:
Small Step
On The Big Trail Everett Herald, by Ron Ramey.
March 30, 2009: President Obama: "Today I have signed into
law H.R. 146, the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009. This landmark bill
will protect millions of acres of Federal land as wilderness, protect more than
1,000 miles of rivers through the National Wild and Scenic River System, and
designate thousands of miles of trails for the National Trails System. It
also will authorize the 26 million-acre National Landscape Conservation System
within the Department of the Interior."
March 25, 2009: By a vote of 285 to 140 the House passed H.R. 146
which, among other things, added three new national scenic trails to the National
Trails System. The trails are: (1) the 1200-mile Pacific Northwest Trail;
(2) the 800-mile Arizona Trail; and (3) the 200-mile New England Trail. Pictured below are three pioneers [ Jon Knechtel (PNT), Dave Hicks (AZT), and
John Olver (NET)] whose leadership was crucial to develop these
magnificent routes.
Congratulations to them and to all of the volunteers who made this
achievement possible!
The significance of this legislation goes well beyond the fact
that these are the first national scenic trail designations since 1983.
Obviously the PNT, AZT, and NET are superb additions to the National Trails
System; each trail is a world class conservation and recreation resource. But,
considered in the broader, national context, these routes are symbolic of a trend toward development of a
more comprehensive network of trails in all regions of the Lower 48.
In particular, designation of the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail has the
additional benefit that its 1200 miles can now be subtracted from the total of missing
miles in the 7700-mile, transcontinental Sea-To-Sea Route. (Anyone
interested in helping to locate and develop the remaining 900 miles could make a
much-needed contribution by joining the
North Country Trails Association.)
The ultimate significance of today's vote on H.R. 146 is that the dream of a
transcontinental pathway across America is 1200 miles closer to reaching
fruition.
Today's successful vote is a magnificent achievement. But
it highlights the importance of the next great challenge: to complete the
remaining 900 miles of the transcontinental Sea-To-Sea Route by the time of the
fiftieth anniversary of the National Trails System in 2018.
March 23, 2009:
"National Scenic Designation Likely For Pacific Northwest Trail"
Seattle Times, by Lynda Mapes.
March 19, 2009:
HR 146 was originally written to create the
Revolutionary War and War of 1812 Battlefield Protection Program. On March 3,
the House passed it by a vote of 394 to 14 and sent it to the Senate.
Senate leaders performed some legislative legerdemain on that modest bill.
They
invoked cloture, and amended the bill to include the provisions of the
recently-failed Public Lands bill and to add new language to mollify the NRA's
desire for guns in national parks. On March 19, the Senate passed HR 146 by a vote of 77 to 20.
Next, House Democrats will take it up with a rule that will not allow a "motion to
recommit." That means that the House will probably approve the omnibus
public lands measure next week, and thus designate three new
national scenic trails.
March 11, 2009: By a vote of 282 to 144 (with 6 abstentions) the House
of Representatives voted down the Senate-passed S. 22 today. The measure
failed to win two-thirds of the Members present and voting and thus lost by two
votes under "suspension of the rules." TWO VOTES: we came so close!
Two of the nay votes were cast by Republicans
Cathy McMorris Rodgers of eastern
Washington and Denny Rehberg of
Montana (both of whom include portions of the Pacific Northwest Trail in their
districts.) Because there may be another vote please contact them with
your thoughts about the Public Lands bill.
The designation of the three new long distance trails has been stymied for
now. As the Pacific Northwest Trail Association's Jon Knechtel says, "We need to
continue to be patient for as long as it takes."
Ron Strickland with Congressman Norm Dicks
February 18, 2009:
"Pacific Northwest Trail
Awaits House OK" Tacoma News Tribune, Adventure blog by Jeff
Mayor.
February 16, 2009:
"National Scenic Status Sought For Pacific Northwest Trail"
Seattle Times, front page article by Lynda Mapes.
January 15, 2009: By a vote of 73 to 21 the Senate passed S. 22,
"a bill to designate certain land as components of the National Wilderness
Preservation System, to authorize certain programs and activities in the
Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture, and for other
purposes." The bill's many excellent provisions included designation of
the Arizona, New England, and Pacific Northwest national scenic trails. If
this legislation is next passed by the House and signed by the president,
America will have its first new, official long distance trails since 1983!
2009: Ron Strickland's memoir, Autobiography Of A Trail,
will explore the many ways in which hiking is the perfect refuge for these troubled
times. (Click atop this page on "New: Memoir"
to read a sample chapter.)
