By Anne Baker
The Appalachian Trail is not just a footpath. Its 2,191 miles offer visitors the opportunity to be part of an iconic hiking experience that is distinctly American. Peace can be found within the promise of lush forests and scenic vistas. Yet the trail is more than an isolated footpath in the woods—it joins wild, scenic and culturally significant landscapes that define the uniqueness of the Appalachian Mountain range. To safeguard such broad landscapes, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) and the National Park Service have launched the Appalachian Trail Landscape Partnership, which desires to protect the Appalachian outdoors for everyone, today and forever. Now in its fourth year, the partnership continues to gain momentum among public and private partners.
The Appalachian National Scenic Trail—a unit of the National Park System—is federally protected under the National Trails System Act, which turns 50 this year. Federal and state agencies are an important part of the administration of the trail, and they are joined by the ATC, the nonprofit organization that leads protection, promotion and management efforts. A variety of other partners, including 31 volunteer-led, trail-maintaining clubs, also assist in preserving it. The Appalachian Trail has proven to be an incredible example of a cooperative management system designed to protect a scenic and recreational resource; however, it is not immune to the threats of an expanding human footprint.
As the trail makes its way from Springer Mountain, GA, to Katahdin, ME, it passes through 14 states and a myriad of federal, state and local lands, spanning 168 towns and communities along the way. Every year, the trail sees more than 3 million users. People choose to enjoy all or part of it, and they do so for a variety of reasons: escaping a bustling city, experiencing wild natural beauty or connecting or re-connecting with other humans in a simplistic way. The trail supports sustainable tourism and offers unique hiking opportunities, and the land that surrounds it provides recreational uses such as hunting, fishing and mountain biking. For the millions of residents in the Eastern U.S. who live near its landscape, the Appalachian Trail is vital to sustaining clean water and air and maintaining wildlife migration patterns. It is also crucial to preserving significant cultural and historic resources. It tells the stories of pioneers, farmers, settlers and more. Considering all its attributes makes one realize how unique the Appalachian Trail and its surrounding landscape truly is.
Today, the trail continues to fulfill the idea of its visionary, Benton MacKaye, who advocated for the long-distance footpath almost 100 years ago. Yet MacKaye’s vision was not limited to a narrow corridor. When he introduced the idea of the Appalachian Trail in a 1921 edition of the Journal of the American Institute of Architects, he wrote, “Let us assume the existence of a giant standing high on the skyline along these mountain ridges, his head just scraping these floating clouds. What would he see from this skyline as he strode along its length from north to south?”
MacKaye’s desire was that the trail would offer an experience that joined humans and nature in an era when that connectedness was becoming increasingly scarce. To protect that experience—and, thus, the larger landscape of the trail—a historic and innovative conservation initiative is necessary.
“The next phase of Appalachian Trail land conservation is focused on broadening the scale of protection,” says Dennis Shaffer, ATC’s director of land conservation. “Protecting the natural and cultural resources that enhance the trail experience and making meaningful connections to local communities are two examples of a broader focus.”
To make MacKaye’s vision relevant to a new generation, the aspect of community connection is especially paramount.
The Appalachian Trail Landscape Partnership, which includes conservation agencies and organizations along the entire length of the trail, first convened in 2015. Since then, the group has met annually to embrace a shared vision and mission, design the framework for coalition governance and communications, identify priority focus areas along the trail and build strategies to advance land conservation in and beyond those focus areas. A $3 million grant from The Volgenau Foundation is allowing the ATC to significantly ramp up efforts this year.
A sustainable landscape will enhance for future generations the natural value of the Appalachian Mountain Range. It also means there will be a greater chance for economic prosperity in the towns and communities near the trail. These lands provide unparalleled, world-class outdoor recreation and tourism opportunities, and the partnership is uniquely positioned to facilitate local engagement to the incredible resources that make up the Appalachian outdoors.
The support from The Volgenau Foundation demonstrates a desire within the private sector to protect the natural places that make America so special. With the ever-present challenge of dwindling public funding donations from philanthropic foundations, corporations and individual citizens are crucial.
“The Volgenau Foundation has established leadership in recognizing the vital and timely need to make certain that the Appalachian Trail, one of America’s great icons, and surrounding lands are preserved for generations to come,” says Suzanne Dixon, president and CEO of the ATC.
Moving forward, the Appalachian Trail Landscape Partnership will continue to collaborate on ways to best craft and implement local, regional and federal programs and policies that advance its conservation goals. As more people become connected along the trail and the broader landscape, the partnership looks forward to fostering information exchange, discussing new challenges and evolving to address its multifaceted goals. That evolution, though, will stay true to the group’s mission of safeguarding the unique values of the Appalachian Mountain Range.
About the Author
Anne Baker is a marketing and communications professional who serves as landscape partnership manager for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC). She strongly believes in protecting public lands, and she experienced the transforming nature of our country’s wild places firsthand when she walked more than 1,300 miles of the Appalachian Trail last year. In addition to her work with the ATC, Baker is on the board of directors for the National Wilderness Stewardship Alliance.
