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Following are the 2000 National Trails Fund Grant Recipients.

APPALACHIAN TRAIL CONFERENCE

he biodiversity of the Appalachian Trail corridor has long been recognized as one of the greatest in North America. The ATC will use the NTF grant to inventory the threatened and endangered species on the New York and New Jersey portions of the A.T. These states are two of the three states left to be inventoried, after the beginning of the program in 1989. So far, ATC volunteers and headquarters administration have surveyed approximately 1,900 miles of the A.T. and have found more than 1,600 occurrences of threatened, endangered, or sensitive plant and animal species. In addition, 80 species occurrences have been recognized as "globally rare".

ARIZONA TRAIL ASSOCIATION

With the project name, "On Our Way to Y2K," the Arizona Trail Association plans to use the NTF grant award to complete 200 miles of trail, thus finishing the Arizona Trail by the end of 2000. Throughout the year, ATA will host several trail events (including a National Trails Day event) where food will be provided, as well as award those volunteers who have worked three events or more during the year. ATA's goal is to add at least 400 new volunteer trail workers and 200 new members through hosting these events.

THE COLORADO MOUNTAIN CLUB — DENVER GROUP

The Colorado Mountain Club is composed of 15 groups, with the Denver Group as the largest, totaling over 10,500 members. The NTF will allow the Denver Group of CMC to continue the trail maintenance projects that have been ongoing for the past five years. This includes the partnership projects with the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative and the Continental Divide Trail Alliance for a new trail along the Continental Divide. CMC hopes to support and improve volunteer participation from their own members and others from the community to increase the number of volunteer hours by 50%.

CONNECTICUT FOREST AND PARK ASSOCIATION

The NTF grant will be used to acquire land, build a constituency, and protect the Blue Blazed Hiking Trail System. The extensive, historically significant trail system spans 700 miles and includes the 55.3 mile Mattabesett and 51.7 Metacomet Trails, which provide recreation opportunities to a primarily urban population. CFPA will use these two trails as a pilot program for potentially protecting and expanding the Blue Blazed Hiking Trail in Connecticut. The protection of this trail system will help prevent further subdivision and development of the land areas, which have been trail corridors for over 50 years.

CONTINENTAL DIVIDE TRAIL ALLIANCE

CDTA will use the NTF grant to study and build a consensus for a Continental Divide Trail corridor, which will aim to protect the scenic, historic, cultural, and natural aspects of the Trail. CDTA staff will be able to dedicate time and resources to successfully negotiate with landowners, work with federal land managers to define the purpose of and create boundaries for the corridor, and travel extensively along the Trail to facilitate these agreements. Though finished agreements may take more than a year, the NTF grant will enable CDTA to begin the process to protect and preserve 3,100 miles of trail.

DEERFIELD RIVER WATERSHED ASSOCIATION

With the NTF grant, DRWA will improve and complete eight miles of trail needed to complete the 100 mile Mahican-Mohawk Trail project. The Trail follows a Native American route along river corridors in both Massachusetts and New York. Since the official opening of the trail in 1997 little work has been done to maintain and complete the Trail due to the lack of funding. Further funding will provide for a trail construction supervisor/volunteer coordinator, and pay for materials and supplies.

FLORIDA TRAIL ASSOCIATION

he Florida Trail Association will use a NTF grant to perform in-house mapping for inventory and management for the Florida National Scenic Trail. An in-house mapping program would be the most cost effective method to accurately map and display inventory data on topographic and GIS maps, which would aid in budgeting and planning for the completion of the Florida National Scenic Trail. Presently, of the 1,300 miles of planned trail, only 550 miles are certified as FNST, while 300 miles are on private land, and 200 miles exist on public roads. FTA hopes to aid other trail groups by producing a manual describing the in-house mapping procedures.

FRIENDS OF THE SELMA TO MONTGOMERY NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL ASSOCIATION

The Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail was created in 1996 and follows the route of the 1965 Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, voting rights march. This group will use the NTF grant to design, produce, and install commemorative markers along a walking tour of Selma to educate the public about the march, as well as the events and conditions which led to the march.

NORTH COUNTRY TRAIL ASSOCIATION

To overcome a shortage of public awareness and support, NCTA will use the NTF grant to build the trail's constituency by making the trail more accessible and credible to its users and supporters. NCTA aims to continue the cartography program started two years ago, which was due to a 1998 NTF grant award. While they have used a part-time, temporary cartographer in the past, they will hire a permanent cartographer to continue development of the mapping program and to expand the GIS services offered to the volunteer chapters and partner organizations. The ultimate goal is to produce 25 map sets by the end of 2002 and to be able to continue the program through 2003.

NORTH COUNTRY TRAIL ASSOCIATION — BAW BEESE CHAPTER

As the third largest chapter in the North Country Trail Association, the Baw Beese Chapter will use a NTF grant award to complete 27 miles of continuous certified trail. The segment of trail will connect the Lost Nations Trail to the Baw Beese Trail, which will be the first private land passage they have worked on. The Baw Beese Chapter hopes this segment of trail will provide an example of quality to future private land owners.

REYNOLDS SCHOOL DISTRICT, MULTNOMAH YOUTH COOPERATIVE

The Multnomah Youth Cooperative is an educational youth conservation organization partnered with local non-profit agencies and is located in Troutdale, Oregon. MYC will use the NTF grant to complete a trail restoration project on the North Section Line Trail, in nearby Mt. Hood National Forest. MYC hopes to accomplish several goals with this project including meeting the U.S. Forest Service objective to improve the heavily used Trail, to help at-risk youth achieve academic success by involving them in service-learning and hands-on projects, and to increase the student's appreciation of local ecology and land management issues.

SUPERIOR HIKING TRAIL ASSOCIATION

The Superior Hiking Trail Association will use the NTF grant to perform trail maintenance along the Superior Hiking Trail, while utilizing volunteer youth from the Minnesota Conservation Corps Summer Youth Program. With this project, SHTA will accomplish the needed repairs of three main areas of the trail, as well as provide numerous opportunities for youth to gain trail building experience, become knowledgeable land stewards, and to learn about possible careers in land conservation. The NTF grant will provide for one adult leader and other various supplies and materials.

TENNESSEE TRAILS ASSOCIATION — CUMBERLAND TRAIL CONFERENCE

A 1999 NTF grant funded Phase II of the Cumberland Mountain Segment of the Cumberland Trail and a 2000 NTF grant will fund Phase III of the project. Phase III is scheduled to complete the final 50 miles of the Trail segment, which spans from Cumberland Gap National Park to Cove Lake State Park in Caryville, Tennessee. A particular challenge to the Phase III portion of the project is the 70 private lands the trail crosses. The 280 mile Cumberland Trail was designated by the White House as a Millennium Legacy Trail. The long term goal for the Trail is to link it with similar projects in surrounding states to create a "Western Appalachian Alternative" to the Appalachian Trail.

VOLUNTEERS FOR OUTDOOR COLORADO

The NTF grant will provide VOC with funding for construction and maintenance for eight trails across Colorado. VOC strives to continue its commitment to "nurturing an ethic of stewardship for Colorado's unparalleled trail system" by maintaining the geographically diverse trails. Volunteers will be utilized for the project, as well as the U.S. Forest Service for planning.

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