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Following are the 2001 National Trails Fund Grant Recipients.

BENTON MACKAYE TRAIL ASSOCIATION (GA)

In 1979 the Benton Mackaye Trail Association was formed by a group of hikers in Georgia desiring a more primitive hiking trail in the Southeast – one which would follow Benton Mackaye's original route for the Appalachian Trail. Currently, 95 of the 250 total miles of trail are completed, a result of BMTA's active and experienced membership. One of the special features of the trail is a 265 foot suspension bridge crossing the Toccoa River. Presently, this bridge is deteriorating and quickly becoming unsafe for travel. BMTA's volunteers will use the National Trails Fund grant to rebuild the Taccoa Suspension bridge.

CAYUGA TRAILS CLUB (NY)

The Cayuga Trails Club, formed in 1962, is an active affiliate of the Finger Lakes Trail Conference, who manages the Finger Lakes Trail system. The Cayuga Trails Club will use the National Trails Fund grant to construct two bridges on the Cayuta Gulf Trail, which is part of the Finger Lakes Trail and the North Country Trail in New York. These bridges will enable year round access to a new section of trail, which crosses two streams that frequently run high and swiftly. Engineering students from Cornell University will aid in the design and construction of the bridges.

COLORADO MOUNTAIN CLUB (CO)

The Colorado Mountain Club began in 1915 to introduce, educate and preserve Colorado's mountain environment. A National Trails Fund grant will aid in funding Colorado Mountain Club's annual trail maintenance program. During the Summer of 2001, CMC will host thirty-five trail maintenance trips using more than 350 volunteers and forty-five trained crew leaders, to produce 2,500 hours of wilderness conservation in the Colorado Mountains. An AHS grant will provide volunteer incentives, tools, and other equipment.

COLORADO TRAIL FOUNDATION (CO)

The Colorado Trail is a 500 mile, linear non-motorized, sustainable, recreation trail between Denver and Durango, Colorado. Each year, roughly 300 volunteers perform new trail construction and trail maintenance during fifteen to twenty week long work crews. In addition, CTF has organized 'Adopt-a-Trail' crews who perform trail maintenance along the trail throughout the summer. Currently the USFS is providing many of the tools needed for the summer work, however these tools are not always available or in working condition. A National Trails Fund grant will be used to purchase a new set of tools for the organization.

FOOTHILLS TRAIL CONFERENCE (SC)

The Foothills Trail is a seventy-six mile, rugged trail which traverses through Northwest South Carolina. The Foothills Trail Conference was established in 1974 to promote and support the trail With the trail completed, the organization focuses on maintenance and protection, producing a Trail Guide, and leading guided hikes. While the trail is in great shape overall, many of the older, wooden signs are deteriorating. A National Trails Fund grant will be used to replace these dilapidated signs with more durable and lasting carsonite posts.

HOOSIER HIKERS COUNCIL (IN)

The Hoosier Hikers Council is a trail building, improvement and advocacy organization, working to preserve trails in Indiana and to expand opportunities for hikers by increasing the number of trails. The Knobstone Trail is one of HHC's greatest priorities, as it is the only long distance hiking trail in the state. Presently, HHC is beginning the process of developing a new section of the trail – the Pioneer Section – which will connect two completed segments. A National Trails Fund grant will fund a new set of tools, necessary for building the Pioneer Section.

KEKEKABIC TRAIL CLUB (MN)

The Kekekabic Trail Club maintains the thirty-eight mile Kekekabic Trail, which is located in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The trail is characterized as heavily forested with rolling hills and wetlands. This forest environment, combined with harsh Fall and Winter weather, brings many tree blowdowns which are cleared by volunteers each Spring. Though volunteers pay a fee to work on each trip, other costs such as tools, volunteer incentives, and food are absorbed by the organization. A National Trails Fund grant will aid in off-setting many of these costs for the vital Spring clearing trips.

LONG ISLAND GREENBELT TRAILS CONFERENCE, INC (NY)

The Long Island Greenbelt Trails Conference is dedicated to developing and maintaining hiking trails on Long Island, preserving and protecting Long Island's open space, and fostering an appreciation of Long Island's ecology, history and scenic beauty through outdoor recreation and education programs. Since the 1970s, many organizations across Long Island have been building the Paumanok Path, a 125 mile trail stretching from Rocky Point to Montauk Point. This will serve as the backbone for Suffolk County's trail system by connecting to other hiking trails and encouraging the development of new trails. A National Trails Fund grant will fund the production and distribution of a map set, which will not only encourage more use of the trail, but will create regional enthusiasm for its completion.

NEW YORK-NEW JERSEY TRAIL CONFERENCE (NY-NJ)

The New York - New Jersey Trail Conference builds and maintains public hiking trails in northern New Jersey and southeastern New York, publishes maps and guidebooks, protects trail lands, and advocates for hiking trails. A National Trails Fund grant will be used for building materials for the last phase of the ongoing Pochuck Creek and Flood Plain Relocation project. This project involves building a one-mile segment of the Appalachian Trail to replace the current route, which is a hazardous 2.1 mile roadwalk in a rapidly developing rural/suburban area. The last phase of this project involves building a 1,200 foot board walk and pedestrian bridge through a 25,000 acre federally designated Wetland.

NORTH COUNTRY TRAIL ASSOCIATION (MI)

The North Country Trail will one day be the longest National Scenic Trail, stretching 4,000 miles from New York to North Dakota. As more and more segments of the trail are built by volunteers and chapter organizations, much of the volunteer hours have focused on trail maintenance and less on building new trail. The North Country Trail Association will remedy this problem with a larger volunteer base, made up of the countless numbers of people who hike on the North Country Trail every year. In order to increase the number of volunteers available to the trail maintaining chapters along the trail, NCTA will use a National Trails Fund grant to place tasteful signs along to trail, educating hikers about NCTA and the chapter that maintains that portion of the trail. NCTA will also work to cultivate new volunteers through additional sections on their web site, a special volunteering brochure, and establishing volunteer coordinators along the trail.

PACIFIC NORTHWEST TRAIL ASSOCIATION (WA)

The Pacific Northwest Trail stretches 1,100 miles across Montana, Idaho, and Washington and is located on both state and federal lands. As the use of trails continues to increase on the Pacific Northwest Trail, and the amount of federal funding and resources allocated to trail maintenance decreases, there is a strong need for volunteer support of the trail. PNTA will use a National Trails Fund grant to start a new program which will establish a trail maintaining organization for every 100 miles along the Pacific Northwest Trail.

PINE MOUNTAIN TRAIL CONFERENCE (KY)

The Pine Mountain Trail will be a 120 mile non-motorized trail extending from the Breaks Interstate Park on the Kentucky-Virginia boarder to Cumberland Gap National Park. Located in a region historically dedicated to coal mining, the Pine Mountain Trail Conference will involve all members of the community during the route planning, building and maintenance of this program. Currently, the first section is complete – a twenty-six mile stretch located on public lands. A National Trails Fund grant will aid in the construction of a shelter on section one, and the routing and mapping of section two.

RANDOLPH MOUNTAIN CLUB (NH)

The Randolph Mountain Club has been building and maintaining trails since 1910. They are a small, but active organization who maintains 100 miles of hiking trails in the Northern Presidentials and the Crescent Range of Northern New Hampshire, as well as four backcountry facilities. These trails and facilities are among some of the most heavily used in the Northeast, with over 10,000 hikers and 7,000 visitors to the trail facilities annually. Randolph Mountain Club's volunteers have worked each summer to minimize erosion and other negative impacts occurring each year. One of the biggest challenges for the club is providing the trail crews adequate seasonal housing, as the current housing situation requires a great amount of time and coordination from volunteers, crew members, and supervisors. A National Trails Fund grant will aid the organization in constructing eight ten pads around a small house in the ceNTFr of their trail system.

RIVANNA TRAILS FOUNDATION (VA)

The Rivanna Trail is a twenty mile, wilderness style hiking trail encircling the city of Charlottesville, Virginia. Currently about two-thirds of the trail is complete and the Rivanna Trails Foundation hopes to finish the trail by 2002. One present gap in the trail involves a river crossing, where the trail is complete on either side. Present methods to cross the stream are dangerous and pose a threat to hikers. Rivanna Trails Foundation will use a National Trails Fund grant to purchase several quarried rock stones to be placed in the river to provide a safe crossing that does not impede the water flow.

ROARING FORK OUTDOOR VOLUNTEERS

Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers strives to provide and promote opportunities for community members to participate in volunteer outdoor projects dedicated to the improvement and maintenance of public lands. A National Trails Fund grant will help fund the Capitol Lake Trail Project, located in the Maroon Bells - Snowmass Wilderness Area of Colorado. Here, the Upper Capitol Lake Trail leads hikers to Capitol Lake, which showcases some of Colorado's most dramatic alpine scenery. This six mile trail was never designated by the Forest Service because the trail most likely resulted from game or early visitors; as a result, extensive resource damage has occurred on many portions of the trail. During the Capitol Lake Trail Project, crews will work to stabilize and restore damaged areas, as well as reconstruct the trail in several remote, heavily impacted stream crossings and seeps.

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