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Following are the 1999 National Trails Fund Grant Recipients.

AMERICAN DISCOVERY TRAIL SOCIETY

The American Discovery Trail Society received a grant to procure and install the official ADT logo markers along its entire 6,356 miles. The ADT, which runs from Cape Henlopen, Delaware to Point Reyes, California, is the nation's first coast to coast path. It crosses beaches, forests, grasslands and mountains as well as town squares. Marking the ADT increases public knowledge of the trail and help build a constituency to protect it.

APPALACHIAN TRAIL CONFERENCE

The ATC's Western Maine High-Mountain Protection Project hopes to acquire and protect portions of Mount Abraham and Saddleback Mountain. The peaks are two of the states last remaining high-elevation mountains still unprotected through public ownership or conservation easement. Without permanent protection, future landowners could elect to harvest remaining pockets of old growth forests and cut timber on steep slopes. These lands, directly adjacent to the Appalachian Trail, represent an extraordinary opportunity to further enhance the natural and scenic qualities along the A.T. The land acquisition grant from American Hiking helped ATC meet a $75,000 challenge grant for this project from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

ARIZONA TRAILS ASSOCIATION

Backpacker magazine described the Arizona Trail as "this country's newest, and perhaps most scenic and diverse long distance trail." Men's Health magazine called it the "Best Hiking Trail in America." But the trail is not yet complete. To get the job done, the Arizona Trails Association (ATA) has launched a trail building campaign called "Finish Line in '99" to complete the path and a build a new constituency. They planned 18 trail work events to construct nearly 100 miles of the 750-mile trail. The ATA used an AHS grant to support and recognize volunteer trail crews with tools, t- shirts, and patches. In addition, grant money was used to promote work trips through mailings of 2,000 printed announcements to potential volunteers.

BOULDER-WHITE CLOUDS COUNCIL

The Boulder-White Clouds Council (BWCC) is leading an effort to preserve a 500,000-acre tract of unprotected wilderness on BLM and Forest Service lands in central Idaho. With a grant from American Hiking, the BWCC continues its "Wild Links" program, a project using trail work, hikes and field trips to build awareness and public support for the wilderness area. The BWCC is also working to stop motorized use of trails in areas recommended for wilderness designation. The group used NTF funds to maintain and reconstruct trails and to erect barriers to minimize illegal trail use. The grant was also used to hire a volunteer coordinator to direct the trail projects, coordinate field trips and produce a brochure on the Jay Peak Wilderness Study Area.

COLORADO FOURTEENERS INITIATIVE

A recipient of an NTF grant in 1998, the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative continues its commitment to reduce the negative impacts of recreation on Colorado's 14,000-foot peaks. With the help of 1998's grant, CFI volunteers moved more than 400 tons of stone to reclaim the Mt. Humbolt Pike hiking route, a trail that in some places had eroded into a gully ten feet wide. In 1999 the CFI worked on the remote peaks of Mt. Bierstadt and Mt. Harvard building 450 feet of boardwalk, rerouting trails to less sensitive terrain and reclaiming heavily damaged areas. An NTF grant helped the group meet matching grant requirements and provided funds for tools, professional crew leaders, supplies and transportation.

CONTINENTAL DIVIDE TRAIL ALLIANCE

The Continental Divide Trail Alliance held its third national conference, CDTA TrailFest 1999. The kick-off event was a large work project on the Continental Divide Trail, an effort that involved over one hundred volunteers building nearly two miles of new trail at 11,500 feet. The Fund grant helped the CDTA promote the project to potential supporters and volunteers. NTF funds were used in part to develop flyers, design and print volunteer guide pamphlets, coordinate volunteers and purchase tools.

CUMBERLAND TRAIL CONFERENCE

In 1998 Tennessee Governor Don Sundquist announced the state's support for the Cumberland Trail Conference's efforts to develop the Cumberland Trail State Park. Sundquist called the Cumberland Trail one of the state's finest and said that he intended it to be "the backbone of Tennessee's expanding system of greenways and trails." Under the CTC plan, the trail becomes the foundation for a 220-mile linear state park that offers citizens outstanding recreational and economic opportunities, as well as ecological and watershed protection. It also creates a wildlife habitat corridor and thwart development pressures in the area. The CTC worked with the state to mange the trail as a public/private partnership. The group won funding from the NTF to prepare for the purchase of a corridor through the Cumberland Mountain Segment of the trail. The grant helped CTC acquire this 28-mile segment before it succumbed to intense residential development.

FLORIDA TRAIL ASSOCIATION

The Florida Trail Association won an NTF grant to design and test trail inventory methods and develop a comprehensive, computerized database on the Florida National Scenic Trail. Once entered into a data base, field reports (such as the sites of bridges and boardwalks, downed trees and parcels of private land) will give trail managers an efficient way to assess maintenance and capital needs, estimate long term budgets, report trail work progress to constituencies and provide information for revising hiking guides. The FTA has already begun a geographic information system map of the trail. Funding from American Hiking helped the group purchase field hardware and begin inventory work on 67 miles of trail.

GREEN MOUNTAIN CLUB

In Vermont, the Long Trail and Appalachian Trail coincide on the Coolidge Range, which includes the popular day-hike destinations, Killington and Pico Peaks. During the summer, AT thru-hikers and local backpackers number over 1,000. To protect the Coolidge Range trail corridor, the Green Mountain Club began a relocation of the LT/AT from Killington Peak to Willard Gap. Because of the steep terrain, high elevations, water seeps and remote locations, the work is difficult and time consuming. With an NTF grant, the Green Mountain Club fielded a professional trail crew, the Long Trail Patrol (LTP), to help complete the five-mile relocation.

ICE AGE PARK AND TRAIL FOUNDATION

The Ice Age Park and Trail Foundation received funds to purchase a parcel of land within the city limits of West Bend, WI. Acquisition of the critical tract helps close the "18-Mile-Gap" between the Northern and Southern Units of the Kettle Moraine Forest in the fastest growing county in the state. The 33-acre parcel sits in the heart of West Bend and is the second of two properties the city needed to purchase to complete the Glacial Environmental Corridor. The area has some of the most picturesque terrain and significant glacial features found anywhere in the state. The purchase provided permanent protection for an Ice Age.

KEYSTONE TRAILS ASSOCIATION

For three years the Keystone Trails Association put together summer work crews to build and repair footpaths in Pennsylvania. The group, which actively protects an extensive network of hiking trails, received funding for its ongoing trail maintenance work in the Keystone State. The grant helped KTA buy tools and supplies for three volunteer crews.

NORTH COUNTRY TRAIL ASSOCIATION

Although the North Country Trail is nearly 4,000 miles long, the North Country Trail Association did not have adequate maps to show the public the trail route. So the NCTA put together an ambitious plan to map the existing trail segments, compile a database and produce high-quality color maps for the public. To manage map-printing costs the NCTA purchased a high-resolution color printer to produce limited runs of maps as needed. The group used AHS funding to staff the project, support its data gathering efforts along the trail and inventory existing segments.

LOXAHATCHEE CHAPTER, FLORIDA TRAIL ASSOCIATION

The Loxahatchee Chapter of the Florida Trail Association received a grant to repair and construct bridges on the Florida National Scenic Trail. Three bridges on the trail were deemed unsafe and three others had to be constructed where changing water flows damaged the trail. Fund funds were used to purchase lumber and hardware for the bridge building projects.

PACIFIC CREST TRAIL ASSOCIATION

The 3000-strong Pacific Crest Trail Association wants to build a membership that will become active stewards of the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail. The group is also working to: formalize its basic volunteer opportunities, such as the adopt-a-trail program; expand its Service Trips Program; build the number of one day and weekend projects associated with events such as National Trails Day and California High Trails Day; and use the Internet and other media to improve visibility of the PCT. An NTF grant helped the PCTA promote the trail, purchase tools for service projects, and develop a trail assessment program and a pilot project for longer service trips.

TAHOE RIM TRAIL ASSOCIATION

The 150-mile Tahoe Rim Trail circles Lake Tahoe, tracking the ridges and mountain tops that form the Tahoe Basin. The Tahoe Rim Trail Association won NTF funding to help complete a 10-mile segment of the trail on the north side of the lake. The USDA Forest Service approved the route and sections of the trail segment are open to multiple use. The grant was used to purchase pulaskis, chain saws, hoes, and other trail tools needed to complete the path's new segment.

VOLUNTEERS FOR OUTDOOR COLORADO

Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado (VOC) won NTF support for three trail construction projects. The Maytag-Ramsour Trail, located on recently acquired land in the fastest growing county in the nation, provided an additional opportunity for residents and visitors to enjoy the area's remaining open space. In Rocky Mountain National Park, VOC constructed an 8000' long path that connects the Lilly Lake trail head with the Storm Pass trail to Estes Cone, a beautiful cone shaped peak behind Estes Park. VOC also designed and built a new, durable trail to the world-famous Maroon Bells and Maroon Lake near Aspen to minimize the impact of 200,000 yearly visitors.

WASHINGTON TRAILS ASSOCIATION

Washington Trails Association conducted 17 week-long work parties to maintain trails in the Washington backcountry. In 1998 WTA volunteers spent over 40,000 hours on trails. Each crew had 10 volunteers and work 5.5 days for 10 hours per day. WTA's partners on the project include the Pacific Crest Trail Association, the National Park Service, the USDA Forest Service and the Backcountry Horseman of Washington. The group used its NTF grant to purchase food for its crews of hungry volunteers.

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