30th Anniversary of the National Trails System Act
October 1998
by Aimee Kratts
October 2, 1998, is the 30th anniversary of the National Trails System Act signed into law by President Johnson. The Act is the reason that Appalachian Trail is a Federally protected resource. The Act also affected the direction of our club. It's why we're who we are as the PATC.
As club members, its important for us to understand what the Act is and how it came about, if not to appreciate the hard work of original PATC members, than to wonder at the AT's very existence at the turn of this millennium.
The Appalachian Trail (AT) was first completed as a continuous hiking trail on August 14, 1937. Protecting the AT. was recognized from the Trail's very conception. While its location was more or less protected on public land albeit at the whim of official managers, about a third of the trail was on private lands, with only handshake agreements to ensure its continued existence.
In the 1940s, Congressional Representative Hoch (PA) introduced a bill to protect the AT. The bill went nowhere.
In October 1956, G.F. Blackburn wrote an article in the Potomac Appalachian Bulletin entitled, "The Changing Appalachian Trail." In it, Blackburn discussed the problem of repeated relocations making it necessary for someone to always be monitoring the length of the trail. The purpose of all those relocations were "to avoid some interfering situation or development." Those soft code words meant new roads and highways, and development of camps, resorts and country clubs "having no compatibility with a wilderness foot trail."
Blackburn also talked about the problem of hikers (PATC or non-PATC) damaging the privately-held lands over which the trail was marked, causing the landowners to prevent further hiking on their lands. So Blackburn stressed in his newsletter article that PATC hikers should do everything within reason to promote friendly relations with landowners because "Whether on privately or publicly owned land, the stability and even the continued existence of the A.T. depends to a large degree on good will."
Essentially in 1956, the A.T. had no protection from anyone. The trail and the hikers who loved it were at the mercy of everyone's good will.
Only a few months later, in April 1957, Philip Stone, acting on behalf of the PATC Conservation Committee started asking questions in print. "What is the future of the Appalachian Trail?" Should the club support private, public, federal or state ownership of A.T. land? Should the club purchase A.T. land itself or should it work toward easement agreements with landowners? Should the club push to support another Hoch bill? Clearly the PATC was greatly troubled about the future of the trail.
On May 20, 1964, Senator Gaylord Nelson (Wisconsin) introduced a bill to protect the Appalachian Trail. By January 1966, President Johnson was mentioning the name of the Appalachian Trail in his Annual Message to Congress concerning extending Federal support to the "hiking path from Maine to Georgia."
Then, in 1968, the tide turned. The historic bill, known as the National Trails Act, established Federal protection for a nationwide system of trails, two of which were specifically listed: The Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail. Fourteen more trails were listed for possible inclusion, among them the Continental Divide Trail, the Potomac Heritage Trail, the Lewis and Clark Trail, the Natchez Trace Trial, the Oregon Trail, the Sante Fe Trail, the Mormon Trail, and Morman Battalion Trail, and five short trails in Alaska known as the Gold Rush Trails.
A jubilant John Oliphant reported the signing in the October 1968 Potomac Appalachian Bulletin. "At a glittering ceremony on October 2, President Johnson, accompanied by his wife, Lady Bird, signed four landmark bills that will bring to fruition many of the long sought hopes of outdoor enthusiasts. They are the Redwood National Park, North Cascades National Park, Scenic River System, and last but not least the National Trails System Act which gives scenic trail status to the Appalachian Trail."
A quote President Johnson's speech: "Our history of wise management of America's national forests has assisted us in designating the initial elements of the National Trails System. Two National Scenic Trails, one in the East and one in the West, are being set aside as the first components of the Trails System: The Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail."
The act's statement of policy is:
"a) In order to provide for the ever-increasing outdoor recreation needs of an expanding population and in order to promote the preservation of, public access to, travel within, and enjoyment and appreciation of the open-air, outdoor areas and historic resources of the Nation, trails should be established (i) primarily, near the urban areas of the Nation, and (ii) secondarily, within scenic areas and along historic travel routes of the Nation which are often more remotely located.
"b) The purpose of this Act is to provide the means for attaining these objectives by instituting a national system of recreation, scenic and historic trails, by designating the Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail as the initial components of that system, and by prescribing the methods by which, and standards according to which, additional components may be added to the system.
"c) The Congress recognizes the valuable contributions that volunteers and private, nonprofit trail groups have made to the development and maintenance of the Nation's trails. In recognition of these contributions, it is further the purpose of this Act to encourage and assist volunteer citizen involvement in the planning, development, maintenance, and management, where appropriate, of trails."
At the end of Oliphant's October 1968 article, he goes on to say that the PATC's responsibilities, if anything, would increase. To secure funds for buying land, the PATC would need to demonstrate that hiking is a popular sport. And while the new Trails Act would add to the increasing use of PATC facilities, which were already difficult to manage, Oliphant accurately prophesied, "...we had best be thinking about [how to manage the A.T.] and not make the mistake of depending on the Federal Government to do the whole job."
While the 1968 National Trails Act was a legal victory for all those hikers and environmentalists who wanted to see Federal protection for hiking trails across the nation, in practical terms, the bill was frustrating. Paula Strain, PATC President 1970-1972, succinctly summed up the problem. "The Trails Act passed in '68 created the possibility of having trails. We fought awfully hard for it. But while the Park Service was told to put the [Appalachian] Trail together, it was given no money."
The lack of money was inherent in the bill according to Fred Madison, the legislative assistant to Senator Nelson. He wrote in January 1969, "The legislation also stresses the idea that land is to be acquired only if all else fails. It is hoped that agreements can be worked out with landowners to provide the necessary right-of-way."
And so, even though the 1968 Act created the idea of Federal protection for the AT, problems with the private landowners persisted. Strain says, "The club had problems in certain locations, such as Pennsylvania. The private landowners kept throwing the AT off their land and the ATC couldn't do a thing about it because they didn't have any money."
Howard Brackney, in July 1970, wrote a pointed analysis of the situation. Growing unavailability of desirable terrain along the trail, encroachment on the terrain by developers, and the weaknesses of National and State legislation were listed as the top three reasons the A.T. was in danger. Brackney wrote, "The Act of Congress merits the closest study by all who cherish the Trail. Yet, its weaknesses are immediately apparent. Nowhere does the Act refer or allude in any way to the value or the need of the Trail as a means for helping to conserve a very significant part of America's priceless, remaining wilderness terrain. In no way does the Act set forth or seek to define those features of a primeval-like environment which is should be the primary purpose of such an act to protect and conserve. Nowhere does it specify those particular and natural features which must be conserved along the Trailway if the Trail itself is to continue its meaningful existence."
In short, the government's support of the existence of the AT in theory was not enough. The AT needed to be owned by the ATC, the Federal government, or both. Allowing the AT to exist on private lands meant continuing problems with private land developers and capricious private land-owners.
An editorial entitled, "Securing the Appalachian Trail, Haste Being Made Slowly," by Alexander Kiefer in November 1973 marked the end of a two-year period during which the federal government had left it to the state and local governments to acquire the necessary protection for the AT right-of-way. By that time, Virginia and Maryland had enacted the necessary authorizing legislation, Pennsylvania and West Virginia had not. While Maryland had actually acquired only 1.83 miles of the AT with 4.16 miles pending, there is no mention of any land acquisition in Virginia. Kiefer went on the encourage PATCers to "seize every available opportunity to assist in acquiring land or easements for the AT wherever it is or could in the foreseeable future be threatened by private development. This requires money." The current balance of the land acquisition fund in September 1973 was $7,008.
In July 1975, an ad hoc committee from the PACT, comprised of past presidents Grant Conway, Ed Garvey, and John Oliphant drafted a statement to deliver to the Appalachian National Scenic Trail Advisory Council. Part of the statement was a blunt challenge: "...we urge you to consider recommending that the Federal government began a real program of acquisition of rights of way or property over which the trial passes, as published in the Federal Register of October 1971. The present law authorizes $5 million for this work and very little of this authorization has been spent. It is now time to work along this line. So far the Federal government has not taken any action to secure the trail right of way and if it does not make a beginning, we fear many of the present lands crossed by the trail will escalate in price or become unavailable for trail purposes because of development."
The front page of the Potomac Appalachian newsletter for April of 1976 gave a happy announcement. Secretary of the Interior Thomas Kleppe approved $1 million for AT land acquisition. The move was designed to encourage states' interest in conserving the pieces of AT that ran through their own lands. The monies were not nearly enough.
During the 1977 Appalachian Trail Conference in Sheperdstown, WV, Assistant Secretary of the Interior Senator Robert Herbst addressed the attendees with a speech that covered several salient point concerning the AT. First, that the National Trails Act, at nine years old, had not yet completed many of its initial provisions. And "...that only the private citizen has come close to carrying a fair share of the load [of maintaining and protecting the Trail]." In a PA article entitled, "Promises, Promises," Brendan Summerville listed Herbst's promises to focus on the AT. He also listed the promises of John McGuire, Chief of the Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Much to everyone's delight, ten years after the original National Trails Act was passed, the money came. On July 12, 1978, Congress approved by the vote of 341-61, an omnibus parks bill for $1.3 billion. The bill was a compilation of over 100 bills devised by Rep. Phillip Burton (CA) and it increased the wilderness areas protected within the national park system by 2 million acres, essentially tripling the existing wilderness areas. It also designated five new frontier paths as part of the national trails system, two of which were the Lewis and Clark Trail, running from Wood River, Ill. to Columbia Rover, Ore. and the Continental Divide Trail running from Montana through New Mexico.
A March 1979 PA article gave the most positive account of AT land acquisition in years. "Acquisition of AT land by the National Park Service is showing results in northern Virginia-West Virginia. Nine tracts of land south of Keys Gap, totaling 402 acres, protecting 4.2 miles of the Trail are completed. ...Appraisals have been ordered on 69 [more] tracts. ...The Park Service and the Conference are working with 11 states and with local communities within those states to keep the acquisition program in high gear. Fiscal 1980 would have been the first complete year in which the acquisition program would have operated and, pursuant to the terms of the Act, we had geared up for a $30 million acquisition in 1980. It is urgent that the acquisition proceed at a rapid rate..."
Steps were finally being taken to ensure the safety of the AT.
Then, on January 26, 1984, National Park Service Director Russell Dickenson signed over to the ATC the responsibility for managing the lands acquired for the public by the agency. Secretary of the Interior William Clark remarked, "Without its great volunteer tradition, there would be no Appalachian Trail nor would there be such widespread support for its preservation as a part of our national heritage. The Appalachian Trail Conference and its committed volunteers have earned the trust of the American people."
So 30 years after the ball was pushed, 20 years after it really began rolling fullsteam downhill, all but 30 miles of the 2,158-mile Appalachian Trail is in public or private non-profit ownership.
What started as Benton MacKaye's dream and was partially given over to the government for completion, was handed back to the people for stewardship and care.
Current PATC President Sandi Marra says, “The National Trails Act is what formalized our Club and its charter and it continues to guide us in our mission to protect the AT. A continued and renewed emphasis on the Act will benefit all of us as it is more important than ever to protect scenic trails across the country for recreational and conservation use."