REI Supports ATC Ridgerunner Program
Harpers Ferry, W.Va (July 21, 2009)—Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) today announced that it has received a $25,000 grant from Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI), a national outdoor retail co-op committed to connecting people with nature. The grant supports ATC’s ridgerunner program, a key means for educating hikers in important conservation practices and informing trail managers of real-time conditions along the most-used national scenic trail.
Each year, ATC hires approximately 35 ridgerunners—”Trail ambassadors” or “mobile caretakers” – who educate Trail users about safety and conservation issues and will be aided by that grant with both gear and financial support for the program. Ridgerunners greet about 25,000 visitors and volunteers each year. They patrol high-use areas along the trail during peak seasons in all 14 Trail states (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Georgia).
Individual ridgerunners monitor approximately 40 to 100 Trail miles apiece, conducting environmental education to ensure that day-hikers, backpackers, and Trail neighbors will have positive experiences along the Appalachian Trail's most heavily traversed sections. Ridgerunners also help protect the Trail's 250,000-acre land base, acting as “ears to the ground” for ATC, local trail clubs, and public land managers.
Within a day’s drive of almost 204 million Americans, the Appalachian Trail hosts up to four million visitors each year. In addition to maintenance of the trail itself, ATC and its 30 affiliated local trail clubs care for more than 250 shelters and designated campsites, some of which absorb well more than 100 visitors a week in peak seasons. Litter, fire, vandalism, waste disposal, water availability and purity, erosion, unsupervised pets, and other maintenance and safety issues are of prime concern, particularly during the summer months. To ensure the primitive backcountry experience visitors expect, ATC counts on its seasonal ridgerunners.
Most ridgerunners are supervised and funded jointly with trail clubs and/or public land-management agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service. ATC recruits, trains, outfits, and provides over-all guidance, although daily supervision is usually carried out by local partners. Because trail clubs contribute greatly to the supervision, training, and efficacy of this program, ATC offers them small grants for ridgerunner support. In return, ridgerunners provide critical information to those groups, who ultimately carry out maintenance and other tasks revealed by the monitoring of Trail conditions. Ridgerunners not only confer regularly with club members, but also file detailed weekly reports on trail conditions and use.
Founded in 1938 by a group of Pacific Northwest mountaineers seeking quality equipment, REI is dedicated to inspiring, educating, and outfitting its members and the community for a lifetime of outdoor adventure and stewardship. Across the country, REI partners with non-profit conservation and outdoor organizations through education, volunteerism, gear donations, and financial contributions. The grant received by ATC is the result of a nomination made by REI stores in the Washington, D.C. market.
The ridgerunner program also is supported by Mountain Hardwear, Leki, and various state and federal agencies.
The Appalachian Trail Conservancy, formed in 1925 to develop what became the first national scenic trail, is a private nonprofit organization with primary responsibility for managing the trail and the 250,000 acres of public lands through which it winds—among the richest in the nation in natural and cultural resources. Further information about its work and enjoying the trail can be found at www.appalachiantrail.org.
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