2008 may go down as one of ATC’s most productive. Five years after the former ATC board of managers’ historic vote to restructure and rename ATC, a record number of 6,320 individual volunteers performed 202,260 hours of work for the Appalachian Trail in federal fiscal 2008, breaking both previous records of 6,070 workers, set in 2007, and 201,466 hours, set in 2001.

Chain saw and crosscut saw certification requirements were also adopted five years ago. Today, ATC and the clubs still keep pace—with more than 800 sawyers certified or recertified since 2003. In 2008, ATC signed another five-year memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service to maintain the highest chainsaw, cross-cut saw and worker-safety standard by offering training, and providing A.T. sawyers with personal protective equipment and modest reimbursement for First Aid/CPR certification. All of ATC’s seasonal employees of the Konnarock Trail Crew, ATC’s flagship crew, received awards for a perfect safety year from the Forest Service.

The Conservancy’s stewardship council, in its second term since the reorganization, prepared new direction on management approvals and geocaching (see geocaching guidance to clubs in this issue) and developed a resolution on global climate change. After extensive consultations among all four of ATC’s regional partnership committees—which helped the council refine and improve the various proposals—ATC’s board of directors adopted them in November. The board also adopted new language to update other ATC policies affected by the changes in the management approval process. The policies are posted on ATC’s Web site.

With people losing their jobs and the economy sagging, President Obama and the new Congress grapple with a growing recession. When the economy is hurting, we have seen use on the Trail increase. The need for trails and forests, wild lands and open space, grows greater with each passing year, and it is perhaps most acutely felt when people find their lives most difficult.

We all have our work cut out for us, to cherish and care for the Trail so it will continue to restore and inspire. Keep up the good work. It’s important.

Hawk Metheny, Stewardship Council Chair
Robert Proudman, Director of Conservation Operations

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