Tennessee Steps Closer to Appalachian Trail Specialty License Plate

Design by Matt Montgomery

Asheville, N.C. (June 20, 2008)— The Tennessee legislature gave the nod for the creation of a specialty license plate for the Appalachian Trail, that will allow funds produced from the sale of the plate to be shared with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) for the support and management of the Appalachian Trail, the legendary footpath that runs from Georgia to Maine. 

“We haven’t cleared the hurdle yet,” said Morgan Sommerville, regional director of the ATC for Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia, referring to the 1,000 paid applications that the organization is working to accumulate to initiate production of the plates.

The ATC is collecting funds and applications for the Tennessee A.T. license plate, and information is available on the Internet at www.appalachiantrail.org/tnlicenseplate. ATC and volunteers from Tennessee Eastman Hiking and Canoeing Club (TEHCC), Smoky Mountains Hiking Club (SMHC), and Tennessee Trails Association expect to reach their goal by December, so that production for the new plates can begin in early 2009. 

The license plates will cost $35 for a standard A.T. license plate and $70 for a personalized plate – in addition to the regular vehicle registration fee. ATC will receive $15.56 for each plate purchased or renewed. ATC is thanking the first 1,000 applicants for a license plate by giving them a one-time annual membership to the conservancy once the plates go into production. The membership, valued at $35, includes a subscription to ATC’s bi-monthly magazine A.T. Journeys, and discounts at its Ultimate A.T. Store.

The design of the plate – featuring a hiker on the crest of a mountain and the contemporary logo of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy – was created by University of Tennessee graphic design student Matt Montgomery. While still subject to review by the state Department of Transportation, the organization and its volunteers anticipate it will be approved.

The volunteers involved in establishing the A.T. license plate in Tennessee initiated their efforts after seeing the success a North Carolina A.T. license-plate program, which has raised more than $200,000 for the organization’s work in that state in only three years. Funds in North Carolina have been used to benefit the Trail in a number of ways, through footpath and shelter maintenance; land conservation; monitoring of natural resources; supporting partnerships to preserve open spaces in the Roan Highlands; involving children and teachers with the A.T. through ATC’s A Trail to Every Classroom program; and increased public-information efforts.

In Tennessee, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy is working in partnership with The Conservation Fund, the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, USDA Forest Service, and the state to purchase the Rocky Fork tract, a 10,000-acre property in Greene and Unicoi counties that the Trail passes through. In addition to being an integral component of the 2,175-mile A.T., Rocky Fork is also adjacent to more than 22,000 acres of Forest Service land.  Home to a number of state and federally rare species, Rocky Fork has been identified as a high priority for protection by 35 local, regional and national organizations.

“It’s reasonable to assume that, if we get enough paid applications swiftly enough, funds from the Tennessee A.T. license plate can help ATC contribute toward the conservation of this property,” said Sommerville. “Protection of this property will conserve the footpath where it passes through Rocky Fork and the scenic views from Big Butt to the Flint Mountain Shelter and from Big Bald and Little Bald.”

“This project, like so much of the important work of the Trail, was initiated and driven home by volunteers,” said Sommerville. “We’ve gotten this far because of the hard-work and dedication of seven volunteers from across the state who have really stayed focused on this vision.”  

They are Ed Montgomery, Joe Deloach, and Jake Mitchell from TEHCC; Mark Shipley, immediate past president of SMHC; Bill Clabough, a former-state senator and Foothills Land Conservancy director; J.R. Tate, a four-time A.T. thru-hiker and author of Walkin’ with the Ghost Whisperers and Walkin’ on the Happy Side of Misery; and attorney and thru-hiker Brian Neal of Nashville. 

“Now our most important work begins—selling the plates,” said Montgomery. “It’s time for A.T. enthusiasts, hikers and conservationists to join with us in making this a reality.”

Information on obtaining an A.T license plate or volunteering to spread the word can be found at www.appalachiantrail.org/tnlicenseplate or by calling the ATC regional office in Asheville N.C. at (828) 254-3708.

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy is a volunteer-based nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation of the 2,175-mile Appalachian National Scenic Trail so that it will forever remain a simple footpath within a protected greenway along the Appalachian Mountains from Georgia to Maine. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the trail’s designation as the first national scenic trail under the 1968 National Trails System Act.