Help Us Advocate for A.T. Lands
March 2008- Last month, ATC staff participated in Hike the Hill advocacy week in Washington D.C. The annual event is aimed at raising awareness and support for the protection of national scenic and historic trails. ATC representatives typically take this opportunity to request appropriations from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) to support key land acquisition projects along the A.T.
If appropriated, requested 2009 funds would be used to protect lands bordering the Appalachian National Scenic Trail in Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, and New Hampshire.
Show your support for LWCF funding appropriations for the A.T. today:
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Make a donation to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy.
The Appalachian National Scenic Trail protection program represents perhaps the most successful federal, state and private land protection program in the history of the conservation movement in the United States. Even with the protection of more than 187,000 acres in fourteen states since 1978, the program is not yet complete. Escalating land values coupled with diminished agency capacity and funding have delayed further protection, while increasing development pressures and resource use threaten lands vital to the Appalachian Trail experience.
In this challenging context, the following projects have been selected as priorities for LWCF funding, and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy is seeking funding to secure these parcels, protecting the Trail experience for current and future generations.
Several of the projects were the object of appropriations requests last year: although ATC received a $3.1 million appropriation for the Rocky Fork project in Tennessee, none of the other projects were funded. To secure these important tracts, ATC continues to look for funding opportunities from other sources, as well as to continue its advocacy for federal funding.
ATC Funding Priorities
Rocky Fork, Tennessee (PDF)
Roan Highlands, North Carolina and Tennessee (PDF)
Mahoosucs, New Hampshire (PDF)
Shook Branch, Tennessee (PDF)
New River Celanese, Virginia (PDF)
Tilson Farmstead, Virginia (PDF)
Wesser Bald, North Carolina (PDF)
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