By Chelsea Bodamer

Through the cold winter months, I find no greater pleasure than wrapping up in a blanket and reading a book as I patiently await the warmth of my favorite season – sweet, abundant spring. Thus was the case this January as I read Cheryl Strayed’s Wild. I laughed, I cried, but most importantly, I drew unexpected parallels to my current work with the Partnership for the National Trail System.

During Strayed’s trek along the Pacific Crest Trail, she often found herself along roadways with a dangerous, less than scenic walk ahead, common reality for many who travel our national trails. The truth is, although many of our more famous scenic trails are near complete, there are still trail gaps. These gaps take away from the user experience and quite often can create a hazardous situation for thru-hikers.

The bigger picture

As I spent my January evenings digging into Wild, I devoted my days to preparing the Collaborative Landscape Planning Proposal (CLP) for my upcoming trip to the nation’s capital. All in all, the proposal outlined 48 parcels along our National Scenic and Historic Trail corridors that were deemed critical to purchase with this year’s Land and Water Conservation Fund appropriation. Working on the PCT section of the proposal, I realized an area near Ashland, Oregon, that Strayed referenced in her book was on the list. A trail gap closed in quite a figurative way that day.

And so it went. I was off to Washington D.C. with a box full of CLP documents, a fresh perspective and my business casual attire to “Hike the Hill.” This week-long, annual event – a joint effort between the Partnership for the National Trails System and the American Hiking Society – brings together trail partners and organizations from across the nation to increase awareness of the National Trails System and related legislation.

Taking it to the root

Shortly after arriving in D.C., representatives from the Trust for Public Land, The Wilderness Society, The Conservation Fund and the American Horse Council briefed the roughly 65 attendees on various bills on the docket this year that may affect – or already have affected – the National Trails System.

The week flew by as trail association representatives buzzed in and out of Congressional offices and we held meetings with our federal partners. These visits are a chance to tell our elected representatives and partners what we’re up to, why we need their support and what our goals are for the future of the nation’s trails.

Moving forward

The question remains: Why, nearly 20 years after Strayed’s journey on the PCT, are parts of the PCT still unprotected? The answer is actually quite complicated. The ideal is to purchase the remaining private land along the PCT and other national trails to connect the gaps. But there are significant obstacles to overcome, including financing, land ownership issues and threats of development. This is, in fact, why we travel to Washington D.C. each year. Sometimes you have to take the trails inside to ensure their future outside.

That said, there is important trail-related legislation on the docket this year that we hope Congress will pass:

Land and Water Conservation Fund :This act uses revenue from off-shore oil and gas drilling to protect our public land through federal land acquisition.

:This act uses revenue from off-shore oil and gas drilling to protect our public land through federal land acquisition. The Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act: This act will facilitate the sale of un-needed federal land by the BLM in order to provide funding to purchase high-priority land for conservation and outdoor recreation.

This act will facilitate the sale of un-needed federal land by the BLM in order to provide funding to purchase high-priority land for conservation and outdoor recreation. Wildfire Disaster Funding Act : This act will change how the federal government budgets for the suppression of wildfire disasters by treating it like other U.S. disasters within the Federal Emergency Management Agency budget rather than the U.S. Forest Service budget.

: This act will change how the federal government budgets for the suppression of wildfire disasters by treating it like other U.S. disasters within the Federal Emergency Management Agency budget rather than the U.S. Forest Service budget. National Forest System Trails Stewardship Act: This act will direct the Secretary of Agriculture to publish in the Federal Register a strategy to significantly increase the role of volunteers and partners in maintaining the 155,000 miles of trails in national forests.

Now what?

Knowing and supporting trail legislation can make all the difference when it comes to funding and protection. Needless to say, providing a voice for our trails and public lands is key to ensuring these lands are available for generations to come. There is no doubt that nature’s pristine beauty is evident to those who use it, but for those who are yet to discover this beauty, it is up to us to magnify it’s voice.

Learn more about contacting the Congress to express support for our National Trails Systems. Please offer your support for our trails and the pending legislation mentioned earlier.

Chelsea Bodamer works as the Outreach and Youth Programs Coordinator for the Partnership for the National Trail System. She spends her time advocating for and sharing her love of the National Trail System. Off the clock she can be found teaching and practicing yoga, reading and traveling. She lives in St. Louis, Missouri, with her beloved rescue dog, Apollonia.

Want to learn more? Check out our page about our advocacy work.