National Strategy for a Sustainable Trail System (USDA, 2017)

From Sustainable Trails Toolbox

Type of Publication

National Strategy

Where to Find?

https://www.fs.usda.gov/sites/default/files/national-trail-strategy.pdf

Message From the Chief

The Forest Service manages the largest trail system in the country, with unparalleled opportunities for people to discover their favorite path to the Great Outdoors! Trails connect—they connect people with each other, with themselves, with their community, with their heritage, with their future, and with their public lands.

Trails benefit individuals, families, communities, and society as a whole. People of all ages and abilities can get outside, have fun, and explore trails on their public lands, and they can also help care for them. Doing all these things adds to the spiritual, mental, and physical health and well-being of people who use and enjoy their public lands. Trails also generate prosperity for the Nation: visitors to the national forests and grasslands spend over $9 billion annually, and outdoor recreation and tourism supports 143,000 jobs.

Our role at the Forest Service is to sustain a vibrant and healthy system of trails, both now and for generations to come. Our goal is to ensure America’s trails are ecologically sustainable and economically viable and that people value and support their trails on public lands. To achieve our goal, we are increasingly embracing and building upon the innovation and energy of partners, volunteers, friends, agency leaders, and employees—seeking out new relationships and new solutions.

With the passage of the National Forest System Trails Stewardship Act in November 2016, the time for bold solutions is now. We can harness the energy, talent, and resources of the trails community by sharing stewardship—by making trails and trail management a collective priority. Based on input from trail enthusiasts and from Forest Service employees across the country, we have identified six areas of action for expanding our capacity and improving our ways of thinking and doing. Taking bold action in each of these areas will broaden and strengthen our approach and lead us toward collectively delivering and stewarding a sustainable system of trails.

We have already begun to push beyond how we traditionally think about, manage, and deliver access to public lands. This strategy aligns with the USDA Forest Service Strategic Plan: FY 2015– 2020 and builds upon the agency’s Framework for Sustainable Recreation. Forest Service program guidance also emphasizes the trails strategy as an integral part of high-leverage action areas for offering premier outdoor experiences.

Over the next several years, we will embody these principles and carry out the actions outlined in this document to achieve a system of sustainable trails. Join us! Together, we can ensure a lasting trails legacy for generations to come.

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Bibliographical Data

  • Author: USDA Forest Service
  • Title: Creating National Strategy for a Sustainable Trail System
  • Year: 2017
  • Publisher: USDA Forest Service
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