Appalachian Trail Conservancy
Encyclopedia
Appalachian Trail
The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, generally known as the Appalachian Trail or simply the AT, is a marked hiking trail in the eastern United States extending between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine. It is approximately long...
, which runs from Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
to Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. The Conference works to protect the trail's 2179 miles (3,506.8 km), 250,000 acre (1,000 km²) greenway, and coordinates the work of some thirty hiking clubs performing trail maintenance.
The trail was originally conceived by forester Benton MacKaye
Benton MacKaye
Benton MacKaye was an American forester, planner and conservationist. He was born in Stamford, Connecticut; his father was actor and dramatist Steele MacKaye. After studying forestry at Harvard University , Benton later taught there for several years. He joined a number of Federal bureaus and...
who envisioned a grand trail that would connect a series of farms and wilderness work/study camps for city-dwellers. In 1922, at the suggestion of Major William A. Welch
William A. Welch
Major William Addams Welch was an American engineer and environmentalist who would have a major impact on the state and national park systems of the United States...
, director of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission
Palisades Interstate Park Commission
Palisades Interstate Park and its creator, the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, was formed in 1900 by governors Theodore Roosevelt of New York and Foster M. Voorhees of New Jersey in response to the destruction of the Palisades by quarry operators in the late 19th century...
, MacKaye's plan was publicized by Raymond H. Torrey
Raymond H. Torrey
Raymond Hezekiah Torrey was the author of weekly columns, Outings and The Long Brown Path in the New York Evening Post in the 1920s and 1930s. The column played a major role in the development of the Appalachian Trail, the Long Path and the popularity of hiking generally...
with a story in the New York Evening Post under a full page banner headline reading "A Great Trail from Maine to Georgia!"; the idea was quickly adopted by the new Palisades Interstate Park Trail Conference as their main project, and on January 4, 1924, the first twenty mile (32 km) stretch from the Hudson
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
to the Ramapo River
Ramapo River
The Ramapo River is a tributary of the Pompton River, approximately 30 mi long, in southern New York and northern New Jersey in the United States.-Course:...
s was complete. The entire trail was completed in 1937.
The ATC was formed in Washington, DC on March 2 and 3, 1925, with Major Welch as chairman and Torrey as treasurer. In 1927, Welch was replaced by Judge Arthur Perkins
Arthur Perkins (Connecticut Judge)
Arthur Perkins was an American lawyer and judge from Hartford, Connecticut who, during his retirement, spearheaded the effort to make Benton MacKaye's vision of the Appalachian Trail—a proposed 2,000-mile contiguous footpath to run through fourteen states—a reality.Perkins appointed himself acting...
and in 1928, J.A. Allis became Treasurer.
In 1929, Perkins recruited Ned Anderson
Nestell Kipp Anderson
Nestell Kipp "Ned" Anderson was an American farmer who spearheaded Connecticut's leg of the Appalachian Trail, which currently runs for 50 miles through the northwest corner of the state...
to blaze the Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
leg of the trail. This section is a 50-mile stretch through the northwest corner of the state from Dog Tail Corners in Webatuck, NY to Bear Mountain
Bear Mountain (Connecticut)
Bear Mountain, is prominent peak of the southern Taconic Mountains. It lies within the town of Salisbury, Connecticut, in the United States, and is the highest mountain summit in the state of Connecticut. The highest point in the state, however, is located on the south slope of Mount Frissell to...
at the Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
border. Anderson worked dually as a section manager for both Connecticut Forest & Park Association
Connecticut Forest and Park Association
The Connecticut Forest and Park Association , established in 1895, is the oldest private, nonprofit conservation organization in Connecticut. The organization is credited as an important early pioneer of the national land conservation movement and as an early advocate of long distance trail building...
and the ATC. With his volunteers, he continued to maintain the trail until his retirement in 1948. Today, the trail is maintained by the Appalachian Mountain Club
Appalachian Mountain Club
The Appalachian Mountain Club is one of the United States' oldest outdoor groups. Created in 1876 to explore and preserve the White Mountains in New Hampshire, it has expanded throughout the northeastern U.S., with 12 chapters stretching from Maine to Washington, D.C...
.
The ATC is headquartered in Harpers Ferry
Harpers Ferry, West Virginia
Harpers Ferry is a historic town in Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States. In many books the town is called "Harper's Ferry" with an apostrophe....
, West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
. It is committed not only to trail maintenance and protection, but to education, science and awareness as well. The trail’s size, uniqueness and the environmental effects of it and on it can provide valuable insights and advances for science and ecology. The ATC currently has a MEGA-Transect scientific study underway, which will use data collected (species of flora, fauna, wildlife, weather/climate effects and more) to provide critical information toward preservation on a global scale. The Conservancy strives to heighten awareness via the “ATC’s Community Recognition Program” or “Trail Towns” program that recognizes and highlights the communities through which the trail’s 2,000 miles run. As well, the ATC’s “A Trail To Every Classroom” is a school program that utilized the trail to teach students about conservation, preservation, earth science and ecology.
Affiliated trail maintenance clubs
- Georgia Appalachian Trail ClubGeorgia Appalachian Trail ClubThe Georgia Appalachian Trail Club, Inc. is a non-profit organization that was organized in 1930 in Dahlonega, GA. Its membership consists of individual volunteers who share a love for the Appalachian Trail ....
- Nantahala Hiking Club
- Smoky Mountains Hiking Club
- Carolina Mountain Club
- Tennessee Eastman Hiking and Canoeing Club
- Mt. Rogers Appalachian Trail Club
- Piedmont Appalachian Trail Hikers
- Outdoor Club of Virginia Tech
- Roanoke Appalachian Trail Club
- Natural Bridge Appalachian Trail Club
- Tidewater Appalachian Trail Club
- Old Dominion Appalachian Trail Club
- Potomac Appalachian Trail ClubPotomac Appalachian Trail ClubThe Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, or ', is a volunteer organization that works to maintain hiking trails in the Washington D.C. area...
- Mountain Club of Maryland
- Cumberland Valley Appalachian Trail Club
- York Hiking Club
- Susquehanna Appalachian Trail Club
- Blue Mountain Eagle Climbing Club
- Allentown Hiking Club
- Philadelphia Trail Club
- AMC-Delaware Valley ChapterAppalachian Mountain ClubThe Appalachian Mountain Club is one of the United States' oldest outdoor groups. Created in 1876 to explore and preserve the White Mountains in New Hampshire, it has expanded throughout the northeastern U.S., with 12 chapters stretching from Maine to Washington, D.C...
- Batona Hiking Club
- Wilmington Trail Club
- New York - New Jersey Trail ConferenceNew York - New Jersey Trail ConferenceThe New York – New Jersey Trail Conference is a federation of approximately 10,000 individual members and about 100 member organizations...
- AMC-Connecticut ChapterAppalachian Mountain ClubThe Appalachian Mountain Club is one of the United States' oldest outdoor groups. Created in 1876 to explore and preserve the White Mountains in New Hampshire, it has expanded throughout the northeastern U.S., with 12 chapters stretching from Maine to Washington, D.C...
- AMC-Berkshire ChapterAppalachian Mountain ClubThe Appalachian Mountain Club is one of the United States' oldest outdoor groups. Created in 1876 to explore and preserve the White Mountains in New Hampshire, it has expanded throughout the northeastern U.S., with 12 chapters stretching from Maine to Washington, D.C...
- Green Mountain ClubGreen Mountain ClubThe Green Mountain Club is a non-profit membership organization dedicated to preserving and protecting Vermont's Long Trail - America's first long-distance hiking trail which stretches from Massachusetts to the Canadian border along Vermont's high ridgeline...
- Dartmouth Outing ClubDartmouth Outing ClubThe Dartmouth Outing Club is the oldest and largest collegiate outing club in the United States. Proposed in 1909 by Dartmouth College student Fred Harris to "stimulate interest in out-of-door winter sports", the club soon grew to encompass the College's year-round outdoor recreation and has had...
- Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC)Appalachian Mountain ClubThe Appalachian Mountain Club is one of the United States' oldest outdoor groups. Created in 1876 to explore and preserve the White Mountains in New Hampshire, it has expanded throughout the northeastern U.S., with 12 chapters stretching from Maine to Washington, D.C...
- Maine Appalachian Trail Club
External links
- Doris Tomaselli, author of NED ANDERSON: Connecticut’s Appalachian Trailblazer – Small Town Renaissance Man