The International Appalachian Trail/ Sentier International des Appalaches Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism Conference – Vancouver, BC October 29, 2008 David B. Jones, Ed. D.; CTRS Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies University of Southern Maine
The International Appalachian Trail/ S ti IInternational Sentier t ti l des d Appalaches A l h • The IAT/SIA stretches from the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail at Mount Katahdin, Maine to the northernmost tip of the Appalachians Mountains at Crow Head, Newfoundland & Labrador. • There are current plans to extend the IAT/SIA through northern Nova Scotia and across Cape Breton to connect with the Marine Atlantic ferry to Port aux Basques, Newfoundland.
The Impetus for IAT/SIA • Richard Anderson Anderson, former Maine’s Maine s Commissioner of Conservation, first envisioned the IAT/SIA. IAT/SIA • His vision to create a peaceful recreational means to unite the people of Canada and the United States was made during the gubernatorial campaign of Joseph Brennan.
Joe Brennan, Governor of Maine • “I am confident that this narrow trail connecting g the special wild places in each of our political jurisdictions will serve as a reminder that the mountains and the rivers and the forest are our real heritage, our common biological and geological g g bond. They y will outlast us all,, and it is up to us to see that their health and grandeur can be enjoyed by all the generations of humankind that follow us as inhabitants of this special corner of the Earth” (Brennan, J., Earth Day1994; Portland, ME).
Original IAT/SIA Design • Beginning idea – to connect the highest points of Maine, New Brunswick & Quebec – Mount Katahdin (5,268 (5 268 feet; 1 1,606 606 meters) – Mount Carlton (2,690 feet; 820 meters) – Mount Jacques-Cartier Jacques Cartier (4 (4,160 160 feet; 1 1,268 268 meters)
The Appalachians • Approximately 260 million years ago, drifting continental land masses collided g to form Pangea. g and merged • The Appalachian Mts. formed as a result p along g the margin g of this collision and uplift of the closing ancient continents. • 200 million y years ago, g forces deep p in the earth caused Pangea to break and disperse into the continents we see today.
IAT/SIA Long Long--term Goal • The long long-term term goal is to locate section of the IAT/SIA in all the terranes that were once the Appalachian Mountains of Pangea. A partial list reads as follows: * United States * Canada * Denmark * Greenland * Norway * Ireland * Scotland * England * France * Spain * Portugal * Algeria * Other West African Countries