North Star Vol. 15, No. 2 (1996)

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 47 Caledonia, Ml 49316

Spring Is one of the best times of the year to get In traH work, like In this 1994 SCA workshop In Michigan.

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NORTH STAR: The Newsletter of the North Country Trail Association, April-May 1996

NORTH STAR: the news letter of the

North Country Trail Association

COMMITTEES PAINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER

3777 Sparks SE, Suite 105 Grand Rapids, Ml 49546 Phone (616)975-0831 •FAX (616) 975-0957• Email: northsta@grfn.or Editor: Wes Boyd, 14815 Rome Road,, ManHou Beach, Ml 49253

Executive Director:

Awards: Odell Bjerkness Finance: Arden Johnson Headquarters Virginia Wunsch, Rt. 1, White Cloud Ml 49349 (616) 689-6876 Meetings: Martha Jones

(616) 452-4487

Membership: Kenneth Gackler

(616) 452-4487

Planning: Arden Johnson

Kim Bair, c/o National Park Service, 700 Rayovac Dr., Suite 100, Madison WI 53711 (608) 264-5610

Publications: Wes Boyd

Bob Papp, 3777 Sparks SE, #105, Grand Rapids Ml 49546

Office Manager: Claudia Day, 3777 Sparks SE, #105, Gra~d Rapids Ml 49546

Planning Assistant: National Park Service Administrator: Bill Menke, National Park Service, 700 Rayovac Dr., Suite 100, Madison WI 53711 (608) 264-5610

STATE COORDINATORS

OFFICERS President: Derek Blount, 906 N. Alexander, Royal Oak Ml 48067

(81 0) 548-1737

Vice President (Trails): Gaylord Yost, 2925 W. Bradley Rd., River Hills WI 53209

Pennsylvanla Donald Dorn

(218) 573-3858

Ohio Jim Sprague, 4406 Ma.Qlecrest, Parma OR 44129 (216) 884-4757

(517) 547-7402

Michigan (Lower) Arden Johnson

Secretary: Wes Boyd, 14815 Rome Road, Manitou Beach Ml 49253

Treasurer: Arden Johnson, 600 Tennyson, Rochester Hills, Ml 48307

(810) 853-0292

BOARD OF DIRECTORS TERMS EXPIRINGIN 1996 Howard Beye, 202 Colebourne Rd., Rochester NY 14609 16 12 Hans Erdman, 116 E. Rose P[:, Little Canada MN 55117 16 Kenneth Gackler, 113 Taos Nt:., Ada, Ml Tim Mueller, 625 Nichita Dr., Bismark ND 58504 01 Doug Welker, R1, Box 59A, Pelkie Ml 49958 ~ 06

W A B W G A

Odell Bjerkness R1 Box 221A, Ponsford, MN 56575 Chet Fromm, 1001 tompkins Dr., Port Orange, FL 32119 Emily Gregor, 6502 Olde York Rd.1.i;>arma Hls OH 44130 Pat Miller, ~1 Box 36A Washburn vvl Glenn Oster, 784 Olive St., Pittsburgh, PA 15237 Gaylord Yost, 2925 W. Bradley Rd., River Hills WI 53209

288-7191 482-1877 957-9751 265-7571 338-2680

D A

E

Derek Blount, 906 N. Alexander, Royal Oak Ml 48067 Wes Boyd, 14815 Rome Road, Manitou Beach Ml 49253 David Cornell, 514 Cordes Rd., Delton, Ml 49046 Elwood Ensor, 1304 Horison Dr.,i.,.Fairborn OH 43524-5816 Arden Johnson, 600 Tennyson, Hochester Hills, Ml 48307 John Leinen, Jr., 111 Quant Ct So Lakeland MN 55043 Harmon Strong, 76 Shellwood Dr, Rochester NY 14618

A B C D E F G H W

At-large representatives Represents Buckeye Trail Association (Appointed by BTA) East Central Region (OH) representative West Central Regi.on (Ml) representatives Eastern Region (NY, F>A) Representative Representsringer Lakes Trail Conference (Appointed by FLTC) General affiliate representative (Current appointment by AYH P1ttsburgh) Honorary representative Western region representatives

TERMS EXPIRINGIN 1997 218 904 216 715 412 414

567-3858 788-2232 884-0281 373-3735 364-2864 354-8987

TERMS EXPIRINGIN 1998

c D

A

Michigan (lJ.P.) Gene Elzinga, 12" Midale Island, Marquette Ml 49855 (906) 225-1704 Wisconsin Gaylord Yost

F A A A A

A

New York Howard Beye

(414) 354-8987

Vice President (Admln) Odell Bjerkness, Bad Medicine Lake, R1, Box 221A, Ponsford, MN 56575

Trail Management: Gaylord Yost

811548-1737 51 547-7402 616 623-8659 513 879-2068 810 853-0292 61 436-1795 716 586-3846

Minnesota Rod MacRae North Dakota Dale Anderson, RR1, Box 10, Oslo, MN, 56744 (218)965-4508 REGIONAL AFFILIATES New York: Finger Lakes Trail Conference, PO Box 18048, Rochester NY 14618-0048 Ohio: Buckeye Trail Association, PO Box 254, Worthington OH 43085 Pennsylvanla; AYH PittsburghCouncil, 5604 Solway, #202, Pittsburgh PA 15217 CHAPTER CHAIRS Headwaters: vacant NCT Hikers: Gene Elzinga (see above) Traverse City: Gregg Law, 1953 Lardie Rd Traverse City, Ml 49684 Western Michigan: Bill Van Zee 7744 Thornapple Bayou Dr. SE, Grand Rapids Ml, 49512

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NORTH STAR: The Newsletter of the North Country Trail Association, April-May 1996

THE MOOSE PLANTINGS in Michigan's Marquette County seem to be taking hold, the North Country Trail Hikers report in their Winter newsleter. John Frey reports in the newsletter with an encounter with two bull moose in Little Presque Isle Park, a city park. "With a burgenoning moose populkation in Marquette County, such encounters will likely become a more common experience,• he writes. "Moose are unafraid of humans and sometimes unpredictable in their behavior, so caution in their presence is always a good idea."

***

THE GERMANSHEPHERD that accompanied the first blind man to walk the entire 2,143 mile Appalachian Trail has stepped out of harness for the last time. Orient, the dog who guided his owner, Bill Irwin, retired in November. The 8year-old dog suffers from arthritis in his hip. "He'lljust lie around, eat and sleep," Irwin said. Orient accompanied Bill Irwin at the FLTC/ NCTAjoint meeting last August at Watson Homestead in Coopers Plain, NY.

siderablepubliclandin both state and national forests along the way, Menke feels that there's a good potential backup route to use if the Mesabi plan goes sour.

***

WITH WINTER'S

ICY

blast, certification activity has lagged, although on February 29, the National Park Service certified two segments of trail totaling 4.4 miles on City of Marquette, MI lands. The action brings the total certified mileage of the trail to 1298.8 miles. The Park Service's Bill Menke reports that several other sections await certification once spring arrives and the trail segments can be inspected.

***

WANTED - Donations of items for101auction at thejointice Age Park and Trail Foundation and North Count:ry Trail Association auction to be held in September at Hunt Hill Audubon Sanctuary, Spooner, WISCOnsin. Please drop a note to Gaylord Yost, P .0.

Box 1013, Milwaukee, WI 532011013 telling him what items you have to donate or would be willing to obtain from local businesses who mightbewillingtocontribute. The proceedsoftheauction will be used to help pay for the Conference expenses. Gaylord also needs volunteers to gather up the items. We need a substantial effort by members to obtain items for donation.

Gaylord'stelephonenumberis414354-8987.

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NOT ALL THE nominations have been made for the annual board of directors election yet, but expect a ballot in your mailbox before you get your next newsletter. Four positions on the board are up for renewal, one, an FLTC appoint'ment, has already been filled by thereappointmentoffiowardBeye.

That leaves three spots to be filled on the board. For one reason and another, the list of candidates isn't totally ready yet. Candidates have to be in place by the fall annual meeting in WISCOnsin. There are again thoughts of reconstituting how the board is made up.

***

THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Madison office reports that the way has been cleared to move ahead with the proposed "Arrowhead Route" relocation of the North Country Trail. A snag.has arisen in that the Mesabi hike/ bike trail, a Rail-Trail conversion what was to provide much of the western leg of the extension, is 'reportedly in deep trouble and may not get off the ground. However, Minnesota state officials are urging the Park Service to go ahead with the relocation anyway, Bill Menke reports. As there is a possible alternative route on the con-

New ExecutiveDirector named President's message: Spring Is here!

Letter: World walker thanks NCTA, FLTC Opinion: Keepingthe customers satisfied Annual conferenceto be Sept 6-9 T\No new north country books Mountainbikes, horses on the NCT Thoughts on NCNST use pollcy Trail systems around the world Charitablegiving to NCTA Lots of coming events

4 5 6 7 7 8 9 12 15 19 21

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NORTH STAR: The NewsletteroftbeNorth Country TraUAssociation, April"May 1996

Keyboard Trails by the Editor The deadline for the June-July issue of the Newsletter is June 1, 1995. Items received after that date cannot be assured of a place in the newsletter. Items received well before that date are much appreciated. The deadline for the August-September issue of the newsletter will be August 1, 1996.

Yes, the NCTA really does have a site on the World Wide Web: http://wwwIgrfn.org/-northsta Shortly after we got the web page established, the Grand Rapids Free Net started having trouble with their

Bob Papp named new NCTAExecutive Director

server, and I got a number of complaints about not being able to get on the page. We were getting ready to yank the page off there and take it somewhere else, when the problems seemed to clear up, so we decided to leave the page at GRFN for a while and see what happened. If the problems don't clear up pretty soon, then we'll make some serious investigation as moving the site, in spite ofits low cost in our tight budget situation. I'm sorry to have to apologize to those who have tried and failed to get on the site, but I hope things will go better in the future.

I haven't met our new executive director, Bob Papp, yet, but on thephoneheseemslikeaprettyniceguy. What with having to get his feet under him, and attending the National Trails Symposium only a few days after he started work, there was no point in bugging him about a column for the newsletter. Bob's got a lot to learn about the organization, the trail, and the national trail system and other organizations, but he's working hard at it.

The association owes a vote of thanks to the great job that Claudia Day has been doing as our office assistant, especially during the hiatus between directors. She's grabbed hold of a number of issues and worked hard on them. Working with Bob, we're going to have a powerful team up in our Grand Rapids office.

I note with a degree of amusement that the American Hiking Society is holding a contest to name the best trail towns in the U.S. Their criteria for a trail town is, "the top After an extensive search, 10 places to live based on the town's commitment to the Executive Council of the trails." I know that Marquette, MI, has been nominated, North Country Trail Associaand think it would be a good choice. However, I don't quite tion has hired Bob Papp of buy the AHS's definition of a trail town. A trail town, in Grand Rapids to be the new my definition, might not be the greatest place to live when NCTA Executive Director, reearning a living, but a place where hikers and other trail placing Pat Allen, who reusers are welcomed with open arms. A place where, when signed at the first of the year a hiker wanders into a restaurant after a week on the to become the Executive Ditrail, the waitress tells the cook without asking to heap rector of the Michigan the spuds extra high; she doesn't look at the hiker with an Children's Trust Fund. attitude of "What's this bum doing in here?" It's the kind Papp started work in his of place where the grubby, smelly, unshaven hiker can be "new position on March 1, and accompanied NCTA President Derek Blount to the . walking down the main drag, and someone offers them a beer and a shower. Now, that's a trail town.

Partnership for National Trails meeting and the NaA trail town should also have a ring to it -- a name tional Trails Symposium in Washington shortly afterwhose sound to. the hiker or outdoors person immediately ward, as a way to get exposed to some of the issues he makes them think of backcountry wilderness, of adven-. will be facing in his new job. ture and beauty and wonder. Say the namein a crowded Papp comes to the Trail Association from a position . room in a crowded job, and immediately your mind takes as Coordinator of Grand. Rapid's Blandford Nature you far away to another place and time.

Center, where he managed the business activity and Which leads me to the thought that not yet, but development of this public recreational facility. Among someday, we'll have the greatest trail town of them all his items in his background is experience with managing organizational merchandising items, and he's exalong the NCT. Come, my friends, is there a town in the country whose name rings more of backcountry promise pected to give the North Country Trail Shop a boost, and wonder than Ely, Minnesota, the traditional jumpalong with seeking grants and other financial assising-off point for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area? tance for the association.

Ely is not yet on the NCT, but if the "Arrowhead He has also served as the county naturalist for Lee County, Iowa, where he provided environmental proRoute" relocation in Minnesota goes through, it'll be right grams to children and adults at various parks. A graduin the path of the trail that will have to be built west of the ate of Carleton College in Northfield, Minn., he has done Kekebabic to join with the route southwestward, along graduate work at the University of Wisconsin, Indiana the Mesabi or through the Superior National Forest.

University and the University of Michigan.

Now, that's going to be a trail town!

NORTH STAR: The Newsletter of the North Country Trail AssOciation, April-May'1996

At last the snow is melting. Spring has arrived.

With that comes the inevitable trail maintenance crews who go out and wreak havoc on deadfalls and new spring growth. They rush around trying to complete their work before the onslaught of hoards of buzzing gnats, flies, and mosquitos. Ah ... another spring.

Does anyone out there wonder how many volunteer hours are spent on the National Trail System? I recently saw the figures and was astounded by the numbers. 369,941 volunteer hours were logged on the trails last year. That equated to $4,262,093 in estimated value given to the system. The hours were probably under-reported, as well. In addition $2,754,934 in private money was spent by the nonprofits on the trails effort. Of the 37 ,654 authorized miles, we have grown from 14,824 in, 1991 to 18,992 in 1995. That's a pretty substantial; gain. The nonprofits have made a very large contriobution to the trails legacy in America. Every one of you as members of the NCTA have taken a part in this effort.

Your membership dues and donations are part of that $2.7 million dollars. Your volunteer trail crews, committee service hours and administrative hours add to that $4.2 million in support. Thanks a million.

Thanks for making it $7 million. These numbers are growing every year and you 're part of making it happen.

As some of you may know, Pat Allen, our Executive Director for the past couple of years has resigned to take a position in Michigan State Government as Interim Director for the Michigan State Children's Fund. We wish her all the best. Thanks, Pat, for giving so much of yourself to the NCTA. She will be staying on as a member and will remain active. This leads me to tell you about the man who will follow in her footsteps. Bob Papp was previously Coordinator of the Blandford Nature Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He comes with skills in financial management, planning and project coordination, computer systems, personnel management, communications and public contact. He will be a great asset to the NCTA. I got to know Bob during the National Trail Symposium and found that we had more than we had expected in an executive director. He picked up on issues very quickly and gave as much as he received in the many sessions we attended. I received many compliments on his interaction by numerous attendees. We can look forward to a great period of growth for the NCTA under Bob's guidance.

With spring comes the inevitable Congressional budget struggle. Yeah, I know they haven't finished the last one. That won't stop them from starting another round ofbudget talks. So where does the National Trail System and the North Country Trail fit in to all this

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mess? Well, as usual, we're not sure. I was in Washington recently for the National Trail Symposium and heard many interesting things. It will appear that the National Trails funding level will probably remain at its FY '95 level for FY '97. All eleven of the Congressional offices I visited were supportive of the trails. That is good and bad news. First, it's good that funding is not being cut from the System, but yet we are losing against two years ofinflation and rising costs. The current level of funding is still not certian until a budget package is passed and signed into law.

Another issue is quickly coming to a head. We are rapidly approaching the point at which all public lands within the NCT corridor are developed. As a result, we recently had a meeting with National Park Service personnel regarding our request for assistance in regards to private lands. We were seeking assistance from the NPS in apprasials, mapping, surveying, negotiating easments, land transfers, and land purchase. Our meeting was with Tom Gilbert and Bill Menke from the Madison, Wisconsin office. Fred Suarez from the Omaha office, Tom Ross from the Washington office and Don King from the Appalachian Land Acquisition office. We found during the meeting that the NPS cannot help out trail, as well as eight other national trails, since we do not have any land acquisition authority designated by Congress. With close to 1,800 miles of private land to cover, this is going to bea monumentaljob. You may find a letter in your mailbox later this year asking you to help us in this endeavor. If you care about our trail please try to help in any way that you can.

A new book has been published about the National Trail System. The title is "Trails Across America", written by Arthur and Marjorie Miller. Thanks to the Millers, the National Trail System is finally on the bookshelves of America. By the way, they're members of the NCTA. Those of you who have attended the NCTA Conferences may have met and talked with them. They have written a substantial section on the NCT. This book will be available shortly through our Trail Shop.

Look for our Trail Shop brochure to come to your mailbox soon. Thanks, Art and Marjorie, for the great book.

The Partnership for the National Trail Systems met in Washington and decided to set two project for the next year. First, a major Web page will be prepared by Backpacker Magazine for the National Trail System.

There will also be a "hot link" to our own Web Page where information about our trail will reside. Our page will have the entire NCT slide show as well as listings of trail crew activities, hikes and trail events. It will be dynamic and kept up to date by our office staff. If you haveeventscomingup,pleaseletthemknowandwecan update the Web page.

Second, an education cirriculum package about the National Trail System will be created and distributed to every school in America. It will include historical, cultural, geographic, geologic, flora and fauna. It will tie all of America together and help generate another generation of trail constituents.

Nufffor now ... Happy Trails!

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NORTH STAR: The Newsletter of the North Country Trail Association, April-May 1996

North Country Trail Association/ Ice Age Park & Trail Foundation

Joint Conference Planned for Sept 6-9 A planning team began work in November for the joint Ice Age Park and Trail Foundation and North Country Trail Association conference to be held Sept.6-9 at the Hunt Hill Augubon Sanctuary. The Sanctuary is located about four miles east of Sarona, Wisconsin, and 12 miles south of Spooner. The site was chosen for its close proximity to both the Ice Age and North Country National Scenic Trails, which will allow good access for outings.

'The Hunt Hill Sanctuary is one of Wisconsin's bestkept sectets. Hunt Hill is an environmental learning center managed by the Friends of Hunt Hill, and owned by the National Audubon Society. Nestled in the wooded, rolling hills of Washburn County, the Sanctuary offers 500 acres of mature hardwood forest, peppered with groves of ancient white pines, meadows, whispering with grasses and wildflowers, black spruce and tamarack bogs, surrounding two pristine, glacial lakes. The diverse habitats support many plans and animals which have disappeared from other areas due to habitat deteroiration and fragmentation. 'Theundisturbed aquatic and terrestial communities support many osprey, bald eagles, common loons, and other rare animals and plants. A channel connects the glacial lakes on the property with Big Devil lake to the northwest. A network of trails wind throughout the grounds and provide excellent opportunities to study the flora and fauna, experience the tranquility of the sanctuary, and enjoy the companionship of other hikers and nature lovers.

'The facilities consist of a unique cedar barn which houses a dining hall; a gift shop, which offers books, stationary, handcrafted and nature oriented gifts, Tshirts and sweatshirts; a loft used for scientific studies, crafts, dances, meeting! and a large, modern kitchen. Two one-story wooden residential facilities offer restic country charm for conference participants. The Long Dorm features four spacious wings, each housing six to 14 persons.

Each dorm offers bathrooms, with sink and toilets. A modern showerhouse is just across a small courtyard.

Classes and meetings will be held in the beautiful Lodge-Library, where field guides and nature-oriented books are available for use during your visit. The water front provides swimming, canoeing, fishing, a "floating classroom" pontoon boat and a quiet place to observe waterbirds or turtles. Hunt Hill is reknown for its wholesome, delicious meals prepared from "scratch" foods to promote a healthy lifestyle. Locally grown, organic produce is served whenever possible. Dietary restrictions are easily accomodated. ' 'The planning team, lead by Pete Budde and Gaylord Yost, met with Sanctuary Director. Christine Turnbul!iin November for a tour of the facility before settling doWn: to talking over individual responsibilities and the confer-

ence agenca. Other team members included Kathy Bero, Adam Cahow, Steve Clark, Tracy Hamley, Rick Magyar, and Bill Stokes for the Ice Age Foundation, and Kim Bair, Patrick Nelson and George Tresnak for the North Country Trail Association, and Susan Nelson from the US Forest Service. NCTA Director Pat Miller is also part of the team, but was not able to make the meeting.

A second meeting is schedule for January 13 at Stevens Point, WISCOnsin, to continue the planning and efforts needed to make the conference an interesting and fun event for both organization's members. Watch for further news. Early registration information will be published later in the spring.

World walker gives thanks I wanted to simply let you know that I am stiH carrying a big smile on my heart from my visit to the FLT and NCNST joint conference last weekend.

Everyone I met was exceptionally kind and thoughtful. I think you have a lot to be proud of. The attendees, along with the beautiful New York scenery, made the visit to your part of America a fun experience for Darci and me. I saw a lot of caring and concern in the eyes of those attending the conference, and they inspired me more than ever to help promote my state's hiking trails.

My visit to Watson Homestead was one of the highlights of my 1995 speaking schedule. I'm so glad you worked so hard to get me to the conference. I hope dearly that by accepting the invitation I was able to inspire many to realize that taking an active part in life is the best way to grow, and that any of us is capable of realizing our dreams -- no matter how big and crazy -- if we can remember to be positive, determined, patient, creative, hard-working, respectful and not fearful of criticism.

May the years ahead find you continuing to be such a friend to the outdoors. God willing, perhaps someday I will be lucky enough to again find you somewhere along the path of my life.

All the best Steven Newman Editor's note: Newman, who walked solo around the world, was one of two featured speakers at the 1995 Annual Meeting. This letter was foruiarded to us from the FLTC's.Ed Sidote.

NORTH STAR: The Newsletter of the North Country Trail Association, April-May 1996

Keeping the customers satisfied

by FLTC President Stephanie Spittal At the last FLTC Board of Managers meeting, (or somewhere) there was a brief, peripheral discussion !lbout a club that was considering buying the kind of infrared beam counter that is placed across game trails to count animals going by. The club wants to get a better idea of who is using their trails; what sort of folks are really their customers, potential numbers, potential helpers. Great idea, though I'm not sure a counter is the best way to go about it. A scan of trail register books gives a pretty good picture, and I tend to stand and read the trail registers I come to while hiking, not just the ones from my own section.

So who's out there hiking the Finger Lakes Trail?

Hunters are. Now, as I write, it's bow season for deer, and I can count on walking past several camouflage-clad folks as I hike. (Everybody has heard about t~e t~e I took a brief bush break and checked every direction except up, only to realixe -- when I heard embareassedgiggl.es--thatahunterwasinthetreeabove me.) H~nters use the trail as access to stands, as easy routes m and out, and usually only use a short section.

Day hikers are. There are register entries from local folk who use a section to walk dogs, or to get their own fitness walk in. Sometimes they mention using a road edge or a logging track to make a loop. There are also club members on hikes along the FLT, with cars at each end. Smaller groups, families or friends, get organized and do car shuttles, too.

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End-to-enders are. The majority of FLT end-toenders did the distance in segments, some as short ove~ght trips or a weekend or a week, some in longer outings over the years. Quite a few did the entire route as day hikes.

Bikers are. They may not be welcomed by many co~erence members, but they're there, and not only using the trail, but helping out, providing muscle and money for trail improvements on some sections.

One thing that seems very clear in trail use patterns is that most use is short term, a day hike or less.

What I think this means to the conference is that leantos and campsites might be less important that some other features, like marked loops, that allow people to do five or six miles of interesting walking and end up at their start point without having to arrange car pools. It means that quality is more important than quantity in terms of milesage. Since few folks are planning to hike the 550 in one through shot, or even a significant chunk at once, adding distance to walk beside a stream, or even through a pleasnt woods, makes sense. If you 're only out for the afternoon, you go for aesthetics, not distance, or !lt least I do. The information on trail use might even be mterpreted to mean that the heavy use sections -around parks, or with really special features -- that people come back to time and time again, probably should be the sections we really concentrate on. If some of the more remote a~ tum into linking road walks, will anyone really miss the brushy field edge that was lost?

The other noteworthy thing to be learned is how many people turn out for mass group hikes. The "across counties: series, started by Ed Sidote several years ago, has consistently turned out groups numbering from 30 to 90 people, in all sorts of weather. The three official conference hikes, however, are really lucky to draw 10 folks, and I hear it's often the same for hikes that member clubs schedule. What's the lesson in this?

Maybe people do want a goal. Maybe the notion of a big chunk of trail completed is a draw. Does this mean that the conference should forego the three conference hikes and concentrate on the series that pulls in the crowds?

There's no reason thatacross-countryhikecan'talso be a Wallace Wood or Erv Markert Memorial hike is the!9? ~tter yet, why not decide to sponsor a long-hike senes m your area, and get the publicity, the new members, and the fired-up sponsors for the benefit of the club, as well as the conference?

Identifying trail conference customers and better meeting their needs, is a constant challenge. Meeting that challenge may mean changing some of the traditions of the conference. What are some of the other ways we can get better? Read the trail registers; see what our customers want.

E_ditor's. note: This President's message, taken from the winter Finger Lakes Trail News, contains much food for ~hought for everywhere along the North Country Trail. I would note, though, that trail registers don't tell the whole story; we recently reported on a project using pressure-plate measurements that showed that less than one in five trail users sign trail registers. -- WB

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NORTH STAR: The Newsletterofthe

North Country Trail Association, April-May 1996

Book review:

Tuo new books highlight different north countryareas Two new books have recently come on the market that concern the north counhy-- one, on the Finger Lakes Trail, and the other on Michigan's upper peninsula. Both make interesting reading.

Go West, Old Man: Forty~FiveDays on the FLT,

by James E. DeWan), self-published (Available from North Country Trail Store, $10.00).

Ed Sidote is a familiar contributor to the pages of the North Star, andisaformermemberoftheNorth Country Trail Association's Board of directors. In recent years, he's become interested in the growing number of end-toenders of the 500-mile plus Finger Lakes Trail, and we've published a number of reports of these excursions that he's provided to us. Ed's interest is special, in that he's one of the first end-to-enders, and he tipped us off about this book.

One of the more recent end-to-enders is James E. DeWan, who in 1993becameoneoftheselectgroupofFLT thruhikers, spending 45 days on the trail. DeWan carried a tape recorder with him, and carefully recorded his experiences, and then detailed them in this carefullyprepared self-published book that recounts his experiences. There has yet to be published an account of a long hike on the North Country Trail that goes into the detail that this delightful book does. As an example: "I had left my cookpot on the fireplace overnight and this morning there was skim ice on it. Cold, but the sky was clear and the sun was coming up. Directly in front of the lean to by about 200 yards, the morning sun bounced off of the wall of spring green, the immediate ridge to the west, a breathtaking sight that! drank in with all my senses.

'The beauty and solitude of this place still visits me.

"As pretty as this ridge was, I still had to go over the top, and it was steep, as a look at the topo will verify. I was on the trail at 8:00 AM, with my goal Shindagin Leanto, a hike of about lOmiles.IsooncrossedRt. 79, turned right on the road, over the West Branch of Owego Creek, then left off the road and back on the trail. This was the exact spot that Mazy left me a message the previous evening.

'They were trying to find me and guessed the location and time pretty close (with some help from Ed Sidote), but I was holed up in Kimmie, and even though John walked back up the trail a couple of miles, he did not realize the leanto was down a spur trail ...

Not only a good book for those seeking field information on the FLT, Go West Old Man also reflects a lot of delight with the whole experience. It's a .good read for North Country Trail enthusiasts.

The Superior Peninsula: Seasons in the Upper Peninsula of Mkhigan by Lon L. Emerick, Ph.D., (North Country, 355 Heidtman Rd., Skandia, MI 49885), $17.95) The Superior Peninsula is not about the North Country Trail, per se, but is a loving look at some of the finest of the north country that the trail passes through, Michigan's upper peninsula, by a long-time resident of the area who's a serious walker who has hiked many miles of the trail in the area, and reflects his woodland experiences on and off the trail.

Lon L. Emerick, Ph.D. writes and publishes about nature and shares his passion for all things wild. In a prior lifetime, Dr. Emerick was a professor of speech pathology at Northern Michigan University and Northern Arizona University. He is the author of several textbooks and numerous professional articles.

Emerick has lived in his native valley in the upper peninsula for more than 30 years. His Cornish ancestors came to the region in the mid-1800s to mine coppor ore in theKeewanaw Peninsula. Emerickresidesin West Branch Township, Marquette County, with his wife, Lynn, surrounded by the woods and waters of which he writes.

From The Superior Peninsula: "ThesunedgedovertherimofLakeSuperior,spreading a glow of pale gold upon the water. Far below me, Middle Island and Partridge Island, dark and brooding, seemed to sail on the smooth, glistening surface. I was stationed atop Sugar Loaf Mountain, a tall granit knob north oftown, observingtheannualJuneritual: greeting the summer solstice, the day of the longest light. As I watched the lake turn its usual deep blue and felt the subtle warmth of the sun's early morning rays, a line of one of Emily Dickenson's poems ran through my mind, 'Oh, sacrement of summer days.'"

Join a long-time lover of the "U.P." as he explores abandoned gold mines and ghost towns. Saunter down old woods roads. Take a hike on the Bay de Noc-Grand Island pathway. Visit winter waterfalls and enjoy a pasty picnic on a remote hillside as spring arrives.

Emerick's book provides a delightful read that will delight all who have lived in such a place -- and those who wish they could.

A new book has been published about the National Trail System. The title is "Trails Across America", written by Arthur and Marjorie Miller. This book will be available shortly through our Trail Shop. We've not had a chance to review it, but hope to in the next newsletter.

NORTH STAR: The Newsletter of the North Country Trail Association, April-May 1996

Page 9

MountainBikes and Horses: North CountryNST Acceptable Use Policy

by Tom Gilbert, Superintendent, North Country National Scenic Trail During the last several years, the growing popularity of mountain biking has led to increased bicycle use of the NCNST. This increased use, and to a lesser extent, increased horse use has resulted in increasing conflicts with the trail's principal intended user group: those who travel on foot. It has impaired the quality of their experience and frequently threatens their safety. The bicycle and horse use has also resulted in trail and natural resource damage.

The resultant controversy has escalated to occasional confrontations between hikers and other users, particularly on portions where the bike and horse use are heaviest. As the overall administering agency for the NCNST, we believe it is our responsbiility to communicate our concersabout this matter. We are concered about the current situation for two reasons: (1) On segments where bicycle and horse use have been allowed, the volume of use is increasing, in some cases dramatically, leading to impacts on hiker's experience, their safety, trail tread condition, and natural and cultural resources.

(2) Recently, some certified segments of the trail which previously had been open only to foot traffic have been opened to one or both of these additional activities.

With limited exceptions, opening additional segments of the trail to bicycle and horse use or allowing such use to build to the levels that creat the impacts mentioned in point 1 is contrary to the use policy contained in the 1982 comprehensive plan. We urge limiting the expansion of such uses onto other foot trail segments so that the issue does not become larger and more widespread, and encourage the consideration of ways to resolve or better manage this issue where such use has already been permitted. If the level of mountain bike and horse use increases and becomes more widespread, any potential resolution of the issue at a later time will only become more difficult.

The Comprehensive Plan for Management and Use of The North Country Trail was completed in September 1982. The management policy regarding the use of the trail, including nonmotorized multiple use in addition to walking/hiking, is on page 28. It is important to take this opportunity to reiterate and explain this management policy of existing segments of the trail. It reads as follows: All segments of the North Country NST shall be open to travel by foot, i.e., hiking and backpacking. Other nonmotorized uses, includingbieycling, ho-rseback riding, cross-oountry skiing, showshoeingandjogging, may bepennittedonagWen, segment according to the desires and policiee of the~ ment authority responsible for this segment.

Multiple use of the trail for activities other than hiking, those which can takeplace during the same season and I or those which t:ake place during other seasons of the year, should be considered. A managing authority responsible for a relatively short segment of the trail should consider the uses permitted on adjacent segments of the trail and consult with the responsible managing authority when considering additional uses on its own segment.

Uses other than hiking should be permitted~ if the activity will not cause significant deterioration of the trail and surrounding environment and the activity can be safely accommodated, i.e., the trail is constructed according to accepted standards for that activity.

Some have interpreted the first two statements to mean that NPS encourages as much multiple use as possible -- that having the entire North Country Trail open to all nonmotorized uses would be the Service's ideal. That is absolutely incorrect. As the author of the Service's plan for the North Country NST, I can clearly state that this was not the intent. The first two statements must be interpreted in context with the third.

Rather than encouraging as much multiple use as possible, the policies convey our position that the North Country Trail, like the Appalachian Trail, is primarily intended to be a hiking trail. However, recognizing that the route of the North Country Trail incorporates many existing trails, and will on]y exist through the voluntary cooperation ofothers who see the trail as a help to meeting their own objectives, we left the decision of permitting other nonmotorized uses to local managing authorities.

Neoerthelese; we cautioned against permitting other uses which mighl physically damage trail resoureeeor which the trail 1.Da8 not safely designed to accommodate, including safety of the primary users -- hikers. The mention of bicycling as a nonmotorized activity which might be permitted by a local managing authority was primarily intended to accommodate existing or future rail-trail segments. No thought was given to specifically permitting or encouraging bicycle use of what we anticipated would be, in most cases, a simple footpath.

In fact, the plan was finalized and published as the first "mountain bikes" were hitting the market. Bicycle use of simple footpath segments of the North Country NSTwas not contemplat.ed, and certainly not intended, as we prepared the management policies presented in the plan.

Therefore, it would be entirely incorrect t.o ever suggest that the NPS comprehensive plan either encourages or condones bicycle use of simple footpath ("single track trail") segments.

Similarly, horses were considered t.o be a minor use - occurring primarily on already developed trail that the North Country Trail might follow -- such as the Shore t.o

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NORTH STAR: The Newsletter of the North Country Trail Association,

Shore Riding and Hiking Trail in Michigan, some railtrail segments, and a few other hardened trail segments.

It was never intended that they be permitted on the typical woods and field footpath segments, most of which lie on sandy, organic or occasionally wet soil which cannot handle horse traffic without significant trail tread and resource deterioration.

We do not believe that Congress intended the North Country Trail to be a "wildernes.s" trail. At the same time, the legislative history of the National Trails System indicates that national scenic trails are intended to be patterned after the Appalachian Trail (AT) which became the first NST. One central feature of the AT is that it is intended to be primarily a hiking trail. In harmony with this, both NPS and U.S. Forest Service have closed their segments of the AT, which comprise over 80 percent of the entire trail, to bicycle and horse use.

We believe that Congress intended that the North Country Trail be developed and managed primarily as a foot-travel-only trail (includes skiing, snowshoeing, etc.), except in those locations where other forms of'nonmotorized use, such as bicycling and horseback riding are compatible with the hiking experience, where the trail has already been constructed to safely accommodate such use, and where the natural resource base can support such use without damage. Generally this will be along railtrail segments or other areas such as canal towpaths, where there is adequate gravel subgrade to support such use.

The concerns over bicycle use revolve around three main issues -- the effect ofbicycle use on hiker experience, dangers to the safety of hikers caused by the differences in speed between the two users, and unacceptable resource impacts caused by bicycles. There are growing numbers of reports from hikers/walkers on footpath type trails and trail segments that the mechanized trail user going by on a "mountain bike" is viewed as an intrusion on their experience and solitude. This concern is most prominent on the more remote sections of the trail, those which offer solitude and are more likely to be mere narrow footpaths. Solitude, however, is not the only concern.

Hikers are concerned about their safety. Bicycles travel significantly faster than hikers, yet can be quite silent in their approach. Hikers have reported their feelings of endangerment when they suddenly realized that bicycles were approaching from behind at great speed. Many have reported how they have had to move quickly off the trail and out of the path of the bicyclist. The fact that speed, especially downhill, is an important part of the mountain bikers' experience is evident from their own testimony and reports in mountain bike club publications. It seems obvious that there are fundamental differences between the two experiences and the reasons for which they are pursued. The resource impacts of bicycles on unhardened footpaths (the vast majority of the trail) are also different and greater. Investigation of sections where bicycle use is considerable shows that bicyclist tend to ride around waterbars, thus widening the trail. Loosening of the trail tread occurs on uphill and downhill portions, accelerating erosion. Trail tread insandy soils is churned up even on level stretches, making it unpleasant for hikers, to say the least The concern over horse use is primarily focused on

April-May

1996

the hiker experience and unacceptable resource impacts.

Horses are more readily accepted by hikers in terms of impacts on their experience. However, horses can cause more and quicker damage to the trail tread than bicycles and create either muddy conditions or loose sandy conditions -- depending on the soils that are present. Both resultant trail conditions degrade hiker experience because they make for unpleasant, difficult hiking. Horses also damage trail structures such as steps, waterbars, etc., built to meet the needs of hikers and withstand their use. When horses cannot cross small bridges over streams or wetlands, they wade through these sensitive riparian areas causing degradation to the water resource. The soil types over which the majority of the trail passes in the midwestern and eastern states, tend to be wet or sandy and are easily damaged by horses.

The 1982 comprehensive plan recognized that as the trail grew in stature and became better known, more uniformity in management would be desirable and necessary. During the 13 years since the plan was published, the North Country Trail has without doubt grown in stature. Experience gained during this period has raised the level of understanding of what actions are necessary to create and maintain a premier trail. Consideration has been given to the need to revise the plan to incorporate theseevolvingunderstandingsandotherphysicalchanges that have taken place over the years. However, we do not now have sufficient staff and financial resources to do so.

However, ifwe were rewriting the plan today, experience tells us that we should at lease propose a more explicit and restrictive policy regarding nonmotorized uses other than hiking and walking. That proposed policy might be along the lines of the following expres.sion of our current philosophy about such uses: We believe that: bicycling is best accomodated as a use on the North Country NST on roil-trail segments and on other short sections of h.arden&d surface (1) specifically designedforwheeledvehicles,wherebikeswillnotdamage natural or trail resources; (2) that are parts of previously established multiple use trails that: become part of the North Country Trail route; (3) where bicycles can be physically restricted to the designated section, and (4) where bicycle use will not adversely affect the recreational experience of hikers. These conditions generally are not found on the typical, single-track forested and rural segments of the North Country Trail.

We believe that: horse use is best accommodated on the North Country NST on those segments of trail which have been specifically designedand.hardened to withst:and such use. These conditions generally are not found on the typical, single-track, forested and rural segments of the North Country Trail. Additionally, horse use is perhaps an acceptable use on most trail segments within the prairies and grasslands of North Dakota and western Minnesota, where the character of the North Country NST changes from primarily a wooded experience to primarily a prairie (big sky l experience,passing through many miles offarms, ranches and grasslands. Here, the flavor of the trail is more "western" than "eastern" and the dryer soils are more forgiving of horse traffic than in wetter, forested areas. In

NORTH STAR: The Newsletter of the North Country Trail Association, April-May 1996

these areas, there may also be opportunities to establish parallel hiking and horse trails, such as along the McCluskey and New Rockford canals - horses on the old access road and hikers on a foot trail within the boundary of the canal right-of-way.

While this statement outlines where we believe bicycle and horse use is appropriate, it should not be construed as advocating hardening of existing or new segments of the trail to accommodate such use. Some would say that we can mitigate any unacceptable resource impacts caused by bicycles or horses by hardening the trail. However, this overlooks impacts on hiker experience and safety, and thefuctthatextensivehardeningoftrail segments affects the appearance and environment of the trail, having further impacts on the hiker experienoo.

As managers of natural, cultural, and recreational resources, we have responsibilities to manage these resources in ways that preserve and protect their values.

We believe our first responsibility must be to care for the land. We must also manage our recreational resources, such as trails, in ways that preserve and maintain the

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experiences these resources were established to provide.

Inaddition to the purpose for which the North Countzy NST was established, consideration must be given to the thousands of hours of toil and sweat that hikers have invested in establishing and maintaining the trail, generally with the understanding that they would primari]y be experiencing the trail with other walkers/hikers.In places where thisissueofmountainbikeandhorseuseisunderdebat.e, the ultimat.e tragedy, we believe, would be an outcome in which the hikers are displaced by the volume or patt.em of mountain bike use, or the trail det.erioration attributable to bike and horse use, and find themselves having to relocat.e and build again a trail that provides the kind of experience they are seeking. It is our firm conviction that to face the bicycle and horse issue now, and embark on a course toward eventual resolution, is in the best long-term int.erests of the trail, the users, and the surrounding natural resources.

-Editor's note: This statement ofpolicy was extracted from a letter by Gilbert to all managing authorities of segments of the North Country Trail. The following is background documention to this policy.

-- WB

MountainBikes and Horses on the NCNST

By Bill Menke and Tom Gilbert, NPS

Introduction: Mountain Bikes During the last several years, the growing popularity of mountain biking has led to increased bicycle use of the North Country National Scenic Trail. This increased level of mountain bike use, and, to a lesser extent, increased horse use on portions of the North Country NST has resulted in increasing conflicts with the tmil's principal intended user group: those who travel on foot walkers and hikers. It has impaired the quality of their experience and frequently threatens their safety. Bicycleuse has. also resulted in trail and natural 1'030Uroo damage.

'The incompatibility is primarily caused by the differences in speeds between the two modes of transportation.

Some of the major complaints focus on the high rates of bike speed and how the hikers have to jump off the trail to avoid being hit by bikers. Experience in some locations has demonstrated that certain levels of bike use result in displacementofhikersfrom the trail. Wherethishappens on the North Country NST, we have not only a conflict between two groups of users, but a conflict with the vezy purpose for which the trail was established, and we are receiving increasing complaints.

When we visit various parts of the North Countzy Trail in our administrative capacity, we observe various amounts of mountain bike usage and corresponding amounts of user conflict and related safety concerns, and also varying amounts of trail and resource damage. 'The degree of conflict and damage depends on whether organized groups or large numbers ofbikers have "discovered"

the trail, and the degree to which they are promoting it in their newsletters, etc. Obviously resource damage also depends on soil conditions. After only one or two bikes haye gone down the trail, their tire track is providing an uninterrupted downhill course for water flow, and erosion is beginning. In a place like the Huron-Manistee National Forest, where bike use is heavy and soils are light, we see a high degree of resource impact in many areas. Some areas of the trail passing through sandy soil now consist of six to ten foot widths of multi-braided trail with loose sand. In other areas, the trail is up to 12 inches deep and the soils are being transported down the trail. Roots are exposed and lead to tripping hazards. These conditions create poor walking conditions, unsightly views, and a degraded hiker experienoo. Where the soils are a little heavier, the trail is "beat" to the point that there is not a leaf, twig or acorn on the surface at the end of the summer season. Waterbars are being bypassed and the trail is moving laterally from its designed location.

Horses Degradation of hiker experienoo and resource damage caused by horseback riding on the trail is also occurring. However, this is much less widespread than the negative effects caused by mountain bike use. Ohio has a fairly large number of horse proponents and some segments of the trail, such as East Fork State Park, are heavily used: In the heavier soils where the trail is located, the horses sink into the ground, the hoof prints hold water, large mud holes develop, the trail widens as riders tzy to skirt the deep areas, and eventually much of the resultant mud slides down the hill. The soils are such that they cannot sustain horse traffic and resource dam-

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NORTH STAR: The Newsletter of the North Country Trail Association, April-May

age is severe in some locations.

In Michigan, a currently certified portion of the North Country Trail follows what is known as the Michigan Shore to Shore Riding and Hiking Trail (STS). This trail was developed primarily by and for horseback riders.

Along the STS, the soils are very sandy and easily damaged. Water soaks into the soil rapidly, but when surface runoff does occur, the soil is easily eroded and results in sand deposition in nearby depressions, water courses, and eventually in the streams. In the more heavily used areas, the trail has evolved into something that is more like a six to ten foot trough, approximately six to twelve inches deep, with a tread resembling loose beach sand.

This condition makes for very tiring, unpleasant walking.

Where it is less used by horses, the trail is narrower but still deeply incised into the soil. The local chapter of the North Country Trail Association (NCTA) is currently investigating the feasibility of moving parts of the North Country Trail off the STS to get away from some of the horse damaged areas.

Background Mountain Biking In the late 1970's, a California cyclist modified an old bicycle to facilitate its use on mountain trails. The "mountain bike" was born. At first, use grew slowly and was most prevalent in California. According to the International Mountain Biking Association (IMBA) -- "in 1982, a total of200,000mountain bikes were in use in the United State. By the end of 1993, this total approached 30 million." Today, approximately 90 percent of bicycle sales are mountain bikes or mountain bike hybrids.

Along with the growth in sales came a tremendous growth in individuals seeking places to ride. Clubs were formed for social and advocacy purposes. As an example, IMBA now has about 200 member clubs throughout the nation. Their purpose is to "promote mountain bicycling opportunities through environmentally and socially responsible use of land". These clubs often secure part of their funding from the bicycle industry that includes not only the bicycle manufacturers, but also the related gear and apparel manufacturers. The mountain bike clubs and IMBA are well organized and financed and determined to secure their place in the outdoors. Mountain bicycling is big business.

Like all of the other new recreation demands that have arisen in the past, mountain bikers are demanding locations to accommodate their sport. "Single track" trails are the preferred riding location and are much sought after. This demand is causing an increasing level of user conflict and safety concerns and resource damage to what have traditionally been hiking trails and their surrounding resources. While IMBA urges responsible use and encourages its members to participate in trail maintenance, there seem to be few places where the response to this call is very strong. Even where it is heeded, the positive response does not necessarily outweigh the negative impacts on the user experience and the quality of the trail resource.

1996

Horses Horses have been an important part of North America's history for as long as we can recall. Early native Americans, especially in the western part of what is now the United States are well known for their domesticated horses and their prowess as riders. Early Spanish explorers, coming north from Central America, were often on horses. Until relative recent times, horses have played an important role in transporting people and goods throughout our nation. They provided the power of agriculture and industry. During the last 50 years, horses have been supplanted by tractors and other machines, and their primacy use has become pleasure riding and transport of supplies in remote, mountainous areas. The latter has become so accepted that, unlike bicycles, they are even permitted in most Wilderness Areas.

CurrentSituation - General Mountain Bikes The conflict between hikers and mountain bikers seems to revolve around three main issues. The degradation of the hiker experience and satisfaction is the biggest concern. Secondary, but still significant, are the unacceptable resource impacts caused by bicycles to the trail itself and the increased potential for physical collisions and other events resulting in hiker/biker injury, caused by the differences in speeds between the two modes of transportation.

The "single-track" hiking trails sought out by mountain bikers cannot, in most cases, safely provide for mixed use. They have not been designed to safely accommodate bike use nor to withstand the aecelerated resoureedmpacts caused by the bikes.

There is an accumulating number of papers and studies documenting conflict, user safety, and resource damage when mountain bikes are allowed to use foot trails -- trails that have not been specifically designed for bike use. The findings of some of these studies are summarized below.

Conflict can cause serious impacts to recreation experiences, to the point of causing some users to end their use and be displaced by other preemptive users (Schreyer, 1979).Participantsinactivitiesthatusedifferent levels of technology often experience conflict with one another. Examples include cross country skiers and snowmobilers, canoe paddlers and motor boaters (Lucas, 1964, Knopp and Tyger, 1973, and others). Conflict is frequently asymmetrical -- many times feelings of conflicts are one way. For example, cross-country skiers dislike snowmobilers but snowmobilers are not as unhappy about encountering cross-country skiers. This type of one-way conflict has been found between many different activities (Stankey, 1973, Schreyer and Neilsen, 1978, and others). In general, trail users enjoy meeting their own kind, but dislike uses that are faster and more mechanized than themselves (McKay and Moeller, 1976, Ooldbloom, 1992).

A study of readers of Backpacker magazine found that over two-thirds felt the use of mountain bikes on trails was objectionable (Viehman, 1990). Startling other

NORTH STAR: The Newsletter of the North Country Trail Association, April-May 1996

trail users, running others off the trail, being faster and more mechanized, damaging the resources, causing erosion, frightening wildlife, and "just being there" were the biggest concerns (Kulla, 1991, Chavez, Winter and Bass, 1993). Keller (1990) notes that brightly colored clothes, a high-tech look, and the perception of a technological invasion can be sources of conflict felt by others toward mountain bikers.

Several studies of multiple use rail-trails have included questions related to user conflict. In one study conducted by the Rails to Trails Conservancy in 1991, the most common types of conflicts reported were between hikers and bikers. The most common complaints were about bicyclists being inconsiderate, riding two abreast, passing with no warning, going too fast, and other unspecified concerns. Similar results were found in a study of trail users on 19 multi-purpose pedestrian and bike trails in Illinois (Gobster, 1990).

Conflicts among trail users are a serious problem in some areas. On Mt. Tamalpias in Marin County, California, for example, mountain bikers have allegedly built illegal trails and engaged in vandalism and sabotage to attempt to gain access to foot trails closed to them. In "Conflicts on Multiple Use Trails" (Moore, 1994), the author says that many of the managers interviewed felt that conflict was a problem. Several also volunteered that they expected conflicts to increase unless they could do something about the problem soon.

From Central Park to suburban nature preserves, parkofficialssaytherearetoomanymountainbikerswho seem determined to ride wherever they want and in the process tear up the ground and wear new trails into the terrain. Henry Stem, New York City's parks commissioner has ordered patrols to confiscate bicycles found off the pavement in Central Park and Prospect Park (New York Times, 1995).

Insuburban areas, people get home from work and want to ride and they can only think of one place. Says 'fun Blumenthal, Executive Director, IMBA, "It gets kind or boring riding the same loop, so then they see a deer trail and start riding that. And there are so many mountain bikers that it doesn't take long before that trail is absolutely clear and starts to form another unplanned loop. Mountain biking can cause disproportionate damage ifyou have tremendous demand and hardly anywhere to ride."

Neil Zimmerman is unpopular with many of his fellow hikers. As president of the New York- New Jersey Trail Conference, which maintains 1,200 miles of hiking trails, he favors giving up some trails to mountain bikes.

"Mountain biking is a legitimate activity and should be allowed. Butwhena hiking trail has mountain bikes on it; it's no wngerahikingtraiL"(NewYork'llines, 1995).

Zimmerman continues, "While non-motorized uses other than hiking are certainly appropriate activities for many areas of our parks and forests, we strongly prefer to keep these uses separate for several reasons: single-use trails reduce conflicts and improve safety between user groups; multi-use trails are much harder to maintain; and many of the hiking trails are steep, narrow and rocky -- unsuitable for horses and bikes."

Mountain bike use in several areas is reportedly

Page 13

causing damage and costly repairs to the Pacific Crest NST (Fourth National Conference on National Scenic and National Historic Trails, 1995). "Hiking once provided a relaxing opportunity to enjoy nature. No more! Hikers have to be constantly on the alert for mountain bikes and be prepared to jump out of the way. On a recent hike I landed twice in a patch of poison oak to avoid being hit." (June Frances in 'The Pacific Crest Trail Communicator).

'The University of WISCOnsin - Madison intends to crack down on off-road bicyclists who wander off designated bike paths onto UW natural areas not intended for bicycle use. "Over the past five years, a lot of damage has been done to university areas by off-road bikes," said Gregory Armstrong, director of the UW-Madison Arboretum. City of Madison parks have been having similar problems with improper use of bicycles. According to Armstrong, "Damage to those natural areas since 1990, when off-road bicycling began to experience a surge in popularity, has been extensive. The rate of erosion of paths, especially on the steep slopes of the natural areas that border Lake Mendota, has accelerated. Some paths have been washed out entirely, and new trails have been blazed where none existed before."

"In the woods near Eagle Heights, cyclists like to climb a high drumlin hill capped by an Indian mound.

Treads have created gullies up the hill and a worn-in turnaround around the mound. Even logs dropped across the improvised trail haven't slowed cyclists -- that just seems to make it more fun." (Steve Glass, Operations Supervisor, UW Arboretum, quoted in the WISCOnsin State Journal, 2!"24/95.)

In 1992, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) opened parts of the Ice Age NST in Kettle Moraine State Forest to mountain biking on a temporary basis. Simultaneously, the DNR and other groups were working to separate the uses that had escalated to conflict proportionsduringthe 1980s. Meanwhile, DNR researcher Al Bjorkman was assigned to study the impacts caused by the bikers to the trail. This research is ongoing and only preliminary reports have been published. Early conclusions show that off road bikers and hikers differ in motivation as well as speed, causing conflicts between the two user groups. "Hikers tend to describe their motivations for trail use in terms of peace, isolation, solitude, and communion with nature," and bikers in therms of "challenge, adventure, escape from urban pressure, and more intense physical exercise." Bjorkman also found the two groups view nature differently. Hikers have a microview awareness of the living things along the trail.

Nature as challenge never came up in conversations with hikers as it did with bikers. Bikers are more concerned with a macroview of nature -- a backdrop setting for their activities. Hikers said the difference in speed between them and bikers was a safety problem. Both groups talked about differences in speed and right-of-way conflicts. Both hikers and bikers agreed that types of uses should be separated. Another finding concludes that bikes have a real impact on soil--aftermountain bike use, soil erosion from unprotected hills was 300 times that from protected ones; and as loose sand develops from bikes breaking through the top protective soil layer, the

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NORTH STAR: The Newsletter

bikerscontinuallywiden the trail.In conclusion, Bjorkman believes that "in order to resolve conflict in high-use areas, the only solution is to separate the different uses with designation of trails. A true narrow corridor trail is a setup for continual problems if opened to bikes, and trail managers are wise to view opening a trail to mountain bikers with extreme caution." (W1SC0nsinDNR Trail Talk, August 1994, and personal interviews with Bjorkman in December, 1993.)

"Study finds hikers, bikersdon'tmix"readsa Wisconsin State Journal headline dated June 23, 1995. The article reports on Bjorkman's Kettle Moraine study that has now been submitted to the WIBConsinDNRforreview.

Several comments are illustrative of degradation in hiker experience: "When you designate a trail for mountain bikes, the hikers clear out real fast." He continues, "Mountain bikers are usually looking for a more aerobic workout than hikers and speed through the woods quietly, often startling hikers."

"Designating certain trails for hikers seems a viable solution to the problem," said Bill Moorman, DNR Trail Coordinator. "Another problem with high use is the rock and stone-laden trail sections of the southern Kettle Moraine, especially on steep slopes. These sections undergo considerable erosion from mountain bikes," Bjorkman said. "Vegetation disappears and soil runs down the hills." Bjorkman isAssistantProfessorofBotany and Environmental Science at North Park College in Chicago and has spent the last 3 years studying mountain biking and its impact in the Southern Kettle Moraine State Forest near Milwaukee.

In commenting on a Chequamegon National ForestIce Age Trail Plan, University of Wisconsin Professor of Landscape Architecture, Wayne Tlusty, states, "It is almost impossible to have a high quality hike, which offers a close interaction with nature, and mountain bike use. I am not aware of any research data which supports the compatibility between hikers, bikers, and horse us. ers. The appropriate time to make a policy decision is now -- when few bikes and limited horse use exists -- not wait until established use patterns create high levels of tension. (Wayne Tlusty, 12/93).

Horses 'The intensity of the conflict between hikers and horseback riders, on an experiential level, has been much less intense than the conflict between hikers and bikers.

However, their impact on the physical trail resources on any given segment of trail is much greater. The conflict is simply not as widespread as is the conflict with mountain bikers. Information on this aspect is contained in other sections of this paper.

Current Situation: NCNST Mountain Bikes 'The National Trails System (NTS) Act prohibits motorized use of NSTs. It does not specifically prohibit any particular non-motorized use. However, bike use of foot trails was not even imagined when the NTS act was passed. A reflection of the legislative intent for NSTs can

of the North Countly Trail Association,

April-May

1996

be found in the fact that the NPS and the Forest Service (FS) have closed all of their segments of the Appalachian NST (80 percent of the trail) to bike use.

Rather surprisingly, the Forest Service allows bike use on most of its 595 miles of the North Country NST. Controversy is highest on the Manistee National Forest where heavy bike use is occurring. In other public areas throughout the seven trail states, managers of many segments prohibit bike use on simple foot trails while some managers permit it -- leaving a patchwork of segments open or closed to bike use.

'The following representative quotes display the problem: • "There have been conflicts and some of them have gotten pretty ugly," (Teresa Maday, Recreation Planner, Manistee National Forest, in the Traverse City RecordEagle, 5!21/95).

• "On the first day of the three-day trip, I walked with five backpackers. Meeting other hikers is always a delight. On this section, I had to get off the trail and into the brush to let 54 mountain bikers go by. They all had happy faces. This is a hiker's trail. To be forced off the trail did hurt. And twice while walking downhill, I heard a yell from behind. I quickly stepped off the trail to let the speeding bikers continue their downhill venture. Hikers and bikers do not belong together on the same trail."

(Vern Anderson in North Star, January-March 1995) • "I am pleased that mountain bikes are not allowed in the plan. I fear that riders would quickly displace hikers from what will be the only opportunity for long distance hiking in the county." (Gary DeKock commenting on the North Country NST, Kent County, MI, planning process, 10/93).

Horses 'There is concern over horse use on the North Country Trail and its negative effect on hiker experience, but the greatest concern is focused on resource damage. Horses are more accepted by hikers at the experiential level and real conflicts between these two user groups are not known. However, horses can cause more damage to a trail, and in a shorter time frame, than bicycles. They also damage hiking trail structures such as steps, water bars, etc. When they cannot cross small bridges over streams or wetlands, they wade through these sensitive riparian areas causing degradation to the water resource. Unlike the western states, where soils are mostly arid or rocky, many soils in the eastern part of the country are wet or sandy and are easily damaged by horses.

Much of the North Country Trail crosses private lands where pa93llg'0 is dependent on the good will of landowners.

Private lands in the East and Midwest are generally smaller than out west, and thereare many fences crossing the trail.

'Thestiles which are used to pass over or through the fences arenotoonductivetohorse~andmostlandownersare not willing to allow horse use because of the increased damage and/or the need for gates that can be left open. · 'Therefure, in most places, horseback riding is simply not appropriate along the North Country Trail. However, horse use is perhaps an acreptable use on most trail segments within the prairies and grasslands of North Dakota and western Minnesota.

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Page 15

to see a foreigner with a backpack looking for the route to Islamabad, in Pakistan, for example. On the other hand, Switzerland andNewZealand, two countries often lauded as the most educated, picturesque, stable (and wealthy in the case of Switzerland), have some of the most extensive, maintained and well-used recreation trail systems in the world.

Trail systems around the world by Tim Lamb, Student Conservation Association Intern National Park Service, Washington, DC In 1968, a national system of trails was established for the United States. Today, it comprises 19 long-distance trails and over 800 national recreation trails. Do other nations have such trail systems? If so, do they resemble that of the U.S.? What can be learned from comparing them?

In August, 1994, the Recreation Resources Assistance Division of the National Park Service sent out formal letters of inquiry to embassies representing 34 nations, requesting information about the trails systems of their countries. This report is an interim statement of the findings from this research so far.

To date, the countries that have responded are generally ones that possess the following characteristics: l. Mostly western European, with the exception of Slovakia and Israel; 2. With a leisure class wealthy enough to afford being able to organize and use trails, to protect land and establish parks for those who can afford to enjoy them, and who recognize their value in regard to health, transportation, and broader moral and spiritual benefits; and 3. Characterized by a history of a hiking, walking, trekking, or ''rambling'' subculture.

European countries are the primary respondents to this inquiry. This is not surprising as many of these countries consider hiking (rambling, das wandern, la randonee, etc.,) to be a national pastime, and an affordable and non-discriminatory one at that. Countries such as Great Britain and Switzerland, or example, even promote their trails as tourist destinations. So far the results of this study indicate that national trail systems seem to exist only in industrialized countries that are politically and socially stable enough to recognize and need the opportunity to recreate in a natural and e:njoyable environment, as well as having the infrastructure to provide all the services and goods that such a system requires. Further, countries such as Burma or Zaire may have an extensive trail system, but these trails/dirt roads act as transportation routes rather than routes of recreation. It might certainly befuddle the populations along these routes to declare them ''official recreation trails'' or

AUSTRALIA More than 18 million hectares of national park land has been preserved in Australia, with some of these parks receiving further protection by being designated as wilderness. Tasmania, located off the southern tip of the Australian mainland, is one such area. Consisting of dense rainforests, rugged mountains, and windswept beaches, the southwest portion of this island has been designated as a World Heritage Area and contains five national parks. Hikers are charged a fee to hike on many of'the area's trails. Fees for hiking on the 80 kilometer ( 48 mile) Overland Track in Cradle Mountain-Lake St. Clair National Park, for example, are $10 for adults, $5 for children, and $25 for families. The Tasmanian park officials have created a fee system that is efficiently administered and enforced. Hikers must carry proof of payment and present it to park officials upon request, similar to backcountry permits in many U.S. parks and Forest Service administered wilderness areas.

The'WalkingTrackManagementManual",produced by the Tasmanian Department of Lands, Parks, and Wildlife, establishes the methods for both building and maintaining trails on the island. It is a systematic process carried out in the same fashion that range or timber work in the U.S. is often conducted. Each trail receives a management plan that determines maintenance levels and provides guidance to how, when and where trail maintenance funds should be spent. In South Australia there are more than 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) of hiking trails. The Heysen Trail, also located in South Australia, is the country's longest footpath with 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) already marked and mapped and another 1,000 kilometers are being planned.

For more information, contact: South Australian Recreation Institute, 304 S. Henley Beach Road, Underdale, South Australia 5032; Tel 2340844 State of Tasmania, Dept. of Parks, Wildlife and Heritage, GPO Box 44a, Hobart, Tasmania 7001, South Australia.

CANADA To the north, Canada offers a wide variety of long-

dist.ance trails. The 442-mile long Bruce Trail in Ontario is modeled after the Appalachian Trail here. The newest and only inter-provincial trail is the ambitious coast-tocoast Trans-Canada Trail. It is promoted and managed by the Trans-Canada Trail Foundation, an umbrella organization coordinating with 80 trail and trail-related groups.

Once completed, this trail may be the longest trail in the world-extendingapproximately15,000km(9000miles) through every Canadian province and territory, aceom-

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NORTH STAR: The Newsletter of the North Country Trail Association,

modating walking, cycling, horseback riding, cross-eountry skiing, and snowmobiling where possible or desired.

'The target date for completion is July 1, 2000. Local communities will assist in the management, design, and building of their sections of the trail, and will have the final say on what types of uses to permit on their sections.

By accommodating multiple use, emphasizing grassroots support, and following a route that is accessible to as many Canadians as possible, the organizers are able to stress their theme of a 'Trail for ALL Canadians."

'The estimated cost of this trail is high. However, about 20% of the trail already exists on present trails in parks or rail-trails (saving some $100 million) leaving an estimated $432 million to be raised. This figure does not include volunteer labor and donated equipment and materials, something the organizers are banking on. The Trans-Canada Trail Foundation hopes to raise the necessary money through local and regional trail groups, corporate sponsors, and an ambitious merchandising program. , 'This exciting effort is going very well, according to Bill Pratt, Director of the Trans-Canada Trail Foundation. Over $500,000 has been raised so far. It is key, he says, to let a wide variety of people get involved and to accommodate as many user groups as possible. Several provinces have benefited from support by their local governments. The Prince Edward Island provincial government purchased a system of abandoned railway lines and is in the process of converting all of it to trails. Both the national government and the provincial governments are involved in the management of trail sections that pass through both national and provincial parks.

'The Trans-Canada Trail offers up the possibility of'a true North American Trails System, linking together our Pacific Crest, Appalachian and North Country Trails across the longest peaceful international border in the world.

For more information contact: Trans Canada Trail Foundation, Site 5, Box 4, RR12, Calgary, Alberta, T3E, 6W3, Canada; Tel: (403) 246-4777 Bruce Trail Association, PO Box 857, Hamilton, Ontario, LSN 3N9, Canada, Tel: (905) 529-6821 FRANCE 'The French have established a 75,000 mile network of marked walking trails. Of this, 40,000 miles are part of a larger long-distance network or GR trails (Sentiers de Grande Randonnees) that consist ofboth mountain treks through the Alps or Pyrenees and more leisurely hikes along the shores of the Atlantic or Mediterranean. The shorter trails are called the Petites Randonnees. This trails system is the result of an association of local government organizations called the Federation Francaise de la Randonnee Pedestre (FFRP) which also publishes topographic guides for each trail. This trail system is beneficial to the tourist industry in France, where walking tours are tres popular.

Of the long-distance trails, the GR.5 (connecting Hoek van Holland in the Netherlands to Nice, France) is the best known. 'This 1,500 mile hike benefits beautiful seen-

April-May

1996

ecy, luxurious and quaint accommodations, and heavenly cuisine (as one can eat in local country restaurants evecy night along the way). With these services there is no need to carcy heavy and bulky supplies such as a tent, sleeping bag, and cooking equipment. Although most of the trail exists in France, portions also travel through the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Switzerland, passing through both small towns and a few larger metropolitan areas.

For information contact: Federation Francaise de la Randonnee Pedestre, Centre d'Information, 64 Rue de Gergovie, 7504 Paris, France;Tel (1) 45-45-31-02 GREAT BRITIAN 'The British Countryside Commission estimates that 400 million walking trips are made in the British countryside evecy year, with five miles being the average length.

'There are currently 10 long-distance trails in England and Wales, either completed or in the process of being completed, and two in Scotland. This system of long distance trails, or paths as they call them in Britain, was made possible by the passage of the National Parks and CountcysideActof1949. Thefirstlong-distancepath tobe completed was the Pennine Way (1965) a 265-mile trek from the Peak District National Park in Central England to the northern edge ofNorth-umberland National Park just over the border of Scotland.

Besides over-use and its resulting erosion, the primacy problem for Britian's trails community has been the issue of public rights-of-way on private property, which is an issue that evecy country, especially European ones, have to grapple with. But past tensions should be easing with the recent passage in 1990 ofthe Rights ofWayA.ct,r which essentially gives walkers access to legally cross private property, such as a farmer's field, and makes it illegal for the farmers to plough up footpaths. The Rambler's Association, Britian's primacy trail advocacy organization with over 100,000 members, has led the efforts to secure these types of privileges, and through the Rights of Way Act they hope to have all rights of way in England and Wales secure by the year 2000. The positive economic impacts of trails to rural areas is well established and accepted throughout Britain.

For more information contact: The Ramblers Association, 1/5 Wandsorth Road, London SWS 2XX, United Kingdom; Tel: 0171-582-6878 Long Distance Paths Advisory Service, 11 Cotswold Court, Sandy Lane, Chester, CH3 5UZ, UK IRELAND Ireland did not have an official trails organization until the establishment of the Long Distance Walking Routes Committee of Cospoir (the National Sports Council) in 1978. At present there are over 1,000 km (600 miles) of trails, all part of a long-distance system, although currently there is not a national trail connecting one side of the island to the other. However, if the proposed ES route is extended from the continent it would cross Ireland from west to east, then continue through Wales and England, then link up to the established

NORTH STAR: The Newsletter

of the North Country Trail Association,

section on the cont-inent, which begins in Holland and passes through Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece and ends at Istanbul, Turkey, although the final segment to Turkey has also not been established.

In Ireland, there is no official law protecting the public's right of access on trails that cross private property, but a "gentleman's agreement" is understood by hikers that they will not destroy hedges, leave gates open, or interfere with livestock, for example. In other words, farmers and landowners accept the intrusion so long as hikers respect their property. Although many of the trails pass through State Forests and National Parks, camping is not allowed in them, though accommodations are availableforhikersinmanyfarmhousesandguesthouses.

The trail system has been designed to give hikers as diverse an experience as possible by incorporating various terrain as well as historic points of interest, such as medieval castles and Neolithic graves.

For information, contact: Long Distance Walking Routes Committee, Cospoir, llh floor, Hawkins House, Hawkins Street, Dublin 2, Ireland ISRAEL Since the establishment of Israel, a system of approximately 3000 miles (5,000 km) marked trails and tracks (used primarily for 4x4 vehicles) has been developed. Only one long-distance trail exists in Israel - the INT (Israel National Trail). It was inspired by and modeled after the Appalachian Trail. When completed in 1996, the trail will enable hikers to walk approximately 800 km from Dan in the north to Elat in the south, passing through 80 different sections and through sacred sites holy to Jews, Muslims, and Christians.

A systematic method of marking the trail has been established by the volunteer Public Committee for Trail Marking and the Israel Trails Committee UTC). The ITC operates within the framework of the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI) and consists of representatives of SPNI, the Israel Nature Reserves Authority, the Jewish National Fund, the Youth Hostel Organization, the National Parks Authority, and the Ministry of Tourism. Funding for the trail is being acquired from both public and private sources. An association called ''Friends and Hikers of the INT' has been established to take a part in the construction and maintenance of the trail as well as to help raise the necessary trail funds from both within and outside Israel.

Currently there is no legislation covering the trail system in Israel, though much of the INT is integrated into protected nature reserves, national parks, and archaeologic and historic sites. This lack of legislation has caused some problems, it is a situation that for various reasons will take a longtime to remedy, according to the ITC. At present, no international trail connections exist in Israel, though plans to link a number of Israeli trails and tracks with Jordan are being explored following the recent peace treaty signed with Jordan. Connections with Egypt are also being explored.

For more information contact: Israel Trails Commit-

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1996

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tee, 4 Hashfela Street, Tel-Aviv 66183, Israel.; Tel: 972-3377502 NEW ZEALAND New Zealand probably receives a higher percentage of visitors who come primarily to hike on one of the many long-distance tracks than any other nation. The New Zealand Tourist Department estimates that 55% of all visitors there spend time in at least one of the National Parks. The average hiking time is four to ten days. The Milford Track, often referred to as the most spectacular hike in the world, travels 54 km through Fiord National Park on New Zealands South Island and is the only track where advanced booking is required. The first tourists walked this track in 1889.

Open camping is strictly regulated in the National Parks and along the tracks. (Along the Milford Track it is prohibited entirely.) Hikers must stay in any of the six huts along the route. Each day throughout the season, which is generally late October through mid-April, no more than 40 permits are issued in order to maintain a sense of solitude among the hikers and not to exceed the space available in each hut. Hutsarealsoavailableon the other tracks as well.

The New Zealand Department of Conservation is responsible for the maintenance of the tracks, and it helps to accomplish this through the use of volunteers and what are called ''Conservation Volunteer Holidays" similar to the Sierra Club service trips and the American Hiking Society's volunteer trips in the U.S. As with many places, over-use and over-crowding have begun to take its toll in New Zealand, but the conservation leaders there continue to practice restrictive preservation (such as closing some tracks temporarily) rather than further exploitation. The national economy depends too much on these trails to do otherwise.

For further information, contact: Department of Conservation -Te PapaAtawhai, PO Box 10 420, Wellington New Zealand;Tel (04) 471-0726 SCANDINAVIA In Scandinavia the amount of usable trail doubles in the winter! These three countries possess an old and rich system of trails, providing cozy huts and strict prohibitions of dogs without leashes. Each country's trail systems, however, are a little different.

NORWAY 'TheNorwegianMountain Touring Association (DNT), established in 1868, is one of the oldest trails advocacy groups in the world. However, it was not until a century later, in 1970, that Norway's first national park was established, with passage of the Nature Conservation Act. The DNT, in partnership with the Directorate for State Forests and Lands, has taken on the responsibility of voluntarily laying out, marking, and maintaining a trail system of 10,000 summer miles and 20,000 winter miles, and of maintaining Norway's 250-plus hut syst.em, many of which are more like inns due t.o the amenities that they offer. Most of these huts are furnished with gas

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NORTH STAR: The Newsletter of the North Country Trail Association, April-May 1996

stoves, mattresses, blankets, cooking utensils and firewood. 'This partnership is especially important because Norway's management policy tends to emulate theAmerican Wilderness philosophy, which restricts access and basically does not allow development. Only one park has a visitor center, though more are planned, and most parks do not even have permanent personnel assigned to them.

For more information, contact: Den Norsek Turistforening (DNT), Postboks 1963Vika, N0-125, Oslo, Norway; Tel +47-22 83 25 50

SWEDEN Sweden classifies its trails into three categories: 1) mountain trails, existing primarily in the north; 2) lowland trails in the south; 3) international trails and trail connections. Sweden's trail system totals approximately 9780 miles (16.300 km). Several long-distance trails pass through Sweden, such as the Arctic Trail, which also passes on into Norway and Finland, and El "(Europaled 1") and E6, which both extend from Denmark to the Swedish lowlands. The 800 km Arctic Trail is being considered for extension into Russia.

Sweden's Law of Public Access, similar to Great Britains Right of Way Act, entitles people to walk, jog, bicycle, ride horseback, or ski across other people's property as long as they do not cause damage to crops, trees or fences. One is not allowed to camp, however, without the landowner's permission. With a trail hut system similar to Norway's, Sweden's huts are staffed by wardens who collect payments from guests, and provide information.

Cooperative management of Sweden's trails exists among different bodies such as local non-profits, county councils, and regional governmental offices, although most of the mountain trails exist on state land, while the majority of lowland trails cross private land. The National Environment Board decides where to establish trails. The majority of trail problems seem to stem from conflicts of use, primarily motorized versus non-motorized. The use of mountain bikes on trails is also an increasing problem for many people, as well as the misuse of the Law of Public Access.

For more information, contact: Svenska Turistforeningen (Swedish Touring Club), Box 25, 10120 Stockholm, Sweden; Tel: +46-8 20 13 32 FINLAND In Finland, most of the trails exist in the national park system, which contains 30 parks, and are primarily administered by the Finnish Forest and Park Service.

'The actual trail work, however, is done through cooperative agreements with local municipalities and volunt.eer groups. The Nature Conservation Act of 1923 paved the way for the establishment of Finland's first national parks in 1938, though some of these early parks were in territory ceded to the Soviet Union after World War II. Many of the Finnish parks and nature preserves, like their Norwegian counterparts, have been preserved for the protection of wilderness rather than for the enjoyment of tourists, so many of the parks and reserves remain practically inaccessible and free of trails. Where

trails do exist in some of the more pristine parks, strict permits are required to hike. The parks in the south tend to be more developed and contain more trails which results in more trail use. For more information, contact: Finnish Forest & Park Service - Nature Protection, PO Box 94, SF-01301, Vantaa, Finland; Tel +358 -(9)0 857841 SWITZERLAND If the amount of trails in Switzerland, per square mile, were applied to the U.S., we would have 7 million miles of trails! At the initiation of the Swiss people, the federal law relating to Footpaths and Trails (FWG) was enacted in 1985. The articles within this law pertain to every aspect of the management of the Swiss trails system, with the exception of historical trails, which are protected and managed under the guidelines of the 1966 Federal Law relating to the Protection of Nature and the Natural Heritage (NRG).

Swiss Trails is a non-profit organization that began in the 1930s to construct a nation-wide marked trail system. Today this organization shoulders the main burden of all of Switzerland's trail maintenance through volunt.eer programs. It is financed by membership fees, sponsorship, and federal funds of about 280,000 Swiss francs a year. The trails are an important source of tourist income for Switzerland.

As with much of Europe, Swiss trails usually cross private land, and once again the public enjoys a right of access. However, private landonwers can be reimbursed by the Swiss government if they can prove that their income has been reduced by trail activity or by the location of the trail. Switzerland has developed a popular and well-known system of marking trails that has eliminated the need for the government to regulate trail marking and has been emulated by other countries. For example, historical trails are marked with brown signs or paint, hiking paths with yellow signs, mountain paths with red signs, and alpine paths with blue signs. Major problems facing trails in Switzerland are the pervasive conflicts of use, especially between mountain-bikers and hikers. Trail erosion and neglect are also problems (an litter in the form ofRicolaand Tobleronewrappers). Some trails have been closed in order to protect sensitive vegetation and wildlife.

Formoreinformationoont.act: SwissTrails,ImHirshalm 49, 4125 Riehen, Switzerland; Tel: 061-60115 35 SLOVAKIA Mr. Vancura Vladivoj, the chief ranger of Tatra National Park, sent in an enthusiastic letter that, although brief, supplies some intriguing information. The park's 180 miles (300 km) of ''tourist trails" are maintained by the park staff with a trails budget of around 1 millionslovakcrowns($34,000)ayear. 'Ihisisapparently a difficult job due to the high elevations, mountainous nature of most of the trails, and high park visitation (more than 3 million people a year). 'The park's budget has been dramatically slashed recently, so they are oonsidering cooperativevolunteeragreementswithlocalhikinggroups

NORTH STAR: The Newsletter of the North Country Trail Association, April-May 1996

t.o help maintain the trails. The park is experiencing many of the additional trail problems as elsewhere: overuse, disturbance of sensitive wildlife, and damage to fragile alpine ecosyst.ems. As a result, certain high-elevation trails have been temporarily or seasonally closed.

A1so, much of the land within the park is privately owned, similar to the Adirondack State Park in New York.

In the rest of Slovakia there are several thousand kilometers of color-marked trails, similar to the Swiss system, that are either well-maintained or in a state of disrepair, depending on how diligent various volunteer groups have been in maintaining them. Apparently this spring the Slovakian National Park Service is conducting a photo exhibit on the history and management of the U.S. National Park System, which they hope to have tour other Central European countries.

CONCLUSION It appears from the international

responses so far that the merits of trails are understood well beyond U.S. borders - from the preservation of nature and physical well-being to economic benefits. 'The lexicon of problems is also universal. Mountain-bicyclistsareagrowingsource of conflict with hikers in many areas. Resource managers everywhere seem to be grappling with erosion control and

Give (and receive) with charitabletrusts

by Jim Maher, Investment Broker, A.G. Edwards & Sons, Inc. Here'sapopquizforyou:Whatissomethingyoucan give that also allows you to receive at the same time? If you're talking about finances, you could have ansered"charitable trusts". And if you're looking to contribute to the NCTA as well as to develop or expand your estate plan, charitable trusts might be the right answer for you.

Charitable trusts are commonly used to fund nonprofit organizations such as the North Country Trail .Association, and to obtain a current income-tax deduction and/or estate-tax deduction. When choosing a charitable trust, you should consider which goal or goals are most important to you -- income-tax benefits, estatestax decudtions, and/or giving to the NCTA while providing for yourself or your heirs. Different types of charitable trusts are available to help you reach your most important goals.

Charitable trusts can be devided into two types: those that give the remainder intererest and those that give the income interest. Thefollowingdetinitionsshould be able to help you better determine which type of trust best suits your needs: Charitable remainder trust. A charitable remainder trust pays income to you or your chosen benetieiary because you actually transfer ownership of your

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prot.ection measures on many heavily used trails, especially ones that traverse fragile alpine terrain.

Private land issues continue to test the cooperative resolve of almost all trail managers and have led toa variety of unique compromises and public-private partnerships.

Volunteers play a key role as well; without them trails as we know them would not exist.

A 1993 article in Outdoor magazine about the European long distance footpaths, or Euro-routes, lists 11 fully established Euro-routes, several which have been alluded to in this report. Although they may have different names locally, they are more generally known by a number, such as the "E2" which passes through France, Belgium and Holland, with a proposed extension t.o England. 'The European Ramblers' .Association (ERA) was created in 1969 to act as the umbrella body for some 50 different hiking organizations from 25 countries. The promotion of the trans-national Euro-routes has been their primacy mission, as well as the encouraging cooperation and friendship between the people of Europe.

Almost every Euro-route has a proposed extension, especially toward Eastern Europe and Russia. Such international coordination and cooperation is a powerful model for North American and other adjoining blocks of nations with significant trail systems. ecosystem

charitable gift to the trust. The trust's assets are not given to the NCTA until the lifetime beneficiaries have died or the trust's term has espired. At that time, the remainder goes to NCTA. A charitable remainder trust funded during your lifetime allows you to claim a current income-tax deduction in the year the trust is funded. A remainder trust funded at death results in an estate-tax charitable deduction. Tables published by the Internal Revenue Service can help you tetermine how much you can deduct in taxes. These deducations are based on a percentage of the value of the property in the trust that you receive as income as well as the age of the beneficiaries. So the higher the income payout is, the lower the deduction you can claim. 路 Charitabl.e l.ea:d trust. This arrangement exactly reverses the remainder trust. That is, NCTA receives income from the trust for a fixed number of years while you keep the remainder interest for yourself or your heirs. The income-tax benefit of a lead trust established during your lifetime is equal to the present value of the income interest donated (limited to the initial fair market value of the property contributed).

So whether you're looking to provide for your loved ones orto support NCTA, charitable trusts can truly benefit both the g =iver and the receiver. But befbre looking into this any further, you should seek legal and tax advice about the various trust option. I can then provide you with further details about how trusts can potential create a win-win situation for the parties involved.

- In conjunction with the Fifteenth Anniversary Challenge, Jim Maher, with AG. Edwards, has prepared this article to help identify alternative ways to contribute assets to NCTA Jim can be reached at 1-800688-3113 if you have any questions.

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NORTH ST AR: The Newsletter of

ITEMS FOR THIS COLUMN ~be received before the deadline date given on Page 4 of this newsletter. We welcome listing activities of affiliated organizations, but we must be aware of them in sufficient time for publication.

NCTA May 18: NCTA Board meeting, Romulus, Ml. June 1 : Newsletter deadline.

August 1: Newsletter deadline.

September 6-8: NCTA Annual Conference, Wisconsin.

September 15: Challenge Cost Share Projects due to NPS. For more information, contact Bill Menke, NPS, (608) 264-5610.

October 1: Newsletter deadline.

Michigan Apr 13: Western Michigan Chapter hike, Allegan Swan Creek Foot Trail. Terrain flat to rolling, very scenic for photography. Cafl Dave S., (616) 7848975.

Apr. 14: Western Michigan Chapter Spring schoolhouse spruce-up, Call Darlene (616) 784-5050.

Apr 17: Western Michigan Chapter hike, Ludington State Park. Hiking easy to moderate, terrian rolling to hilly to sandy. Very photographic, many lookouts and a lighthouse. Call Dave S., (616) 784-8975.

Apr. 20: Mackinac Chapter Sierra Club Earth Day Celebration at Lost Nation State Game Area near Pittsford, Ml. Explore this area in southern Michigan where a proposal to route the NCT is being made.

Meet at 10:30 AM at a parking lot on Pittsford Road two miles south of Pittsford, which is six miles west of Hudson. For more information contact Ralph Powell at (313) 971-9013.

Apr. 23: Grand Traverse Hiking Club has "Adopt a Trail" meeting at Arlen Matson's home. Call (616) 941-41 52 for detai Is. Apr. 25: Grand Traverse Hiking Club meeting at Career Tech Center, Parsons and Three Mile, Traverse City. Program: "Go Climb a Rock"; rock climbing basics with Tim Jenema.

Apr. 27: Western Michigan Chapter hike, Saugatuck Dunes. Terrain rolling to hilly, hiking easy to moderate. Great springtime flowers with a great lunching spot on the Lake Michigan shore if it's a nice day. Call Dave S., (616) 784-8975.

May 5: Western Michigan Chapter trail maintenance on adopted section. Call Darlene, (616) 784-5050.

May 10-12: Mackinac Chapter Sierra Club North Country Trail Maintenance Trip, trail south of Jordan

the North Country TfflilAssociation,

AprlPMay 1996

River pathway. Trip limited to 8 people. Contact Rita Berbarian (313) 995-1396. Fee and leader permission required.

May 23: Grand Traverse Hiking Club Meeting at Career Tech Center, Parsons and Three Mile, Traverse City. Program: "Trail Construction and Culinary Arts". Trail building techniques, and backcountry cook-off. Contact Greg Law (616) 941-4954

by May 1 O if you want to share your trailside culinary secrets. For meeting information, contact Richard and Diane Jelenek, (616) 975-6228.

May 24-27: Mackinac Chapter Sierra Club NCT Maintenance trip.west of Old 131 Campground on Manistee River north of Cadillac. Fee and leader permission required. Contact Ralph Powell (313) 971-9013

by May 12.

June 1: National Trails Day. Many events around the country. Keep date open for fun and excitement.

June 1: Mackinac Chapter Sierra Club National Trails Day Hike on NCT between Vince Smith Memorial Bridge and Timber Creek Campground in Manistee National Forest. Start at 11 .oo AM at footbridge on Sauble Creek south of Loon Lake Road several miles west of Peacock. Call Ralph Powell at (313) 971-9013 for more details.

June 4: Western Michigan Chapter cookout and potluck at Dwight Lydell Park. Hot dogs and trimmings provided. Bring your own table service, a dish to pass, and a drink. Chapter meeting at 7:30. Elections to be held. For details, call Darlene at (616) 7845050.

June 6: Grand Traverse Hiking Club "Canoe Demo Day" at Backcountry Outfitters 4-8-PM. Contact (616)946-1339.

June 12-21: Tentative dates for constructing new trail in Lost Nation State Game Area. Assuming approval for trail construction, arrangements will be made for one or more days. Call Ralph Powell at (313) 971-9013.

June 14-15: Grand Traverse Hiking Club South Manitou Island Trip. Contact Brian Cox (616) 938281 o. Only a limited number of sites are reserved.

June 16: Grand Traverse Hiking Club "Kayak Demo Day" at Backcountry Outfitters, noon-8 PM. Contact (616) 946-1339.

July 12-21. Mackinac Chapter Sierra Club NCT Trail Construction and Exploration near Boardman River and Shore to Shore Trail in Kalkaska County. Spend one day or as many days as you want. $15 per day, $1 O per additional day fee includes meals. Contact Ron Killebrew at (313) 971-9013 or Ralph Powell at (313) 971-9013.

August 11-24: North Country Trail Hikers/Mackinac Chapter Sierra Club NCT Trail Construction in the Upper Peninsula. New construction will connedt Porcupine Mountain State Park with Ottawa National Forest. Camping, swimming, showers in state park available. Fee $15 per first day, $1 o per addition.

Contact Eugene Elzinga at (906) 225-1704 by July 28.

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NORTH STAR: The Newsletter of the North Country Trail Association, April-May 1996

Minnesota May 17-19: Work Weekend on the North Country Trail west of Itasca State Park. Stay overnight at Dell Bjerkness home on Bad Medicine Lake with a Pot Luck Dinner on Saturday Night.

Sleeping accomodations are limited so call Paul Wright (612) 423-5006 to reserve your spot.

April 13: All-FL TC Wallace D. Wood Founder's Hike, a 6.4 mile hike from Upper Buttermilk Falls State Part to upper Robert Treman State Park. Meet at 10:00 AM in Upper Buttermilk Falls State Park. Call Tom Reimers, (716) 272-8697 for details.

April 20: Earth Day Trail Maintenance Work Session, Cayuga Trails Club on FLT in Treman and Buttermilk Falls State Park. Meet at 9:30 AM at Ithaca Placa.

Call Tom Reimers (716) 272-8697 for details.

April 20: FLT Across the Genesee, Hike 1. This years version of the popular FLTC public hikes.

Contact Irene Szabo (716) 658-4321.

April 28: Trail maintenance work session on Abbott Loop in Danby State Forest. Meet at 1 :OO PM at Ithaca Plaza. Contact Tom Reimers, (716) 272-8697 for information.

May 3-5: The Cayuga Trails Club will host the 1996 annual meeting of the Finger Lakes Trail Conference at the Wonderland Motel on Rt. 13 south of Ithaca.

Registration deadline is April zs. Contact Tom Reimers, (716) 272-8697 for information.

May 11: FLT across the Genesse, Hike 2., Contact Irene Szabo (71 6) 6S8-4321 .

June 8: FLT across the Genesse, Hike 3, Contact Irene Szabo (71 6) 6S8-4321 .

July 6: Finger Lakes Fifties Trail Run (SOK, SO Ml, SOK Relay), Virgil State Forest. Contact Joe Reynolds, S7 Cayuga St., Trumansburg, NY 14886; phone (607) 387-6281.

July 21: Forest Frolic Trail Runs, 7 & 1 S K, Virgil State Forest. Contact Steve Ryan, 31 S Troy Rd., Ithaca NY 148SO; phone (607) 277- 7816.

July 21: FLT across the Genesse, Hike 4, Contact Irene Szabo (716) 6S8-4321.

July 27: FLTC Presidents hike for all FLTC members and guests on northern end of the Onondaga Trail.

Joe Donovan, Leader (31 S) 2S3-9863. Meet at 9:00 AM at Labrador Hollow Unique Natural Area of NYS Route 91.

Aug. 11: Virgil Mountian Madness Trail Run, 20.4

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533-3692.

Aug. 25: Monster Marathon and Half-Marathon, 26.2 and 13.1 miles, Virgil State Forest. Age/sex staggered starts. Contact John McMurry, 625 Highland Rd., Ithaca NY 148SO; phone (607) 2S7-3592.

Pennsylvania

New York

, ~¥.

miles, Virgil State Forest. Contact Diane Beckwith, 116 Ludlow Rd., Lansing NY 'f4882; Phone (607)

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September 6-8: Work weekend on North Country Trail, Moraine State Park area. Conact Mark Eckler, (412) S88-6164.

SWISS

ALPS

KANDERSTEG GRINDELWALD ZERMATT ~··•ov,N~ SAAS-FEE MURR EN ~ ..

GSTAAD LENK ; ~-FLUELEN WENG EN > BETTMERALP ENGELBERG 10v" RIGl-KALTBAD LEUKERBAD Moderate optional length DAY hiking along skyline trails.

7-2 w'eek tours basing at 15 mountain 3-4 star hotels.

All hikes guided

by NCT member Cecil Dobbins. For a free color brochure cQ.U (216) 867-3771, or write to:

us-.

ALPINE ADVENTURE TRAILS TOUR~. lac.

7 8 3 V C II f f s I d e D r · AKRON, OH 44313

The

Hikers

swissair

j'f/f

....,,

Paradise

The Superior Peninsula Seasons in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan

by LonL. Emerick, Ph.D. Join a long-time lover of the "U.P." as he explores abandoned gold mines and ghost towns. Saunter down old woods roads. Take a hike onthe Bay de Noc - Grand Island pathway.

Visit winter waterfalls and enjoy a pasty picnic on a remote hillside as spring arrives.

A book for all those who have lived in such a place -and those who wish that they could Color illustrations, black & white drawings 216 pp., trade paperback ISBN 0-9650577-5-5 Order from: North Country, Dept. NS 355 Heidtman Rd., Skandia Ml 49885 Price $17.95 +$2.00 shipping ($.50 shipping each additional copy)

Page 22

NORTH STAR: The Newsletter

of the North Country Trail Association,

April-May

1996

North Country Trail Shop GREAT INFORMATION ON THE NORTH COUNTRY NATIONAL SCENIC TRAIL AVAILABLE FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY TRAIL BOOKSTORE/ FOUOWING THE NORTH COUNTRY NATIONAL SCENIC TRAIL, by Wes Boyd, NCTA Newsletter editor. Packed full of Information about the NCNST. 64 pages. Not a trail guide, but a trail discussion. "The aim is to give the reader the information necessary to find out what they need to know to follow the trail" - - and lots of other useful information. The most inclusive information on the whole trail. Printed 1992. $5.95, ($4.00 wholesale 1 O or more).

CERTIFIED SECTIONS OF THE NORTH COUNTRY TRAIL by Byron and Margaret Hutchins. The long-awaited start to a trail guide for the entire trail. Accurate route descriptions by an experienced guidebook writer who's walked the sections with a measuring wheel, covering many certified sections of the trail long enough to be a hiking destination, published in an easy to carry loose-leot form. Individual map sets at various prices (see order form); whole set, including binder, is $23.00, use order form. Sorry, no direct wholesale.

GO WEST, OLD MAN: 45 DA VS ON THE FLT, by James E. Dewan. DeWan's rendition of his 45-day end-to-end hike of New York's Finger Lakes Trail. Lovingly written by someone who really knows the trail. $10.00 ($8.00 wholesale, 1 o or more.

GUIDE TO THE NORTH COUNTRY TRAIL -- CHIPPEWA NAnONAL FOREST by Rod Mac Rae. Discussion of the route and trail log from east to west in the Chippewa National Forest. Wonderfully written by a Chippewa National Forest expert. 12 pages. $1.25 each; Wholesale (10 or more) $.75 each.

MICHIGAN MAPSETS developed by Arden Johnson. Maps to follow the NCNST in the Manistee, Hiawatha and Ottawa Ndtional Forests, and the trail between St. Ignace and Munising, and northern lower peninsula. $4.00 per set; Binder with indlcies, $2.50. Contact bookstore for information on ordering individual maps.

THE NORTH COUNTRY TRAIL -- MANISTEE NAnONAL FOREST by the Michigan Trailflnders. Offers a detailed description of the trail from the White Cloud trailhead to Big Star Lake, and from US 1 O to McCarthy Lake. Current through June, 1989. $2.00 each, no wholesale available.

GUIDE TO THE PICTURED ROCKS NATIONAL LAKESHORE by Olive Anderson. Includes revised Lakeshore Trail Guide. The Pictured Rocks National Lokeshore is the centerpiece of the North Country Trail -- a rugged, unique coast on the wild Lake Superior shore. Updated in 1994, this 56 page book by Pictured Rocks enthusiast Olive M. Anderson gives the reader revised maps and up-to-date information about this Michigan section of the North Country Trail. $6.95 each; Wholesale (1 or more) $5.25 each.

o

Page 23

NORTH STAR: The Newsletter of the North Country Trail Association, April-May 1996

North Country Trail Shop Patches and Stickers NCT Patch $3.00 Volunteer strip $1.50 State Strip $1.50 New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota Hike Distance Strips (must qualify) $1.25 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 or 35 miles hiked in one day NCTACoffee Mugs $6.95 Trail Supporter Pin (3/4" Clolsonne) $3.95

••••••••••••••••••• ORDER FORM -- NORTH COUNTRY TRAIL SHOP North North North North North

Country Country Country Country Country

Trail Patch @ $3.00 each .

Trail State Segment Patch@ $1.50 each Trail Volunteer Strips@ $1.50 each Trail Coffee Mugs@ $6.95 each Trail Supporter Cloisonne pin @$3.95 each North Country Trail 1-Shlrf (circle size): Adult, S, M, L, XL XXL 100%cotton, It. blue only@ $9.95 each

PLEASE TYPE OR PRINT Name

.

Address

.

City

..

State, Zip

..

copies of 'The North Country Troll-- Manistee Notional Forest' $2.00 per copy. (no wholesale)

Phone

.

copies of 'Gulde to the Pictured Rocks Notional Lokeshore' $6. 95 per copy. ($5.25each if ten or more)

Please enclose for shipping & handling: $0.00 - $10.00 $2.00 $10.01 - $25.00 $3.00 $25.01 - $100.00 $4.00 CNer $100.00 $5.00

BOOKS copies of 'Following the North Country Notional Scenic Troll' $5.95 per copy ($4.00 per copy If ten or more)

copies

of 'Go West Old Mon: 45 Days on the FLT' $10.00 per copy. ($8.00each If ten or more)

copies of 'Gulde to the North Country Troll-- Chippewa Notional Forest' $1.25 per copy ($.75 per copy If ten or more) copies of Michigan mapsets (check. appropriate ones:) Kalamazoo Co - SE Newaygo Co. Wexford - Charlevoix Co. o Charlevols Co. - Mack.Ince City o St. Ignace - Marquette o Marquette - Ironwood $4.00 per set. Binder, $2.50 No wholesale

o Lenawee Co. - Calhoun Co. o SE Newaygo Co - NW Wexford

o o

Michigan residents please include 6% sales tax Make check/money order payable to:

copies of 'Cert/fled Sections of the North Country Trail' (Check. sestlons) "North Country Trail Association" O Burr Oak. - Sink.Ing Spring $4.00 OAllegheny NF & Cook.Forest, $2.90 O Wayne NF $1.50 Little Miami Scenic Park., $1.15 Send order to: O Miami and Erle Canal, $1.80 o Manistee NF $3.50 NCTA Trail Shop 0 Hiawatha NF E & Tahqua $2.70 OOttawa NF $2.10 o Hie.NFW & Pict Rock.s, $2.05 o Chequamegon NF $1.80 3777 Sparks Dr., Suite 105 O Chippewa NF, $2.20 Sheyenne Grassland $1 .15 Complete set with binder, $23.00, shipping Included. No wholesale. Grand Rapdls, Ml 49546

o

o

NORTH STAR: The Newsletter of

Page 24

th; North

Country Trail Association, AprH-May 1996

A CHALLENGE FOR THE

so's 2000 Members by 2000 2000 Certified Miles by 2000 It's not going to be easy, but we can do it. Much has been completed, but there's still a lot to do.

You can help meet the challenge by joining the North Country Trail Association, and by inviting others to join, too. Let's do it! ~------------------------------------, o YES! I want to support the North CountryTrail Association. Enter my annual membershipat the following level: O $20 Individual o $30 Household

o I would

O $35 Organizational O $50 Trail Leader

O $100 Pathfinder

0$400Life (1 person)

o $500 Corporate

o $600 Life (couple)

like to be a Member-at-large, or I would like $5 of my dues to be remitted to the following Chapter: Grand Traverse Hiking Club North Country Trail Hikers (UP-Ml) (MN) Wisconsin North Dakota Ohio Pennsylvania

o West Michigan o Headwaters

o

o

o

o

o

o

I would further like to support the NCTA with my tax deductible contribution of: $

_

Please make check payable to: North Country Trail Association and mail to : NCTA, 3777 Sparks Dr., SE, Suite 105, Grand Rapids Ml 49546 Name Address City

~

-----------------------------State Zip

Home Phone

Work Phone

_

Occupation-------

1 would like to volunteer the following skills:--------------------

L------------------------------------~