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National Recreation Trails
In his 1979 President's Environmental Message, Jimmy Carter directed the U.S. Forest
Service to designate an average of two National Recreation Trails on every national
forest, for a total of 244 trails, by January 1, 1980. Just a few weeks before the
1980 New Year's Day goal, Forest Service Chief R. Max Peterson noted that his agency
had "made great progress on making trails available…" In fact, on
December 18, 1979, Peterson reported that most regions had already met their goal
and that nationwide the Forest Service had already established 256 National Recreation
Trails. By 1984, Peterson expected to have doubled President Carter's target for
trails, predicting the Forest Service would have 488 designated recreation trails.
Included in the National Trails System Act legislation of 1968, National Recreation
Trails differ from their National Scenic and Historic Trail counterparts in several
ways. National Recreation Trails can be designated by the Secretaries of Agriculture
or Interior, rather than requiring an act of Congress, and do not need to represent
nationally significant scenic or historic values. National Recreation Trails vary
considerably in length - many are less than one mile - and can include a wide array
of uses (National Scenic Trails are intended for non-motorized travel).
With recreational interest in the national forests (and other public lands) expanding
rapidly, the National Recreation Trail system also increased dramatically in the
1970s and 1980s. At the end of 1977, the Forest Service contributed only fourteen
National Recreation Trails to the system's total of 132. By December 1982, a total
of 719 National Recreation Trails added up to more than 7,200 miles in all 50 states.
Of these, 481 trails were administered by the Federal government, though a 1982
National Park Service report did not specify how many of these were on national
forest lands. State and local governments, as well as a handful of private organizations
managed the remaining trails.
Among the recreational features provided by the National Recreation Trails program,
the 1982 report noted that, "With the increasing need for energy conservation
and urban recreation opportunities, more emphasis has been placed on the National
Recreation Trails program. Interest in the close-to-home-recreation program has
increased considerably during the past few years."
Sources:
National Forest Trails System, (April 1978), photocopy of U.S.
Forest Service document.
Status of the National Trails System, December 29, 1982, U.S.
Department of the Interior, National Park Service, photocopied document.
Summary: Status of the National Trails System, February 1, 1981.
Untitled speech by Forest Service Chief R. Max Peterson, photocopy of
2nd Draft, dated December 18, 1979.
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