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Happy Trails!
Keith Laughlin, President
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
P.S. Read profles of each Rail-Trail Champion at
www.railstotrails.org
!
Te magazine of Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC), a
nonproft organization dedicated to creating a nationwide
network of trails from former rail lines and connecting
corridors to build healthier places for healthier people.
PRESIDENT
Keith Laughlin
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Charles N. Marshall, chair; Richard W. Angle Jr.;
Mary Bandura; Joe Louis Barrow, Jr.; Kathy Blaha;
Robert M. Campbell, Jr.; Matthew Cohen;
David Ingemie; M. Katherine Kraft; Gail M. Lipstein;
Krishna Murthy; John Rathbone; Guy O. Williams
MAGAZINE STAFF
Editor-in-Chief
Karl Wirsing
Senior Editor
Mark Cheater
Editorial Consultant
Wendy Jordan
Design/Production
TMG
Art Director
Josh Coleman/TMG
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy was incorporated in 1985 as a
nonproft charitable organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the
Internal Revenue Code and is a publicly supported organization
as defned in Sections 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) and 509(a)(1). A copy
of the current fnancial statement, or annual report, and state
registration fled by RTC may be obtained by contacting RTC
at the address listed below. Donations to RTC are tax-deductible.
RAILS-TO-TRAILS CONSERVANCY
Headquarters
2121 Ward Court, NW, 5th Floor
Washington, DC 20037-1213
Phone
202.331.9696
Fax
202.223.9257
Web site
www.railstotrails.org
Field and Regional offices:
Midwest
Canal Winchester, OH
614.837.6782, midwest@railstotrails.org
Northeast
Camp Hill, PA
717.238.1717, northeast@railstotrails.org
Western
San Francisco, CA
415.814.1100, western@railstotrails.org
Florida
Tallahassee, FL
850.942.2379, rtcforida@railstot rails.org
Rails to Trails
is a beneft of membership in Rails-to-Trails
Conservancy. Regular membership is $18 a year, $5 of which
supports the magazine. In addition to the magazine, members
receive discounts on RTC gifts and publications.
Rails to Trails
is published four times a year by RTC, a nonproft charitable
organization. Copyright 2011 Rails-to-Trails Conservancy.
ISSN 1523-4126. Printed in U.S.A.
POSTMASTER
Send address changes to
Rails to Trails
, 2121
Ward Court, NW, 5th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20037-1213.
Extraordinary Tales
When I worked in the White House, I attended a lot of meetings with high-
powered people in suits. But none of those meetings compared to one I had this past
fall. On October 1, 2011, I hosted a luncheon with many of the honorees of Rails-
to-Trails Conservancy’s
. As part of
our 25th anniversary celebration, we had chosen 25 people who have played a major
role in founding and growing the rail-trail movement.
Arrayed around the table was a group of ordinary folks in ordinary clothes. But they
were telling extraordinary tales. Many of the stories harkened back to the early days when
the idea of rail-trails was new. Tese trail pioneers often faced fevered opposition in plac-
es where people feared the idea of public space in proximity to their private property. We
heard of one trail group that was
in a race with arsonists as they
struggled to rebuild bridges on
the trail faster than their oppo-
nents could burn them down.
In another case, trail opponents
convinced a law enforcement
ofcial to arrest a graduate stu-
dent for trespassing on public
land because he was developing
a plan to convert an unused cor-
ridor into a trail. And one trail
champion recalled cutting and clearing miles of barbed wire that had been strung up to
prevent public access to land in the public domain.
Ten someone indicated that threats had been made on his life. Someone asked
if anyone else had that experience. A half-dozen hands quickly shot up. A chill ran
through me as I fully realized that the early trailblazers had to have more than vision
and persistence; they had to have courage.
But the tenor of the conversation shifted as we continued to talk. Rather than
tales of fear and intimidation, the trail champions told stories of how former oppo-
nents had become regular users of the trail with their children and grandchildren.
With the passage of time, the ferocity of resistance subsided and the enormous value
of the trails loomed so much larger.
Later that night at the award reception, I was honored to present each of the rail-
trail champions a mounted, silver-plated railroad spike. When honorees expressed
their gratitude to me for the award, I could only think how grateful we all must be
to this extraordinary group of citizens—and thousands of others like them—who
have worked with Rails-to-Trails Conservancy to build more than 20,000 miles of
rail-trail during the past 25 years. We are in their debt.
Scott Stark
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