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the Midwest in the 1960s and eventu-
ally spread across the country. By that
time, the railroad industry was in seri-
ous decline; between 1930 and 1970, an
estimated 38,000 miles of rail lines were
abandoned (by 1990, the number had
jumped to 103,000 miles). People started
exploring the unpaved corridors on foot,
and the lasting moniker “rails-to-trails”
began to take hold.The Cathedral Aisle
Trail, a short walking path built on an
abandoned rail corridor in an old hunting
preserve, quietly materialized in South
Carolina in 1939, but multi-use rail-trails
did not come into being until the 1960s,
with the Illinois Prairie Path and the
Elroy-Sparta State Trail in Wisconsin.
Concerned about the potential perma-
nent loss of the country’s rail corridors,
Congress amended the National Trails
System Act in 1983 to create “railbank-
ing,” a process by which inactive cor-
ridors could be preserved for future rail
use through interim conversion to trails.
A year later, a group of conservation and
outdoor professionals, biking and walk-
ing advocates, and railroad history buffs
started meeting in Washington, D.C.,
over brown bag lunches to explore ways
to mobilize.
Harnik, a veteran of the environmen-
tal conservation movement, is credited
with writing the first funding proposal
for RTC. David Burwell, a lawyer for the
National Wildlife Federation—as well as
RTC’s co-founder and first president—
shopped the proposal around to funders.
Philanthropist Larry Rockefeller and the
National Wildlife Federation responded
with startup funding, and attorney
Charles Montagne of Covington &
Burling provided pro bono legal support.
In the Spring 2006
Rails to Trails
article, “A Trip Down Memory Trail: 20
Years of RTC,” author Kristen Fletcher
writes about the early years, stating:
“RTC faced no shortage of skeptics.”
“We were told that people would
never support a trails organization,”
Burwell recalled in the article. “We felt
that the counter argument was that this
was not just trails but our national rail-
road heritage ….”
And through grassroots efforts,
YEARS
March 7
RTC wins a
President’s
Council on
Sustainable
Development
award.
l
l
1991
1996
S
ince its creation, RTC has collaborated with legislators to push for federal support for trails. On Dec. 18, 1991, President
Bush signed ISTEA (the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act) into law, which introduced the Transportation
Enhancements (TE) and Recreational Trails Programs. TE (now Transportation Alternatives) is currently the largest federal
source of funding for trails and walking and biking projects in the U.S.
Over the years:
•
June 9, 1998: ISTEA reauthorized as TEA-21 (Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century)—increases funding for TE.
•
Aug. 10, 2005: SAFETEA-LU (Safe, Accountable, Flexible and Efficient Transportation Equity Act) signed into law—introduces
the Nonmotorized Transportation Pilot Program and Safe Routes to School.
•
June 29, 2012: MAP-21 (Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act) reduces federal investment in active
transportation; RTC continues to mobilize.
•
Dec. 4, 2015: FAST Act signed into law—helps ensure innovative trail financing is more accessible to small/rural communities.
PUSHING THE LINE: FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR AMERICA’S TRAILS
December 18
The first dedicated
federal funding
for
trails is introduced
in the federal
transportation bill.
August 16
RTC launches its
national trail-
finder website,
TrailLink.com.
l
2000
September
After TE is put under
fire in the House,
RTC works with Rep.
James Oberstar
(D-Minn.) and Rep.
Tom Petri (R-Wis.)
to help
restore
TE funding.
The
amendment passes
by a vote of 327 to 90.
l
2003
October 5
First Lady Hillary Rodham
Clinton launches the
National
Millennium Trails Program
and partners with RTC and
others to recognize 2,000
trails across U.S.
l
1998
LAURA STARK
COURTESY RTC
CRUSHRUSH/THINKSTOCK
WILL HARBISON
rails
to
trails
u
spring/summer.16
8