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Page Background

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