The Continental Divide Trail (CDT) is one of eleven national scenic trails in the United States. Given this designation, the trail is part of the larger National Trails System that is made up of National Scenic and Historic Trails (NSHT). 

In my role with the CDT, I have come to learn that national trails face their own suite of challenges (extensive miles to manage, large number of stakeholders, etc.) in addition to those that other trails encounter. The Partnership for the National Trails System (PNTS) acknowledges these difficulties and hosts a workshop that unites national trails so they can “advocate for [their] trails, learn best practices from each other, advance technology and knowledge in [their] field and move forward together to protect, improve and promote these valuable resources.”

This November, I was able to attend the PNTS workshop in Tucson, Arizona and participated in various conversations surrounding NSHT management. As a GIS/Data Specialist still learning about the CDT and long-distance trails, I focused my sessions on the “trail operations, management and planning” track. The sessions in this track touched on topics of interest to me, especially the presentations on land acquisition. 

Over the last few months, I have been working closely with a GIS Specialist and a Trail/Lands Conservation Manager from the CDT Coalition on a parcel analysis along the CDT. We have been identifying private land parcels the CDT crosses and preparing maps and datasets to inform regional realty teams and determine if there are trail reroute possibilities. The GIS work is familiar to me; however, this has been my first experience dealing with parcel data in relation to land protection and conservation. 

I have learned a lot about the attributes of land parcels from the work we have done so far and after attending a “Land Acquisition Strategies for National Trails” presentation I learned how much planning needs to be done beforehand so that when a parcel is for sale the realty team can act quickly to acquire it. This planning needs to be done at multiple scales and should include a finalized route for the trail and a land protection plan. I also learned about the steps it takes to acquire a parcel and the benefits agencies receive from partnering with the land trust community through this process. We also discussed the process from the landowner perspective and their needs/wants since it is ultimately their decision to sell their land.

The PNTS workshop was another professional development opportunity that I was able to take advantage of during my fellowship. My knowledge of trail management has expanded greatly as well as my professional network. I have continued meeting professionals in the Trails and Recreation fields and strengthened connections with those I work with more closely in the Forest Service and CDT Coalition. Once again, I have been inspired by my experiences and plan to apply what I have learned to my work on the CDT and in my community.