For Immediate Release:  June 3, 2004
Contact: Steven Hall, 970-244-3052

BLM trail projects to celebrate National Trails Day June 5

The Bureau of Land Management will celebrate National Trails Day by working with local volunteers and the Colorado Plateau Mountain Bike Trail Association (COPMOBA) on the Holy Cross Trail in the Bangs Canyon Management Area, and with the Colorado Environmental Coalition (CEC) on the Rattlesnake Arches Trail in the Colorado Canyons National Conservation Area.

The BLM and volunteers have been working on the Holy Cross Trail to make this popular trail sustainable so future generations can continue to enjoy this spectacular area.
Volunteers will meet at the Tabeguache Trailhead on Monument Road at 8 a.m. Saturday, June 5. RSVP to BLM’s Chris Pipkin, 970-244-3024 or Chris_Pipkin@co.blm.gov

Volunteers should bring:

• Water (3-4 quarts)
• Lunch
• Sunscreen
• Sturdy work shoes
• Work gloves

The Colorado Environmental Coalition will work with the BLM to repair sections of trail leading to the arches in Rattlesnake Canyon in the Colorado Canyons National Conservation Area. They will meet on the upper Black Ridge Access road and shuttle to the Rattlesnake Arches Trailhead. For more information, contact BLM’s Andy Windsor at 970-244-3044 or Andy_Windsor@co.blm.gov.

National Trails Day is a celebration of trails that evolved from the report of the President's Commission on Americans Outdoors. In 1987, the report recommended that all Americans be able to go out their front doors and within 15 minutes, be on trails that wind through their cities, towns or villages and bring them back without retracing steps. The recommendation, dubbed Trails for All Americans, became the impetus behind several public and private parties joining American Hiking Society in launching National Trails Day in 1993. NTD was started to both increase the awareness of community trails and provide a helping hand for the hundreds of volunteer trail clubs for which every day is National Trails Day.

With 829 registered events in 2003, 34 percent more than 2002, the awareness of trails was brought to thousands of people through dedications, hikes, nature walks, bikes, paddles, horse rides, trail maintenance trips, and many other activities. Event hosts include local hiking clubs, federal agencies, municipal parks, retailers, land trusts and many other businesses and organizations.

More than two-thirds (67.6 percent) of Americans 16 and older participated in at least one of 22 human powered activities (excluding those who exercise walk only) in 2002, as tracked by Outdoor Industry Association. The statistics which were published in their annual Outdoor Recreation Participation Study™ for 2003, listed 168.1 million people walking for exercise; 73.3 million hiking; 14.1 million backpacking; 17.6 million camping; 39.1 million trail running; 13.5 million cross-country skiing; and 5.9 million snowshoeing.

Trails are conveniently located in local parks close to home or miles away in a wilderness area. With over 200,000 miles of very diverse trails throughout the US, from a gentle level path to a rugged mountain climb, there are trails for every physical fitness level.

-BLM-