Should people be required to pay or give back to the trail?

[Teacher & Snacktime]

give back how, specifically? it seems most just do "trail magic" (feeds) and that's not helping the trail

The "Trail" refers to more than the beaten path. All that the AT encompasses, the culture, the people, the history, the geography; all this is the "Trail". Trail Angels & Trail Magic, whether or not you approve, are certainly a part of it. These things help the mystique.

[Lone Wolf]

The "Trail" refers to more than the beaten path. All that the AT encompasses, the culture, the people, the history, the geography; all this is the "Trail". Trail Angels & Trail Magic, whether or not you approve, are certainly a part of it. These things help the mystique.

ok. i'll respect how you feel

[bamboo bob]

... Would??

SOrry I'm too dense to get your joke. if its a joke.

[Teacher & Snacktime]

ok. i'll respect how you feel

It's not necessary, Wolf. I know how you feel about these things, and that opinion/viewpoint is as valid as my own. I wasn't trying to dispute or prove a point, just presenting a thought on the broader "idea" of the trail.

[Sierra2015]

SOrry I'm too dense to get your joke. if its a joke.

Don't worry about it, it was lame.

[dmax]

Not quite sure if I understand how this works. ..

Donate to a club
then volunteers go out and do the work for free and don't get paid
Ive been told that all the tools for the clubs are tax deductible

So where does the money go?

[rafe]

Required? That's a bit strong. I can't really donate time, so I donate generously to ATC, MATC, and related organizations. All I can do for now. I'm hoping to do more when I retire in a few years.

[skybrew]

There's no such thing as a free lunch: volunteers & paid staffers maintain, protect, preserve, and improve the Trail for our collective use and enjoyment. Where does that money come from? As part of the Dept of the Interior, the National Scenic Trails program receives a small portion of the Dept's annual budget of US$2.6B (I could not find what % goes to the Trails). There are 138M taxpayers in the US. So using the entire budget of the Dept of the Interior - not just the much smaller Trails budget - and assuming that taxpayers cover the entire budget of the Dept., on average (and it's a skewed average to be sure), an American taxpayer contributes about $19 for everything that the DoI does: natl parks, forests, monuments, seashores, etc. So a very small amount from each taxpayer goes to the AT. Probably way less than small cup of cheap coffee. What's the Trail experience worth to you? Keep this in mind when the ATC, the AMC, or the trail maintenance groups seek a membership or contribution. Every bit helps.

[LIhikers]

Not quite sure if I understand how this works......
So where does the money go?

Just to name a few things, liability insurance, rent on office space, copy machine paper, internet service, web site hosting, coffee for the office, employee pay, materials to repair shelters, privies, and bridges, tools no volunteer might have....and more

[LIhikers]

For the uneducated among us (me, at a minimum), can you explain what boundary monitoring entails?

Mark, the US government owns much of the land the AT runs though, and those parcels have been surveyed and survey markers put in place. Some are round, aluminum monuments while others are paint blazes. The boundary monitors check the markers, touch-up the painted ones, and generally checks for problems or changes any place on that parcel of land. It involves a lot of bushwhacking as well as map + compass work.

[Wilson2016]

Don't think you are not going to pay for it. Really? Does anyone believe that all that each of us puts into just thinking about achieving any goal associated with the AT isn't paying . I'm paying and I haven't stepped foot on the AT yet.

[4eyedbuzzard]

There's no such thing as a free lunch: volunteers & paid staffers maintain, protect, preserve, and improve the Trail for our collective use and enjoyment. Where does that money come from? As part of the Dept of the Interior, the National Scenic Trails program receives a small portion of the Dept's annual budget of US$2.6B (I could not find what % goes to the Trails). There are 138M taxpayers in the US. So using the entire budget of the Dept of the Interior - not just the much smaller Trails budget - and assuming that taxpayers cover the entire budget of the Dept., on average (and it's a skewed average to be sure), an American taxpayer contributes about $19 for everything that the DoI does: natl parks, forests, monuments, seashores, etc. So a very small amount from each taxpayer goes to the AT. Probably way less than small cup of cheap coffee. What's the Trail experience worth to you? Keep this in mind when the ATC, the AMC, or the trail maintenance groups seek a membership or contribution. Every bit helps.

Where to start? What makes it difficult to put an accurate finger on is that trail funding is usually part of larger budget items and comes from many different spending bills to many different agencies (Interior - NPS & BLM, Agriculture - USFS, etc.) and you would have drill down through each Dept.'s budget right down to the individual operating units (such as NPS's GSMNP budget) to get a definite number, and even then it might be difficult due to accounting classifications. Some funds that affect trails are from the Consolidated Appropriations Act (aka Omnibus bill), some from Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), some from Transportation and Infrastructure bill, and there are others. The largest line item expenditures are generally for land acquisition for trails that are being built, which predominantly come out of LWCF funds. Operating budgets are typically in the Omnibus Bill. All things considered, total appropriations for trails of all types (hiking, rails to trails, biking, mixed use, scenic, historic, yada) is probably in the $150 to $200 million range based upon what I have figured by reading from a lot of sources, with the largest portions going to land acquisition for building new trails and protecting existing ones; and then infrastructure and operations. But it gets even more muddied when you throw in co-operative funding measures where trails are funded by fed, state, local, and private sources. But, no, trails ain't free. But conservatively, overall trail expenditures by themselves probably amount to less than $1 per citizen per year, and more likely 50 to 75 cents.

Just to name a few things, liability insurance, rent on office space, copy machine paper, internet service, web site hosting, coffee for the office, employee pay, materials to repair shelters, privies, and bridges, tools no volunteer might have....and more

Nope on the two highlighted items. The federal government does not have insurance, they are "self-insured". Typically, coffee costs are paid for by federal employees, and the cost almost never comes out of taxpayer's pockets in any federal office I've ever been in. Generally, the only time this is allowed is for meetings, travel, guests, etc.

[shelterbuilder]

I don't know how other clubs do it, but BMECC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit with a few dollars invested (money that came from the "fair-market" sale of lands (to NPS) that the club had acquired to protect the trail during the 30's, 40's and 50's). Every year, we get a (modest!) return on that investment, and that money helps to fund stuff like equipment purchases (chainsaws, brush-cutters, loppers, etc.) and repairs, maintenance of shelters and privies, paint for blazing, and so on. As a maintaining club, we receive no money from the Feds for any of this stuff. And, yes, we always gratefully accept donations to help defray those costs - but most of the time, we can use the donation of people's TIME even more! As for "coffee for the office" - THAT gets donated by the members who drink it!!!

[Cosmo]

Amen, shelterbuilder.

People are our greatest resource. Even if the money dried up, we (volunteers) could still keep the AT in Mass ready for hikers--some facilities might revert to a more primitive state, but there would be a trail to hike--cleared of brush and well blazed--and places to camp.

Earlier in this thread, several posters mentioned they don't feel they have the physical condition to get out and help, even though they may live near the trail. Most of the 'usual suspects' on our projects are well into their 60's, and we still see some 80 year olds out clipping brush and painting blazes. Not all trail projects require long hikes to the ridgeline, or moving massive amounts of dirt and rock. Some do, and we leave that to the youngsters and those with the time to stay in shape.

Also, your club has a leadership group--they are always looking for people to step up and share the fun. It's not that hard to learn what needs to be done, and on-the-job training is pretty much a regular occurrence. You'll be welcomed, get plenty of support and advice--both from within and outside the club, and experience a great sense of satisfaction in contributing in a real concrete way to keeping the AT alive and thriving. Yes, you have to go to some meetings, and read more e-mail--but our meetings in Mass are generally preceded with a visit to the local purveyor of food and drink, so it actually turns into fun. Don't be bashful, the most important step is showing up.

Cosmo