CDT trail Organizations

[bamboo bob]

Can someone explain what all these outfits do. CDT Alliance, CDT Society, CDT Coalition, CDT Association? I think defunct. Anyway are they all doing the same thing? Competitive? Defined roles?

[Spirit Walker]

Continental Divide Trail Society was the originator of the CDT. Jim Wolf scouted routes, testified before Congress to get the trail included in the National Scenic Trails, wrote guidebooks and created the basic route of the trail. He still goes out every year and he is still involved in working to ensure that the trail is protected and goes in the most hiker friendly locations (i.e. where there is water.) CDTS puts out a newsletter that is a good source for finding out about changes on the trail, who else is hiking, what their experience has been, etc. It is hiker oriented as well as trail oriented.

CDTA was created because the development of the trail was not progressing and it was hoped that a larger organization would be able to spur the governmental entities to make completion of the trail a priority. They were much less hiker oriented than CDTS, but for a while they were making progress on getting the trail built, with summer work projects, the mapping project, etc. For some reason the organization collapsed and no longer exists.

I don't think that there ever really was a specific explicit separation of responsibilities between the various organizations. Both CDTA and CDTS conferred with the government agencies about the trail, protesting opening the trail to motorized use for example, or development along the corridor. CDTA had more clout, as it had more money, but Jim Wolf has been active for many more years and was less likely to compromise, I think.

I don't know anything about the new organizations. The Montana group is working to get the trail built in Montana. I assume that's the priority for the other groups as well.