Our Stories

We are now more than a month into the federal government shutdown and I wanted to bring you an update. While the North Country National Scenic Trail isn’t experiencing the same visible impacts we’ve seen in some National Parks, the impacts to the trail and Association are growing every day the shutdown continues.

• Loss of Volunteer Protection. During the shutdown, core protections provided by the National Park Service (including Workers Compensation coverage) have been suspended. As a result, volunteers who continue to complete projects, do routine maintenance, or lead hikes are at increased personal risk. While late fall is a quieter field work season, volunteers are still active across the trail and deserve to be protected.
• Delayed Work Next Year. This shutdown is happening during a critical planning window. Complex trail projects, especially those on federally managed land, require compliance work, permitting, coordination, and review by the National Park Service and other agency partners months in advance. With much of this work paused or delayed right now, we face the real possibility of projects being pushed back or cancelled next year simply because the planning can’t happen today.
• Our Federal Partners Are Not Being Paid. We are deeply concerned for our colleagues at the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Army Corps of Engineers. They are furloughed, including all five of our [NCNST] National Park Service staff. More concerning is that even those who are still working are not being paid. They chose their careers because of a commitment to public lands, and it is distressing to watch this level of disruption on both a personal and professional level.
• Impacts to Your Public Lands. With fewer federal staff on duty, risks of overflowing trash, vandalism, resource damage, and unmanaged use soar in some locations across the country. Some damage can take years to repair and some cultural resources can never be restored. Please practice Leave No Trace principles; leave the land and trail better than you found it.

Our commitment is to ensure the North Country National Scenic Trail is here forever. In doing this, we rely on public and private partnerships to make it a reality. This only works when both sides are functioning.

When things are broken, it can take a toll – but if you look closely, you will find bright spots of hope. We see it every day in our work across the trail, and we see it in the bipartisan spirit of the new Senate Stewardship Caucus. At a time when division is so visible, this caucus is a reminder that protecting America’s public lands, including the North Country National Scenic Trail, is shared work, shared heritage, and shared responsibility across party lines.

There is common ground here. We see it and we are counting on it to help move the North Country National Scenic Trail, and this nation, forward.

As of October 1, 2025, we are in a federal government shutdown. Please read how this impacts the North Country Trail, the Association, and how you volunteer.

Why are we being notified about this shutdown?
A shutdown impacts federal funding for trail projects, can impact the staffing on federal lands across the trail, and leaves our volunteers without protection provided under the National Park Service’s (NPS) Volunteers-In-Parks (VIP) program.

Have we experienced shutdowns before?
Yes, and we have weathered them with minimal impact. However, this one may be different in duration and intensity.

How does this impact volunteers?
The normal protections and liability coverages (from the VIP program) are suspended. This means you will not be covered if injured, and will not be protected against tort claims while the agency is closed. During the shutdown, do not wear NPS clothing or represent the NPS in any way. You are encouraged to continue tracking and reporting your volunteer hours to the NCTA, but please know any time logged during this shutdown will not count toward the hourly milestones tracked/awarded by the NPS.

How will the shutdown affect our partnership communication?
Only critical federal staff are retained during a shutdown, so many staff with federal agencies (e.g. National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Army Corps of Engineers) won’t be available to answer questions.

What if I am working on a trail project that is federally funded?
You may not be reimbursed for expenses incurred during this period. Please check with the agency you’re working with or NCTA staff if you are unsure how to proceed.

Is there a long-term risk to our federal public lands?
Yes. Federal employees could be laid off during this period or soon after, which could leave our federal public lands at risk.

What about trail workdays or hikes planned on non-federal land?
Activities planned with state or local agency partners should be allowed to proceed as planned. Please double check with your partner, the NCTA Director of Trail Operations, or your Regional Trail Coordinator.

How will a shutdown affect NCTA operations?
There will be no immediate change in NCTA business. However, because the NCTA receives significant funding from the NPS, an extended shutdown will impact our operations.

How will this impact North Country Trail users?
Trail users may experience access issues or limited visitor resources (e.g. closed parks, bathrooms, visitor centers). Check websites before you go to find out how that location will be impacted.

Thank you for all you do for the North Country Trail and for your patience during this time. We will monitor the situation and share information as we receive it.

The President’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2026 includes devastating cuts to trails and public lands, including a cut of $900 million in National Park operations. This would wipe out critical programs, supplies, and project funding. It would increase roadblocks for nonprofit partners like us to effectively build, maintain, protect, and promote national trails.

The National Park Service will face a $900 million funding cut to its operations. The U.S. Forest Service will face trail funding cuts of 60% for maintenance. These agencies are the primary federal partners of the North Country Trail Association. The North Country Trail crosses more than 800 miles of land managed by these two agencies alone, including 10 National Forest units.

Land and Water Conservation Funds are also at risk of a drastic reduction. These are essential for protecting and completing the National Trails System, and have already been promised to the American people.

These cuts will impact access, safety, and the future of your National Trails – including the North Country National Scenic Trail. Without action, these treasured landscapes and cultural routes will suffer. Your action makes a difference. Contact your members of Congress (both House and Senate) today! Find suggested language for those calls or emails at northcountrytrail.org/advocacy.

In recent weeks, AmeriCorps programs have been shuttered, leaving the North Country Trail at a great deficit to complete much needed work. It suddenly canceled nearly $400 million in grants, impacting 1,000 programs and abruptly ending the service of more than 32,000 AmeriCorps workers.

AmeriCorps “provides opportunities for Americans of all backgrounds to serve their country, address the nation’s most pressing challenges, and improve lives and communities.” AmeriCorps dispatches about 200,000 young Americans to community service projects each year, including the direct AmeriCorps service programs or youth corps that are supported by AmeriCorps funding on the North Country Trail. 

In 2024, the NCTA welcomed 27 youth corps crews to tackle trail projects on the North Country Trail. Their time on the trail ranged from a few days to multiple weeks and months. They built bridges, boardwalks, and many miles of new trail.

In addition to the tangible impact to the North Country Trail, AmeriCorps service is the gateway for many professionals in the trails community. Multiple NCTA staff have served as AmeriCorps members, including the Director of Trail Operations, a Regional Trail Coordinator, and the Marketing and Communications Manager.

“My first trail working experience was by signing up through AmeriCorps and working in the Stanislaus National Forest in California. It was through this where I knew I wanted to at least work outdoors, hopefully in the trails world. That led to me working as the seasonal trails crew lead for the U.S. Forest Service, and then to the career I have now.” (Kenny Wawsczyk, NCTA Regional Trail Coordinator for Michigan)

“I served with a trail building youth corps in Colorado, but in an outreach capacity through the AmeriCorps VISTA program. I learned so much about nonprofit management and marketing, in addition to witnessing the complexities of trail building and maintenance operations. The skills and connections I built here absolutely jump-started my career, leading me to positions at the Bureau of Land Management, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, and eventually the North Country Trail Association.” (Kate Lemon, NCTA Marketing and Communications Manager)

The loss of these valuable programs will have an enormous impact on the trail. There may be no crews to support planned projects in Ohio and Wisconsin this year. Other youth corps programs will have reduced capacity and increased concerns about long-term funding. Contact your members of Congress. Tell them AmeriCorps is an important program that develops leaders of the future and supports our communities.

As a National Scenic Trail authorized by Congress, the success of the North Country Trail is dependent on our elected officials understanding its value to local and regional economies, and the enhanced quality of life the trail offers their constituents. So each February, a team of NCTA advocates travels to Hike the Hill in Washington DC, to meet with federal agencies and members of Congress.

Trails have a proven positive effect on people and the economy. The Bureau of Economic Analysis calculated that outdoor recreation’s economic output was $1.2 trillion in 2023, surpassing industries such as farming, mining, and utilities. Across the United States, outdoor recreation generates millions of quality, jobs in a wide variety of industries. Equally impressive is its enhancement to an individual’s life. Outdoor recreation offers so many health benefits, from building a stronger immune system to improving physical and mental health. Simply put, trails and outdoor recreation are a remedy for a healthy economy and healthy communities.

Hike the Hill is an opportunity for us to band together with other National Trails, to advocate for funding and policy for trail management. Recent actions to indiscriminately terminate federal employees and hold back Congressionally approved grants and funding means the stakes are high this year.

• The loss of grant funding to the NCTA will impact the services and supplies that assist volunteers, partners, and communities in eight states.
• The termination of our National Park Service planner position and the hiring freeze for vacant positions (which are in compliance with land and resource management) will significantly impact our ability to further develop and protect the trail.
• The U.S. Forest Service’s termination of recreation positions in each of our National Forests will hinder their ability to manage 800 miles of the trail.

These changes are proving not to be temporary setbacks, but real cuts that will have lasting impacts on the trail you love. Your voice is needed. National Trails are bipartisan, and our collective voice will be heard. Please contact your members of Congress to tell them that the loss of National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service staff, as well as the delay in grant agreements, are impacting the trails you love and the community you call home.

You may wonder what impact the flurry of recent executive orders and administrative actions has on the North Country Trail. As a National Scenic Trail, we have an inherent connection to the federal government. Although some may be temporary setbacks, these changes have the potential to make real and lasting impacts on the trail you love, and we want to keep you updated.

As the nonprofit partner of the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service, the North Country Trail Association receives federal support through a main Cooperative Agreement, as well as grants for project funding. These dollars underwrite resources that support our entire trail community, including the Association’s overall operations, staffing, safety equipment, and volunteer training. In addition, these funds go directly to on-the-ground projects like bridges, boardwalks, signage, and maintenance. While it’s being said the funding freeze has been lifted, our current funding is still listed as “suspended.” We worry that future agreements will also be at risk.

With many new orders related to federal staffing, we are concerned by the risk of losing critical staff positions both in our National Park Service office and across the federal lands through which the trail passes. These staff are necessary to move the trail’s vision forward and to support our volunteer workforce. We support accountability and the streamlining of bureaucracy, but our partners play an essential role in the management of the North Country Trail. These agencies were already critically understaffed and underfunded. Any additional cuts would further obstruct their ability to support the North Country Trail on the lands they manage. We hope this pause is temporary, but the result of long-term funding and staffing cuts will put the North Country Trail in jeopardy.

The National Trails System has always been a bipartisan issue. Please contact your members of Congress to tell them that this funding freeze is impacting the trail you love, and they should support the critical staff at our federal land management agencies.

We will do our best to keep you updated. Thank you for your support of America’s longest National Scenic Trail.

Sincerely,

Andrea Ketchmark, NCTA Executive Director
Jan Ulferts Stewart, President, NCTA Board of Directors