Our Stories

What recent executive orders mean for the North Country Trail

May 15, 2025

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.

February 24, 2025

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.

January 31, 2025

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