Our Stories

What recent executive orders mean for the North Country Trail

Updated 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