The National Park Service and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy recently held an important gathering of conservation organizations from all of the regions which encompass Appalachian Trail lands.  The purpose: to find a path towards coordinated conservation of the landscapes around the footpath that traverses some 2,184 miles of the Appalachian Mountains from Georgia to Maine.  The National Park Service Foundation documents focus on aspects of the A.T. corridor that have not been highlighted in the past:  cultural and historic resources, climate change, healthy lifestyles and more.

This was an important gathering because the National Park Service is calling for a Scaling Up of land conservation in response to the latest data in scientific fields as diverse as ecology, psychology, cognitive studies, engineering, climatology and more.  The Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust is excited to be working in this landscape as we head into a new era for large landscape conservation on the Appalachian Trail.