The Trail Champion's Introduction to NEPA

Trail projects—from creating new trail networks to enhancing existing ones—are built through partnerships and collaboration. Partnering with federal land managers (such as the U.S. Forest Service, the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) means sharing the stewardship responsibility for the lands in their care. But how do our land manager partners weigh the potential impact on the land and the life on it(natural resources) and the stories it holds (cultural resources) with all the benefits trails provide? At what point of the planning process, whether for a new trail system or for improvements or repair to an existing one, do our land manager partners start considering the potential impacts? How do they gather information and how are decisions made? As a Trail Champion, what is your role?