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*** Learn about some of the best websites with the 2004 American Trails Website Contest. Visit great website winners and nominations from the 2003 contest.

*** Photos and details of 2004 awards for trails funded by the Recreational Trails Program: a wide range of interesting projects and programs

*** The New Years 2004 Trail Tracks Newsletter is now online in PDF format

*** Now in Congress: reauthorization of transportation funding (TEA) which includes Recreational Trails Program and Enhancements funding. Updates are in the News & Alerts area with more discussion on the Federal Funding page.

*** InterGreen Outfitters Partners for Conservation: For every dollar you spend with our on-line catalog, we will donate 14% of every purchase to American Trails. InterGreen Outfitters offers field guides to boating gear, unique gifts to rain wear, socks to binoculars.

*** View the winners and 140 entries in the first National Recreation Trails
photo contest, sponsored by American Trails.

*** Visit our directory of trail-related businesses, consultants, products, and services. Supporters of American Trails are listed in this new section along with descriptions of their work for parks, trails, and greenways.

*** The new Fall 2003 NRT NEWS is available as a pdf file (290 kb): it's the newsletter for managers of National Recreation Trails

*** The USDA Forest Service is working on Forest Service Trail Accessibility Guidelines. The process is underway to establish this directive through the public comment process. The directive would be based on recommendations from the ADA Regulatory Negotiation Committee on developed recreation areas.

*** Another new resource from Jim Schmid is Acronyms and Abbreviations for trails and greenways, to help you untangle the alphabet soup of the jargon.

*** Iinformation on SAFETEA-- download these Word documents:

• Complete text of SAFETEA bill (1 mb)
• Analysis of SAFETEA from US Department of Transportation (1 mb)
• Key points of SAFETEA from US Department of Transportation 655 kb)

*** Now available online is the world's only book of trail quotations. Jim Schmid has compiled hundreds of memorable remarks on trails topics sorted by topic.

*** See complete details of advertising with American Trails in the Trail Tracks newsletter and the AmericanTrails.org website.

*** $94 Million is available for 2003 State Recreation Grants From Land and Water Conservation Fund. See how much your state is receiving.

*** The newly updated American Trails Bibliography developed by Jim Schmid, enables you to search 2,400 documents on a wide veriety of trails and greenways topics.

*** The Spring 2003 NRT NEWS is now available as a pdf file with articles on new National Recreation Trail nominations.

*** The 2003 nominations for National Recreation Trails on National Forests and Grasslands include articles and photos. See the process for NRT designation.

*** Recent minutes of the National Trail Training Partnership, a forum of diverse trail organizations and agencies working to improve training oportunities. Join us as a NTTP partner! Submit information on your training opporunities for our National Trail Training Calendar.

*** The On Line Database with details of National Recreation Trails has been updated.

*** Would your trail benefit from designation as a National Recreation Trail? Deadline for nominations is November each year. The new Fall 2002 NRT newsletter is available in PDF format. Also available is: Spring 2002, Fall 2001, and Summer 2001.

*** How much will your state get for funding local trail projects in 2003? The federal Recreational Trails Program provides funds to all 50 states for trail, greenway, and motorized recreation projects. For information on how the program is working in your state, check your state agency's website from our State Trails Program Contacts page.

*** Twenty-six new National Recreation Trails were designated by Secretary of Interior Gale Norton and National Park Service Director Fran Mainella for 2003. For more on the program see the National Recreation Trails website, hosted by American Trails.

*** The first American Trails Website Contest winners for 2002 have been announced. Browse over 70 trail-related websits which have been nominated for awards in a variety of categories. We'll be taking nominations this fall for the 2002 website contest.

*** When will we see a final rule for trails, beaches, campgrounds, and picnic areas under the Americans with Disabilities Act? See the news on proposed regulations and other information on accessible trails. A concise explanation of the proposed accessibility guidelines for trails is also available.

*** Recreation advocates are debating various ways to protect public land while allowing for recreation. The Federal Land Management area has several recent articles includeing An overview of recreation alternatives to designated Wilderness.

*** Have you checked out our CALENDAR listing state and national conferences, training opportunities, important trail events, and trail group meetings? Send your trail-related news and events to: mactrail@aol.com

*** Please check your links and bookmarks to be sure you are using our website address: www.AmericanTrails.org. The old link to www.outdoorlink.com/amtrails is no longer being updated.

*** Want to contact the President or your Members of Congress in the Senate and House of Representatives? See the listing of addresses and website links for Congress.

*** We are adding Canadian links to trails, greenways, and rail trails. There is a lot of new information for Ontario Trails, and if you have other suggestions for trails and greenways in Canada, please let us know at MacTrail@aol.com

*** The Coalition for Recreational Trails (CRT), a federation of national and regional trail-related groups, presented its annual Achievement Awards to seven trail programs and projects for outstanding use of Recreational Trails Program (RTP) funds.

*** Information on the National Trails Symposium, which was held November 10-13, 2002 in central Florida, is available.

*** A Report on State Trail Project funding through the Recreational Trails Program, 1992-1999, has been released by the Coalition for Recreational Trails. Includes tables of funding in all states and an analysis of types of trails uses on these projects.

*** We are adding news about pending rails to trails projects, and links to local rail trail groups on the state trail pages. See "America's Trails State by State" and select the state you're interested in.  

*** We now have a complete set of links to every web site supporting the National Scenic and Historic Trails, and several other long distance trails. Direct links to twenty important trail sites!

*** An area on our site covers the issue of Wildlife and Trails. It includes a link to Planning Trails with Wildlife in Mind: a Handbook for Trail Planners from Colorado's State Trails Program and other information and articles.