From August to December 2021, the Continental Divide Trail Coalition surveyed 136 small business owners in 38 communities located along the Continental Divide Trail to learn more about how the Continental Divide Trail impacts their businesses, the local economy, and their support for public lands.
by Continental Divide Trail Coalition
As a connector of landscapes, communities, and cultures, the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail (CDT) provides a setting for community members, decision-makers, conservationists, outdoor enthusiasts, and everyone connected to the lands and waters of the Divide, to come together to discuss how to steward the vital natural, cultural, and historic resources found across its entirety. With this report, the Continental Divide Trail Coalition hopes to highlight the role of the cooperative stewardship model in the management of the CDT, what we accomplished in 2021, and what we are looking forward to in 2022.
Established as a National Scenic Trail in 1968, the Continental Divide Trail is U.S. Forest Service-administered trail that protects the natural, while providing increased access to the Divide landscape, including the 20 National Forests, 25 Wilderness areas, 3 National Parks, 1 National Monument, and 13 BLM resource areas the trail
connects.
The CDT offers myriad hiking, equestrian, fishing, birdwatching, skiing, and other recreational opportunities along its 3,100 miles. As it runs from the border with Mexico to the border with Canada along the Continental Divide, it traverses through and near mountain communities whose economies are increasingly bolstered by visitors and recreationists accessing nearby public lands. Outdoor recreation is an economic powerhouse along the CDT.
Published January 2022
CDTC has four pillars of focus: stewardship of the Trail, promotion of the Trail, building a strong Trail community, and building an organization with sound governance. These pillars guide our long-term direction as well as our day-to-day efforts to complete, promote, and protect the CDT.
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