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National designation boosts image of Rivanna Trail
By
Jake Mooney
© Copyright
Charlottesville Daily Progress
June 1,
2002
The Rivanna Trail, a planned 20-mile network
of footpaths that will encircle Charlottesville, has received federal
recognition as a National
Recreation Trail, a designation that could bring the system marketing
help and money from the U.S. government.
The trail, which is about 85 percent complete, is being constructed by
about 400 volumteers, said Diana Foster, vice president of the Rivanna
Tails Fundation, the group building and maintaining the network.
More than 30 landowners, including private residents, the city of Charlottesville,
Albemarle County and the Uiversity of Virginia, have allowed the trail
to pass through their property, Foster said Friday.
"It's an honor, because it's a national award," she said. "What
it means is that the park service, at the federal level, is recognizing
the work that these volunteers have done, and that they are also putting
a value on wilderness .... that is accessible to everybody."
"If you think about most wildernesses, people have to drive long
distances and take a lot of time to get to them," Foster added. "Here
we have a wilderness that's right outside people's doors."
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Gail Norton announced the designation Friday
in Washington, in anticipation of today's National Trails Day. In all,
25 other trails in 16 states were recognized, including the New River
Trail State Park in Southwest Virginia.
The Rivanna Trails Foundation is holding a local announcement ceremony
at 9 a.m. today, at the Holiday Inn on Fifth Street Extended.
The National Recreation Trail program is non-regulatory, and exists mainly
to provide technical assistance and support for outreach efforts. It also
makes federal grants available that can be used to buy materials, build
bridges and acquire land, Foster said.
Local officials and forestry, recreation and hiking organizations have
been enthusiastic about the designation, Foster said. During the application
process, 15 groups came forward with letters of support.
"This is the kind of thing that normally takes three months to gather
the paperwork for, and I was able to get it within a week," Foster
said. "Everybody was very supportive of it."
In a statement Friday, Norton sought to promote the trails as "pathways
to health."
"Partnerships build trails and trails build healthy Americans,"
she said. "Promoting trails for health is part of a larger effort
by the Bush administration to promote community partnerships aimed at
encouraging physical fitness."
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