Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the National Trails System and Wild and Scenic Rivers Acts in 2018

When, where and how to celebrate your local National Trail or Wild and Scenic River

This year we mark the 50th Anniversaries for two hallmark conservation bills with both the National Trails System and Wild and Scenic Rivers Acts of 1968.  To celebrate we dug around and found out how these key pieces of conservation legislation came to be, what they protect, and how you can get out and celebrate your favorite National Trail or Wild River this summer.

The Origin Story of the National Trails System and Wild and Scenic Rivers Acts

The story of the creation of a national strategy to create and manage wild rivers and scenic trails in modern America begins with President Lyndon Johnson’s speech on the “Conservation and Preservation of Natural Beauty” in February, 1965. In his address to Congress, the President focused attention on clean water, parks in urban areas, the establishment of certain national seashore and national recreation areas, nationally important trails and the nation’s remaining un-dammed rivers.  This speech and direction led the way for both the National Trails System and Wild and Scenic Rivers Acts.

National Trail System

The National Trails System covers everything from scenic walks around historic sites, massive multi-day treks and just about everything in-between.  The NTS protects such historic trails as the Oregon Trail, the Appalachian Trail, The Continental Divide Trail, Pacific Crest Trail in California and more.

The Act created a series of National trails “to promote the preservation of, public access to, travel within, and enjoyment and appreciation of the open-air, outdoor areas and historic resources of the Nation.” Specifically, the Act authorized three types of trails: the National Scenic Trails, National Recreation Trails and connecting-and-side trails.

“In the back country we need to copy the great Appalachian Trail in all parts of America, and to make full use of rights of way and other public paths.” – President L.B. Johnson

Today, the National Trails System includes 11 National Scenic Trails and 19 National Historic Trails authorized by Congress, and more than 1,200 National Recreation Trails (including 21 National Water Trails).

Where to Hit the Trail and Celebrate

To commemorate the anniversary, the NPS put the following movie together and started a hashtag for #FindYourWay where you can share your stories, photos, or favorite memories, or simply get out on your favorite local National Trail.

In addition, the University of Montana put together the following map (Click’s through to their website) so you can find your local National Trail and see what events are happening in your area:

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Wild & Scenic Rivers

While the story for the National Trails was more “top down,” the story for saving America’s last wild rivers was more bottom up.  It was along Montana’s Flathead River that the idea for a national system of protected rivers came to the minds of John and Frank Craighead.  The twin brothers helped pioneer the modern era of wildlife biology in the late 1950s and 1960s as they charted the decline of grizzly bears in the Northern Rockies. The Craigheads knew that the Middle Fork of the Flathead was the wildest remaining river in Montana.  So when they learned about the proposal to build the Spruce Park Dam there, they warned that it would flood the area’s wilderness canyons, forests, and meadows under hundreds of feet of water. In the 1957 issue of Montana Wildlife, John Craighead made the case for protecting the Flathead as well as other rivers nationwide:

“Rivers and their watersheds are inseparable, and to maintain wild areas we must preserve the rivers that drain them.” – John Craighead

The brothers went on to champion legislation that stood to create protections for the U.S.’s last remaining un-dammed river systems.  By the time the proposal reached the floor of Congress, it received bipartisan support and little pushback. This bill, like the National Trails System Act, was also signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968, and declared that,

“…certain selected rivers of the Nation . . . shall be preserved in free flowing condition, and that they and their immediate environments shall be protected for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations.”

The passage of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968 created the National Wild and Scenic River System, which includes more than 12,000 miles of wild, scenic, and recreational rivers. The system protects specific segments of free-flowing, un-dammed rivers for water-based recreation, fish and wildlife habitat, scenery, geology, and cultural and historical uses.

Where to Hit the River and Celebrate

Like the Trails map above, the Univeristy of Montana put another map together for all the ways you can get out and celebrate the 50th anniversary of wild and undammed rivers.

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Find out More about the National Trails System and Wild and Scenic Rivers Acts:

National Trails System Act

• https://www.trails50.org/the-trails-act/

National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act

• https://www.rivers.gov/wsr-act.php