East Coast Greenway inaugurated on National Trails Day.

Octogenarian Morris Warren became a hiking enthusiast late in life, following a heart attack and instructions from his doctor to walk regularly. Warren soon discovered that there were few places in sub-urban Maryland to walk. Twelve years later, he's known as the driving force behind a grassroots effort that developed the WB&A Trail, a formerly abandoned rail corridor in Prince George's County.

Warren and many other trail enthusiasts saw the WB&A Trail, National Mall and Mount Vernon Trail become part of the East Coast Greenway, the only long-distance urban trail on the Eastern seaboard, during a ceremony in June celebrating the Greenway's inauguration and the kirk-off of National Trails Day events nationwide.

"Today, a vision started by a small group of visionaries in 1991 to create the East Coast Greenway, a 2,600-mile urban trail system--an urban Appalachian Trail if you will--linking the cities and towns of America from Maine to Florida, is becoming a reality," said National Park Service Director Fran Mainella at the kick-off. "This long-distance trail, when fully completed, will provide millions of Americans with a safe, continuous pathway for walking, hiking and cycling. The inauguration of this trail is the perfect vehicle for kicking off National Trails Day' events celebrating the theme 'Healthy Trails, Healthy People' all over the country. We know that trails are more than remote footpaths; they are also retreats found within heritage corridors and urban areas, which are accessible and critical to the mental and physical well-being of our citizens."

Mainella also announced the designation by Interior Secretary Gale Norton of 23 new national recreation trails in 12 states. The National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service jointly administer the program with help from a number of other federal and nonprofit partners, notably American Trails, which hosts the National Recreation Trail Web site (www.americantrails.org/nationalrecreationtrails).

The National Recreation Trail Program recognizes existing trails that connect people to local resources and improves their quality of life. These trails provide opportunities for all Americans to enjoy the outdoors, participating in a wide array of trail-related activities on both public and private lands, and in both urban and rural areas.

For additional information about the East Coast Greenway, visit www.greenway.org.