This Land Is Your Land.

c/o Rails-to-Trails Conservancy 1100 Seventeenth Street, NW 10th Floor Washington, DC 20036

1-877-MIL-TRLS FAX: [phone] EMAIL: [e-mail] WEB SITE: www.milleuniumtrails.org

From the earliest paths blazed by our ancestors to the latest efforts to convert abandoned rail routes to community use, trails are a vital piece of our nation's landscape and history.

More than a thousand years ago, the 68-mile Unicoi Turnpike carried the Cherokee people through the Smoky Mountains to the hills of East Tennessee. In post-Revolutionary times, this scenic trail provided similar passage for European settlers. Today it carries visitors into remote trailside communities that still reflect the region's ancient heritage.

Boston's Freedom Trail offers users a picture of America's Revolutionary history. Hikers can visit 15 sites, including Faneuil Hall, where plans were laid for the Boston Tea Party, and the Old North Church, where lanterns shining from the steeple alerted a waiting Paul Revere to the approach of British troops.

The 75-year-old Appalachian Trail, the longest natural public thoroughfare in the world, stretches along a 2,160-mile path from Maine to Georgia. Protected from development, the Appalachian Trail was the catalyst for passage in 1968 of the National Trails System Act.

The Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail commemorates the expedition of the famed explorers who traveled 3,700 miles from St. Louis to the mouth of the Columbia River, opening the continent to European settlement.

For African Americans whose ancestors toiled in slavery, the Underground Railroad Trail honors those brave Americans who, by resisting slavery, changed the course of history.

The International Express Trail brings to life another part of America's history. Following the route of New York City's Number Seven subway line through a series of colorful, ethnic neighborhoods, this trail offers a different view of the immigrant experience.

Planners of the American Discovery Trail envision connecting existing trails, railtrails, canal towpaths, forest lanes and country roads in a continuous line that stretches over 6,350 miles, linking East with West, and our past with our future.

Trails such as these tell not only the story of our nation's past. They offer a positive vision of the future -- precisely the vision the President and I hoped to bring to this year's celebration of the new millennium, and the reason we created the Millennium Trails initiative. A public-private partnership, the Millennium Trails project operates under the leadership of the White House Millennium Council, the Department of Transportation and the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, with the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Park Service, the American Hiking Society and a committed group of other agencies, community groups and private companies.

A year ago Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater, without whose unflagging support this initiative would not have been such a success, joined me for the designation of 16 National Millennium Trails. These unique byways, which include the trails I've just described, celebrate our rich history and culture, and symbolize the diversity, complexity and grandeur of our trail system.

The vision of the Millennium Trails project is a trail within reach of every home -- a trail that makes it possible for all Americans to understand their history, appreciate nature, and enjoy themselves in the outdoors.

I hope you'll take the opportunity to visit a trail near you. You'll find that trails do more than protect our environment and offer new ways to commute. Trails stitch a design in our landscape, creating a picture of America -- now and for generations to come.

-- First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton

Millennium Trails is a partnership among the White House Millennium Council, U.S. Department of Transportation and Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in cooperation with other agencies and organizations.

Continuing the Legacy

Our country's Millennium Trails unravel to tell stories of freedom, exploration, and adventure. These pathways have great relevance to our life as community and family, connecting people with the places they live, work, and play and serving as historical and cultural landmarks of a nation's development.

NRPA continues the legacy of the Millennium Trails initiative by promoting heart-healthy activities and environmental and community awareness through programs such as Hearts n' Parks and Day of Service. Much like these 16 trails that form an elaborate cross-country network running through and linking our communities, local parks and recreation promotes socialization, exercise, and cooperation by promoting the benefits of active, healthy lifestyles.

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Nickelodeon's Big Help Park Project Is an Ongoing Success

Springfield-Greene County Park Board 1923 North Weller Ave. Springfield, MO 65803

Nickelodeon's Big Help Park Project has proven to be a successful project with the Doling Community Center of the Springfield-Greene County Park Board in Missouri. The project kicked off in mid-March and by mid-May 2000 some 321 youth/preteen/teenagers and leaders had volunteered 370 hours. Quality and dedication of volunteers was of greater value than quantity. Center staff desired sincere, dedicated, and interested volunteers, and approached the project via two routes:

1. Youth who were willing to make a long-term commitment to the project.

2. One-time youth groups that desired a one-time community service project.

Both avenues proved to be highly successful. Public, private, and home

schools participated in the project during the mid-March to mid-May time frame. Groups ranged from 2nd grade to high-school age. These groups received a free 1- to 1.5-hour hands-on Cave Science "Wild" Spelunking Experience for their volunteer efforts in picking up litter and trash within Doling Park.

The dedication and long-term commitment came from the Doling Kids FACE (Kids For A Clean Environment) and Stream Team program involving Girl Scout Troop 195. Twice monthly year-round this youth volunteer group removes litter from Doling Park, sowing wild flowers seeds in the park as well. Additionally, the group is learning how to monitor the wildlife and water quality of Doling cave and stream. These youth volunteers are sincerely dedicated to the project. In April 2000, they received local media coverage from local Fox and CBS affiliates.

The Nickelodeon Big Help Park Project is an ongoing success story with the Doling Community Center and Park.

Melvin Johnson, CLP Community Recreation Specialist Springfield-Greene County Park Board

Year of Service

St. Louis County Parks 9801 Mackenzie Road St. Louis, MO 63123

Dear NRPA "Day of Service" Committee:

Thanks for a great ideal St. Louis County Parks Department enjoyed a very successful "Days of Service" campaign. The St. Louis County community turned out in record numbers to assist our department in a series of 10 park improvement projects. More than 260 volunteers logged in 700 hours of service, valued at $9,618, at St. Louis County Park Pride 2000 events, held during National Volunteer Week.

This was a wonderful way to draw attention to our St. Louis County park system and bring out individuals and groups to volunteer at projects where they could see immediate and positive results. We accomplished some major projects with the help of the community that would've taken many, many staff hours if performed in-house.

Sincerely,

Kyra Kaltenbronn Director of Volunteer Programs

Sue Kuhnert Coordinator of Volunteer Services

If you'd like to learn more about the Millennium Trails project, visit www.millenniumtrails.org or NRPA National Programs at www.activeparks.org/programs.

Sixteen National Millennium Trails, historical routes that serve to connect citizens with the land, history, and culture of America, are the product of Millennium Council in conjunction with several governmental and environmental organizatiions. First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater formally announced the trails -- which include the American Discovery, Appalachian National Scenic, and Iditarod National Historic trails -- in June 1999. And while each of these trails recognizes and preserves a chapter from our country's storied past, they all represent a positive pathway that will lead us proudly into the new millenium (p. 84).