2023 Congressional Report

CONTINENTAL DIVIDE TRAIL COALITION

2023 CONGRESSIONAL REPORT

Photo by Heliconia Productions

About this Report

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 2022, and what we are looking forward to in 2023.

About Hike the Hill

Celebrating its 25th year, Hike the Hill® is a joint effort between American Hiking Society and Partnership for the National Trails System to bring together the trails community to advance shared trail priorities with congressional and federal agency leaders including: trails funding, public lands management and conservation, equitable access, and other top priority issues that sustain trails and improve access to public lands.

Photo by Paul Magnanti

INTRO TO CDTC

Who We Are

The mission of the Continental Divide Trail Coalition (CDTC) is to complete, promote, and protect the CDT. With a growing trail community which includes 19 CDTCGateway Communities and over 3000 active members, we hope to continue to support the protection and connection of this landscape, preserving the way of life for the communities, wildlife, and plants that call the Rocky Mountain West home.

Who We Work With

In 2020, CDTC signed a MOU with USFS, BLM, and NPS establishing the Continental Divide Trail Coalition as the lead private-partner in the stewardship of the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail. CDTC works in tandem with federal and state agencies, sovereign nations, Gateway Communities, Indigenous communities, local leaders, and volunteers in a cooperative stewardship model to effectively and proactively manage the trail to provide a CDT experience that is open to all, independent of age, experience, or background.

Where We Work

CDTC has offices in Golden, Colorado and in Helena, Montana, and CDTC staff are spread across the entirety of the trail, from Las Cruces, NM to Big Fork, MT on the north end, and in many other communities in between.

CDT OVERVIEW

The Continental Divide National Scenic Trail climbs and descends along the Rocky Mountains from Mexico to Canada, traversing 3,100 miles of the most dramatic and wild lands along the backbone of America. More than just a trail, the Continental Divide is an incredibly biodiverse and unique landscape that connects cultures and communities through the healing properties of the outdoors.

1968

History of the CDT

The National Trails System Act creates a system of National Scenic, Historic, and Recreational Trails.

1978

Congress passes the National Parks and Recreation Act, designating the CDT as the third National Scenic Trail and making the Forest Service its lead administering agency.

2009

The USFS amends the CDT Comprehensive Management Plan, providing direction for local management.

2012

The Continental Divide Trail Coalition is founded to complete, promote, and protect the CDT.

2020

Passage of the Great American Outdoors Act secures permanent funding for completion of the CDT through the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

2021

The CDT Completion Act is introduced to Congress to prioritize completion of the CDT by 2028.

2022

CDTC celebrates 10-years of working in service of the communities and enthusiasts of the CDT.

Kate Bobal

CDTC’S 2ND DECADE OF STEWARDSHIP

In 2022, CDTC celebrated its 10th anniversary working in service of the communities and enthusiasts of the CDT. As we reflect back on our first decade of stewardship, we are excited about the work ahead to complete, protect, and promote the CDT in our 2nd Decade of Stewardship. 2023 2033

14 full-time CDTC staff are located along the entirety of the trail, with interns, fellows, and seasonal positions supporting ongoing projects.

The CDT is 95% complete. CDTC participates in standing working groups across the trail on the major gap areas. CDT

CDTC holds a memorandum of understanding with USFS, BLM, and NPS recognizing CDTC as the lead private partner in the completion, protection, and promotion of the CDT.

Cooperative Management

CDTC strengthens our presence along the trail, continuing to regionalize operations and to connect with the work important to Continental Divide communities.

The CDT is 100% complete. CDTC works with partners and communities to continue to optimize the trail route for the CDT Experience, and create more opportunities for connection and access.

CDTC continues to strengthen relationships with traditional partners, and bolsters community-led stewardship centering Indigenous nations, Divide communities, and groups that have been historically excluded from the benefits of the outdoors in the management of the CDT.

CDTC has 18 field projects in 2022 across all 5 states.

Trail Stewardship

USFS, BLM, CDTC, youth corps, and other stewardship organizations partner to “Blaze the CDT,” marking the trail in its entirety for the first time in 2018.

Trail Promotion

Lander & South Pass City, WY becomes the 20th designated CDT Gateway Community.

Community & Outreach

500 - 700 hikers attempt to thru-hike the CDT annually, with the growing popularity of public lands brings thousands of new recreationists and international travelers to the CDT.

Popularity of the CDT

CDTC facilitates a robust community-based stewardship program that encourages local projects to enhance the CDT led by volunteers, recreationists, partners, Gateway Communities, youth, and other CDT enthusiasts.

CDTC works to ensure trail signage, trailhead kiosks, trail markers, and other access information educates and encourages the CDT Experience as one that is accessible and enjoyable for all.

Communities along the Continental Divide feel connected to each other in their stewardship of the CDT, and are able to share challenges and opportunities to embolden the resiliency of the Divide communities and landscapes.

The use of the CDT continues to grow and diversify, welcoming an evergrowing number of first time CDT travelers, new user groups, and even locals to explore the National Scenic Trail in their own backyard.

CDTC Growth

Community Stewardship Accomplishments

$2.29M Value of Labor (CDTC & Partners)

76,000 Total Hours (CDTC & Partners)

500+ CDTC & Partners Volunteers

The National Trail System is arguably the most successful model of the private-public partnerships in existence today. In 2022, the CDTC and partners had another record-setting year in their return on investment to the American people

$30M Federal Allocation NSHT’s (14.4 million NPS, 8 million USFS, 8 million BLM)

~$2M CDTC’s Budget Today

$4K CDTC’s budget 10 Years ago

2022 Federal CDT Allocation $1.59M (USFS, BLM)

2022 CDT Allocation to Partners $452K.

2022 Allocation to CDTC $250K.

$4.478M Combined Value

$1.8M Cash

$2.29M Volunteer Hours

$15K CDTC’s Federal Allocation in 2014

In 10 years, CDTC and partners have grown to match 1.25 to 1 in CASH the entire USFS allocation to the CDT.

From the 2022 CDT Allocation to CDTC, over 500 volunteers through CDTC and other partner organizations contributed over 76K volunteer hours valued at $2.29M + 1.8M private dollars (CDTC private funding)

Match by CDTC: 13:1

Match by Partners/CDTC: 10:1

CDTC contributed an additional $1.8M in private funding, alone.

Match to Total Federal Allocation for the CDT: 3:1

$250K

2022 Allocation to CDTC $250K.

Community Stewardship

2022 Field Operations by the Numbers

1,100 feet of trail reconstructed

65,818 feet of trail corridor cleared

61 drains installed

1,100 feet of new trail constructed

151 downed trees removed

65 cairns or structures built

23,340 feet scouted

22 markers and signs placed

CDT Completion means Connecting Communities, Cultures, and Landscapes!

ROAD TO COMPLETION

Now is the time to complete the CDT. Over the past four decades, since the trail’s creation, federal agencies, nonprofit partners, volunteers, and other members of the trail community have diligently worked to complete the CDT. Currently, there are more than 160 miles of the CDT where those seeking a continuous footpath are diverted onto busy roadways and highways, making for a journey that is not only less safe, but not aligned with the characteristics for which the trail was designated.

The CDT Completion Act

The CDT Completion Act directs the Secretary of Agriculture and the Interior to prioritize completion of the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail in time for the CDT’s 50th anniversary in 2028, by eliminating gaps between sections of the Trail and relocating existing portions of the Trail where necessary to maximize conservation and enjoyment of the Trail corridor.

The CDT Completion Act has three main directives:

Directs the Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior to create The Trail Completion Team. The Team will be made up of USFS and BLM staff, in coordination with the CDT Administrator.

Recognizes the value of cooperative stewardship between federal land managers, states, Tribes, towns, Indigenous communities, volunteers, and others in building and managing the trail.

Legislative Timelines of CDT Completion

1978: Congress Designates the CDT as a National Scenic Trail

2009: Public Lands Omnibus grants willingseller authorization to agencies

2020: The Passage of the Great American Outdoors Act secures consistent funding for the Land & Water Conservation Fund

2021: The CDT Completion Act is introduced to the U.S. House by Rep. Neguse & original co-sponsor Rep. Fernandez

2022: The bipartisan CDT Completion Act was introduced to the U.S. Senate by Senator Heinrich and Senator Daines

Explicitly states that eminent domain will not be used to complete the CDT.

While much of the CDNST follows constructed single-track trail on public land, several sections remain to be completed. These gap areas require travelers to use highway and local roads to connect constructed trail sections. For example, the Muddy Pass gap near Steamboat Springs, CO requires traveling along 15 miles of high speed highway through a patchwork of land ownership to connect trail in the Parks and the Hahns Peak-Bears Ears ranger districts of the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest.

CONTINENTAL DIVIDE NATIONAL SCENIC TRAIL

Major Gap Areas 2021

A Return to In-person Events!

CDTC hosted our largest annual Trail Days event ever in Silver City, New Mexico!

Members of the CDT Trail Community from across the country flocked to Southern New Mexico to hear from speakers, shop the newest outdoor gear, participate in community hikes, and celebrate all things CDT!

The Trail Community came together in May 2022 to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Continental Divide Trail Coalition. Celebrations were hosted across the trail, including events in Santa Fe, Golden, Helena, Anaconda, and Butte!!

Connecting Communities

Community Spotlights:

Lander-South Pass City, WY Designation

In August of 2022, South Pass City became the 20th Designated Gateway Community! Interested in joining a cohort of 19 communities along the CDT, community members in South Pass City including local leaders, business owners, college students, recreationists, and others joined together to secure this designation and promote another Wyoming community for CDT travelers to explore.

2023 Gateway Community Summit

CDTC hosted our third annual Gateway Community Summit for community members across the Divide, and beyond. Over 50 community members joined us for a successful two days of sharing and connecting to envision the future of the Gateway Community program.

Trail Topics Trainings

CDTC supported Gateway Community members in hosting 24 events across 12 Gateway Communities, including 14 events hosted by Gateway Community Ambassadors in 7 Gateway Communities! Events included CDT trivia nights, social hours, Pride on the Divide hikes, and more!

CDTC has heard time and time again that communities want more opportunities to learn, share information, and identify resources that will continue to help them elevate their community as a trail destination! So in 2022, CDTC hosted a series of free virtual trainings for Gateway Community members on topics such as hosting a shuttle, fundraising, and assetbased community development.

RURAL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

CDTC 2022 Small Business Report

From August to December 2022, CDTC surveyed 136 small business owners in 38 communities located along the Continental Divide Trail to learn more about how the CDT impacts their businesses, the local economy, and their support for public lands.

90% believe protecting, promoting, and enhancing public lands is important to the wellbeing of businesses, jobs, and their community’s economy

78% believe protecting, promoting, and enhancing the Continental Divide Trail is important to the wellbeing of businesses, jobs, and their community’s economy.

80% have seen growth in business in their community at large due to use of the COntinental Divide Trail Since 2014

70% support the 30x30 initiative to protect 30% of lands and waters by 2030, a goal aligned with the federal America the Beautiful Initiative

70% report that trail uses spend money and have a positive impact on their revenue

Business Member Focus Group

Challenges: Opportunities:

1. Trail Completion

2. Infrastructure & Transportation Investment

3. Promotion & Education of the Importance of the CDT

1. Trail Connectivity & Completion

2. Extreme Weather Events (wildfire, flood, etc.)

3. Creating Opportunities to Connect & Educate

Kate Bobal

CONNECTING CULTURES

Southern New Mexico Spotlight

Southern New Mexico, and particularly the borderlands or “Bootheel” region of NM, is gaining international attention as a landscape that is unequivocally biodiverse, while also being the least protected, and uniquely situated to be at the nexus of cooperative stewardship across agencies, partners, communities, and even borders. To support the community-led and environmentally just efforts to protect this critical landscape, CDTC has welcomed a Wyss Foundation funded CDTC New Mexico Policy Fellow to support protections of the CDT and the surrounding landscapes.

Cultural Resource Protection

CDTC supported the work of Amanda Grace Santos, a USFS Cultural Resource Intern, a new position for USFS tasked with evaluating protections for the cultural resources along the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail. She helped to start a new framework for informal tribal engagement to diversify engagement points with tribes and better understand indigenous connections to and perspectives of the Continental Divide. The new toolkit will be available later in 2023.

Connecting with Sovereign Nations & Indigenous Communities

For the second year in a row, CDTC hosted interns from the American Indian College Fund, as they explored topics that interest them along the Divide to support their larger academic goals. CDTC New Mexico Regional Representative Corey Torivio has diligently worked to connect with Tribal Nations and Indigenous communities, particularly with youth, in his first year at CDTC. This has resulted in projects with youth conservation corps, the creation of a youth hiking guide for Indigenous communities to get youth outdoors, and greater collaboration between CDTC, agencies, and the sovereign nations who have stewarded the Divide landscape for time immemorial.

Celebrating Latino Conservation Week

CDTC participated in community events and outreach as part of Latino Conservation Week, to highlight the role of the Latinx Community in conservation. Events included an overnight float on the Chama River in New Mexico, a familyfriendly event sponsored by GetOutdoors Leadville in Colorado, and a Family Day at Cochiti Lake Recreation Area, in community with Latino Outdoors, New Mexico Economic Development Department, & New Mexico Wild.

Zack Bumgardner

CONNECTING LANDSCAPES

Camp Hale - Continental Divide National Monument

Included in the National Monument designation are the Camp Hale National Historic Site and the surrounding natural landscape, including the Tenmile Range and over 20 miles of the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail.

Benefits for the CDT community include:

Over 50 business owners along the Continental Divide in Colorado signed on in support of the National Monument designation. The open greenspaces will make the area a destination for history enthusiasts, outdoor recreationists, and others, boosting the local economy!

This section of the 3,100-mile trail that spans from Mexico to Canada acts as a primary habitat and connective corridor for wildlife, as well as a continuous footpath for recreationists and others hoping to explore the scenic ridgeline trail between Leadville and Breckenridge.

The future management of the National Monument can help to ensure a strong, diverse, and accessible trail community. Recognizing that this landscape holds a history of exclusion, stakeholders and partners are excited for a management plan that recognizes this historical context and plans for a more inclusive, collaborative landscape and experience in the future.

New Mexico State Lands Easement

Through a grant from the Conservation Alliance, CDTC supported the BLM to acquire right-of-ways for the CDT across New Mexico State lands. The acquisition of these ROWs not only will help to complete and protect the CDT in the state on over 50 miles of trail, but will help to provide hiking, mountain biking, and equestrian opportunities for many years to come.

TRAIL ASKS

Trail Appropriations

• Increased funding for the Continental Divide Trail and all US Forest Service managed National Trails

• Passage of FY24 full year funding to protect $100+ million in trails and trail related funding

• Dedicated, robust and increased funding in FY24 for all trails and the National Trails System for the US Forest Service, NPS, BLM & FWS

• Ensures that as the IRA invests in green infrastructure and climate priorities to center communities and connections to the outdoors, particularly rural communities along the CDT trail who have historically been most disadvantaged by new energy developments

Trail Legislation

• CDT Completion Act

Co-sponsor & support

• CORE Act

Co-sponsor & support

• Outdoor F.U.T.U.R.E. Initiative

Co-sponsor & support

• Lincoln Prosperity Proposal

Learn more & support!

Mike Fuhrmann