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Portions of what was to become the Pacific Crest National
Scenic Trail were under construction as early as the 1920's.
In 1935, the Pacific Northwest Region of the United States
Department of Agriculture Forest Service established the Pacific
Crest Trail (PCT) in Oregon and Washington along the Cascade
Crest and Oregon Skyline Trail routes. At approximately the
same time, Clinton C. Clarke organized the Pacific Crest Trail
System Conference, a group of hiking and riding clubs devoted
to the development of a trail system extending from Canada
to Mexico on existing and new trails. In addition to the aforementioned
trails, the Lava Crest, Tahoe Yosemite, John Muir and Desert
Crest trails were envisioned as part of this system.
In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson called for the development
and protection of a balanced system of trails to help protect
and enhance the total quality of the outdoor environment as
well as provide much needed opportunities for healthful outdoor
recreation. The Secretary of the Interior was requested to
take the lead in a nationwide trail study. A four member steering
committee, representing the four agencies with jurisdiction
over federal trails, was appointed to conduct the study. In
December 1966, the results of the study were published in
a document entitled "Trails for America". It contains several
recommendations pertinent to National Scenic Trails, and the
Pacific Crest Trail specifically:
- Each National Scenic Trail should stand out, in its
own right, as a recreation resource of superlative
quality and physical challenge.
- Built to harmonize with the natural areas they cross,
they afford the visitor closeup instruction in nature
and her ways.
- The entire length of each national scenic trail,
together with sufficient land area on both sides to safeguard
adequately and preserve its character, should be protected
in some form of public control.
- The natural and scenic qualities and historic features
along and near national scenic trails must be protected.
- The Pacific Crest Trail traditionally has served horseback
and foot travelers. This use pattern, accepted by most
visitors to the trail, should be continued.
- In areas where private holdings are large and relocation
of the trail to avoid them is not practical, incompatible
activities such as logging or land development projects
could threaten the trail's quality.
- On public lands, existing management practices on National
Parks, National Forest Wilderness areas, and State Parks
probably will suffice to protect trail quality. For
lands managed primarily for other purposes, Federal and
state agencies should modify the timber harvesting, livestock
grazing, and special permit practices to protect trail
quality.
"Trails for America" formed the basis for the original language
of what was to become the National Trails System Act. Passed
by Congress on October 2, 1968, the Act called for the creation
of "national scenic trails which will be extended trails
so located as to provide for maximum outdoor recreation potential
and for the conservation and enjoyment of the nationally significant
scenic, historic, natural, or cultural qualities of the areas
though which such trails may pass."
However, in acknowledging the concerns of resource extractors
and land developers, Congress significantly altered the suggested
language in relation to the way the trail would influence
the management of adjacent lands, ". . in selecting the
rights-of-way, full consideration shall be given to minimizing
the adverse effects upon the adjacent landowner or user and
his operation. Development and management of each segment
of the National Trails System shall be designed to harmonize
with and complement any established multiple-use plans for
the specific area in order to ensure continued maximum benefits
from the land."
The Pacific Crest and Appalachian were the
nation's first National Scenic Trails.
The Act gave the USDA Forest Service management responsibility
for the Pacific Crest Trail. A Pacific Crest National Scenic
Trail Advisory Council, representing a diverse group of trail
users, but dominated by land managers and private land owners,
developed and recommended for approval the "Pacific Crest
Trail Guide for Location, Design and Management" based on
the language of the Act.
The Pacific Crest Trail Conference was organized in 1977
to advise hikers and equestrians on use of the trail. The
Conference was a small band of Pacific Crest Trail enthusiasts,
mostly hiking clubs numbering no more than a few hundred members,
and some individuals who served on the Advisory Council. With
Warren Rogers, a dedicated leader who loved the trail, members
often helped with trail construction and maintenance projects.
As the organization grew, and as it's membership changed in
nature from clubs to individuals, the name was changed to
the Pacific Crest Trail Association in 1993.
The Association brought together the visionaries who labored
for the creation of the trail with a new generation of outdoor
recreationists and environmentalists who were concerned with
the protection of a national treasure — the Pacific Crest
National Scenic Trail. A formal mission statement was adopted
to guide them in their efforts:
The mission of the Association is
to protect, preserve and promote the Pacific Crest National
Scenic Trail so as to reflect it world-class significance,
for the enjoyment, education and adventure of hikers and
equestrians.
The Present
A Memorandum of Understanding, recognizing the Association
as the government’s major partner in the operation of the
trail was signed with the Forest Service, National Park Service
and Bureau of Land Management in 1993. With financial assistance
from the Forest Service and its 700 members, the Association
Board of Directors hired its first paid staff member in 1993
and adopted a long range plan to guide and gauge its growth
in 1995.
With the addition of over 1,800 new members, the Association
made significant strides in its efforts to attract and involve
trail enthusiasts in its mission during 1996 and 1997. Utilizing
modern technology, the Association has created an Internet
web site with up-to-date information on trail conditions,
elevation profiles and links to other sites with valuable
information for trail enthusiasts.
Volunteer trail maintenance crews dedicate thousands of hours
to clearing and repairing the trail tread each year. A toll-free
telephone helps line provides up-to-date trail condition reports
24-hours a day, and a knowledgeable staff is available during
normal business hours to assist trail users in planning their
adventure on the Pacific Crest Trail.
Today, the Association is addressing an issue that looms
large on the horizon — urban encroachment on the trail and
its corridor. This would not be possible if it were not for
the efforts of a strong Board of Directors, the financial
support of many members, and a constituency of more than 3,000
friends of the trail.
The Future
While
technically located on federal land or right-of-way easements
across private land, the PCT is far from being protected from
urban encroachment or the ravages of resource extraction.
There are 307 miles of private land right-of-way easements
between Mexico and Canada, many as narrow as eight feet, and
some even less.
As unappealing as it sounds,
it is possible that this National Scenic Trail could become
a narrow swath of weeds between the back fences or down
the street of a housing project!
Unlike the Appalachian Trail, its sister trail in the east,
the Pacific Crest Trail has never received the federal resources
necessary to purchase an adequate trail corridor through private
lands. On-the-trail timber harvesting is an old problem, but
the threat of urban encroachment is new. What were once remote
sections of the trail are now crossed by six lane freeways,
and as urban sprawl follows easy access "For Sale" signs on
private land easements share space with PCT trail markers.
In 1999, the National Park Service
will wind down its purchase of private lands for the Appalachian
Trail corridor. The Pacific Crest Trail Association believes
Congress should earmark $5 million per year of Land and
Water Conservation Funds to purchase PCT private lands
and add them to the federal land trust.
Citizens in the west deserve the same trail opportunities
that those in the east now enjoy on the Appalachian Trail.
If these vulnerable sections of the Pacific Crest Trail are
not protected now, all the people of the United States will
have lost an irreplaceable resource. The Pacific Crest Trail
Association is prepared to do its part, and invites the Congress
to join it in this effort by providing the monies from the
fund that was established for this very purpose.
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Overview
