Chattahoochee National Park Conservancy starts trails work at Island Ford

This rendering shows trail improvements planned for the Island Ford Unit of the Chattahoochee National River Recreation Area Provided by the Chattahoochee National Park Conservancy The Chattahoochee National Park Conservancy launched the first phase of a multi-year effort to improve the miles of trails across the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area The conservancy will tackle the park units one at a time The effort began with the Island Ford Trail Project after discussions with park leadership as its park headquarters are in that unit By December of this year we will have fully completed new trails at Island Ford Conservancy Executive Director Bittany Jones advised Rough Draft Atlanta When the conservancy members saw the comprehensive Trails Management Plan in that included improving trail safety sustainability and visitor experiences across the park units they decided to complete it unit by unit Upon the park s creation in the National Park Provision NPS inherited social trails people had been using to get to the river for years The trails we walk on in the modern day are just kind of an extension of what those were and not really built to withstand three million visitors that walk across them every year now Jones advised Rough Draft Atlanta And we anticipate that visitation will only continue to grow Related stories Above the Waterline Our national parks are under assault Chattahoochee National Park Conservancy to honor late President CarterThe park has million in deferred maintenance according to the conservancy Vacant permanent positions are under a hiring freeze for the underfunded park The conservancy funded the needed for design and required documentation In early Alta Planning Design led an architecture and engineering examination On-the-ground track planning and NPS led source assessments at Island Ford were done in August The conservancy is seeking bids to hire a professional trail construction crew Jones expects the construction to cost between and The organization has raised approximately so far This rendering shows how the Chattahoochee National Park Conservancy plans to improve trail stream crossings Provided by the Chattahoochee National Park Conservancy Construction plans include miles of new sustainable trail construction Resurfacing and repairing existing trails Erosion control and drainage improvements Creation of safer clearly marked loop routes A redesigned user-friendly trailhead at the visitor center Saturday is National Trails Day It is also the last day the conservancy has a chance to get a matching donation if supporters make donations by the end of the day Donations can be made through the conservancy s website I am beyond thrilled that the trail system in the CRNRA is ultimately getting the critical improvements that it has long needed announced Sally Bethea former conservancy board president and a key leader behind the trail assessment that catalyzed the Comprehensive Trails Management Plan that was adopted in The conservancy is a c nonprofit organization and the official friends group and primary philanthropic partner for the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area The post Chattahoochee National Park Conservancy starts trails work at Island Ford appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta