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[at-l] AT Conservancy
Just wanted to add that I read the book for the second time last week and enjoyed it just as much as I did the first time I read it. I rarely read books more than once, but "On the Beaten Path" is one of those books that I'll read several times over the years. Thank you for writing it, Mr. Rubin.
Pete Fornof
"Drake, Russ SKCM NAVSUP" <russ.drake@navy.mil> wrote:
Great post and very informative....
Thanks
Russ Drake
P.S.
Your book is fantastic!!
-----Original Message-----
From: at-l-bounces@backcountry.net
[mailto:at-l-bounces@backcountry.net]On Behalf Of Robert Rubin
Sent: Thursday, December 02, 2004 11:07
To: at-l@backcountry.net
Subject: [at-l] AT Conservancy
On Thursday, December 2, 2004, at 09:11 AM,
at-l-request@backcountry.net wrote:
> So..any thoughts on this name change?
Yeah, a couple of thoughts. I think the name change clarifies a couple
of things:
1--It makes clearer that the organization's main focus will be on the
preservation and protection of the physical Trail.
2--It makes it clearer that if anyone is going to carry the flag for
A.T. hikers, it's got to be ALDHA.
This reorganization (which the name change just labels) is really a
wake-up call for ALDHA, as much as anything else. What it's telling us
is that ATC can't be counted on as the primary advocate for hikers on
the Trail any more. ALDHA has got to get serious.
It's probably a good thing for ATC--at least for the health of the
organization, though maybe not for the ATC that we know and love.
Having worked there, I can tell you that the organization (a good
organization, and one I believe in) has for years tried to be
everything to almost everybody. It has tried to represent hikers. It
has tried to be a government contractor. It has tried to coordinate the
actions of Trail maintainers. It has tried to advocate for the green
tunnel in a world where asphalt is proliferating on all sides. It has
tried to come up with coherent long-range policies that will preserve
the A.T. experience. It has tried to work to make sure that land along
the Trail, when sold, gets into the hands of organizations or people
who value it as green space.
As you know, when you try to be everything to everybody, you usually
end up making nobody happy, and that's what's happened with ATC. As a
result, the staff morale there has been pretty terrible, even though
the staff is made up of a lot of people who love the Trail, and think
it's an important thing. This reorganization is going to make it a more
effective organization, and will probably raise staff morale.
My prediction is that ten years from now, the Harpers Ferry operation
will be somewhat smaller than it is now. The regional offices will all
be much larger, and will be, essentially, the main go-betweens
coordinating the work of the Trail volunteers, who take care of the
footpath and Trail corridor, and the government, which controls the
land and sets the policies. That work will be mostly paid for by tax
dollars. In Harpers Ferry, they will work hard at fund-raising for
advocacy, and at protecting land around the Trail Corridor, fighting
things like roads and development. That work will be paid for by donors
and foundations, and, to some extent, membership. But it's not going to
be a hiking organization. It is going to be something more like
"Friends of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail." Right now they're
reorganizing so that the governing board is one better suited to heavy
hitters than heavy hikers or even Trail maintainers. They're going to
be looking for people with access to large chunks of money (not
something that most hikers have in large amounts), since money is
what's needed for legal work, lobbying, and land acquisition.
What this means is that it's time for ALDHA to step up to the plate and
take over the hiker advocacy role that, traditionally, has been ATC's.
Up to now, ALDHA has been sort of a counterculture organization of
scruffy iconoclasts. The main thing that members want to do is swap
stories, compare gear, and hike. That's fine and good, but it means
that ALDHA will never have a strong voice in the fate of the Trail.
To have that voice, ALDHA is going to have to do more than organize the
Gathering each year and sponsor a worktrip or two, and having a few
steering committee meetings. It is going to have to get serious about
advocating for hikers. This means getting involved. It means having
official representatives at important ATC meetings, pressing to be on
committees and ad hoc groups, and willing to stand up and argue against
other interest groups that seek to influence ATC. It means deciding on
issues and strategies, and taking action to influence ATC and the feds
to implement them.
It also means, sad to say, getting more serious about money and
membership. Right now, ALDHA doesn't make enough money to do very much.
ALDHA could probably pay for some of this by publishing and selling the
COMPANION on its own, rather than letting ATC do it, and by developing
its own guides and maps. The guidebook and map publication business is
a money-maker for ATC, but (and I can speak from experience here) is
really not closely tied in to the rest of the organization. It's
something that ATC essentially does on the side, to raise money for
other activities.
Organizing hikers is like herding cats. I don't know if ALDHA can do
it. But if they don't speak for A.T. hikers, nobody will hear those
voices in the future.
-- Rhymin' Worm
(Gainfully unemployed these days)
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Pete Fornof