The American Hiking Society said it held over 500 individual meetings on Capitol Hill during Trails Advocacy Week last month.
The society’s members met with Congressional leadership, USDA/Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Office of Management and Budget, Senate and House Interior Appropriations Committees, and Department of the Interior’s Office of Youth Employment.
The signature event of this year’s annual lobbying trip was the inaugural Hike on the National Mall. For the first time in 29 years, American Hiking issued the call to trails leaders and hiking enthusiasts to hike to our nations Capitol at this kick-off event. Over 100 Hike the Hill advocates and conservation partners gathered at the Lincoln Memorial and hiked up the National Mall along the East Coast Greenway to the U.S. Capital Building. Hikers were greeted at the Capitol steps by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA)-both long-time trails champions within the Congressional Trails Caucus.
Founded in 1976, American Hiking Society is the only national, recreation-based nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting and protecting Americas hiking trails, their surrounding natural areas and the hiking experience.
