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A.T. – Shenandoah National Park, Virginia. Photo by Raymond Salani III

ATC Receives Grant from Leader in Digital Hospitality

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) is proud to announce it is the recipient of a $400,000 grant from the Olo for Good Fund, a Donor Advised Fund of Tides Foundation. This grant will greatly assist the ATC in its mission to protect, manage, and advocate for the Appalachian Trail and its surrounding landscape.

The ATC is one of nine organizations selected for funding from the Olo for Good Fund, which was created in 2021 by Olo, a leading open SaaS platform for restaurants, as a part of their Pledge 1% commitment. Olo provides digital ordering and delivery programs that connect restaurant brands to the on-demand world.

“The Appalachian Trail Conservancy is honored to receive this extraordinary gift from Olo for Good,” says Sandra Marra, president and CEO of the ATC. “This gift will help protect one of the most biodiverse areas of our country that is enjoyed by millions of people from across the globe each year.”

“Olo is immensely proud to support the Appalachian Trail Conservancy,” says Nithya Das, chief operations officer and chief legal officer at Olo, as well as one of the Olo For Good executive sponsors. “The ATC’s commitment to preserving the natural environment aligns with our core values as a company, especially the environment so close to where many of our employees live and work.”

The ATC is proud to add Olo to our network of nationally renowned corporate partners.

Advancement Updates

ATC Board Election and Membership Meeting

Nominations are currently being accepted for positions on the Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s (ATC’s) Board of Directors. The deadline to submit a nomination is July 15. Under the ATC’s bylaws, the elected leadership serves staggered three-year terms, with one-third of the current seventeen board positions coming open each year. The current slate of nominees will be announced on the ATC’s website in late summer. It will then be approved by the full board and voted on by the ATC’s membership at the annual meeting this fall.

For more information about the board election, visit: appalachiantrail.org/board2022.

The annual meeting date and time will be announced on the ATC’s homepage: appalachiantrail.org.

ATC Advocacy Update

update from the Hill

Protecting, managing, and advocating for the Appalachian National Scenic Trail means the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) needs to conserve as well as steward lands and Trail values as best we can. Two pieces of legislation championed by A.T. Members of Congress provide an excellent example of how this work is done.

On the land protection side, the Highlands Conservation Reauthorization Act (H.R. 2793 and S. 753), led by Representative Sean Patrick Maloney (New York) and Senator Chris Murphy (Connecticut), would improve and recommit to an important sub-program within the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). The Highlands region is among the most densely populated in the United States, with limited public lands to recreate on. This region spanning Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania provides drinking water for millions of people. With the A.T. skirting and winding through the Highlands region, lands protected with Highlands Act funds can have co-benefits for the A.T. and its users. This bill is ripe for final passage in both the House and Senate.

The Modernizing Access to Our Public Land (MAPLand) Act (H.R. 3113 and S. 904) has been signed into law as of this June. This Act, written by Senators Joe Manchin, Angus King, Susan Collins, and others, will re-shape how the Trail’s various federal land managers share information by modernizing the digitization of records and supporting the survey of acquired tracts. Such advancements would allow co-managers to better protect the A.T. from boundary encroachments, make geographic information system (GIS) data publicly accessible, and help Trail users navigate access to the land they are on.

These pieces of legislation will advance government policies that can ultimately help strengthen the A.T. — through recreation opportunities and access for visitors near and far, landscape resiliency against climate change and natural disasters, and the ecological integrity of the Trail’s natural resources — so that the Trail may continue to support human and natural communities alike.

The Trail doesn’t protect itself, and it’s the responsibility of all who care for it to pitch in. This is why the ATC will continue to advocate for and shape legislation such as these that impact our public lands.

Events

Returning to Damascus for Trail Days

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) was excited to help welcome more than 20,000 hiking and outdoor enthusiasts to Damascus, Virginia, for Trail Days on May 13-15, 2022. For the past three decades, this small town in southwestern Virginia has ballooned for one weekend each spring with thousands of hikers and other visitors. This year, the lawn of the new Damascus Trail Center, to be opened later this summer, provided the setting for attendees to learn about the work of the ATC and other local and nonprofit organizations. If you missed this year’s festivities, it is not too soon to begin planning to attend next year. Trail Days 2023 is scheduled for May 19-21.

Corporate partner BearVault hosted a live demo on how to properly store food using a bear canister while on the Appalachian Trail. Increased bear activity has been reported recently in several A.T. states, from North Carolina to Massachusetts.

Clockwise from left: Visitors to the ATC booth were invited to share memorable moments along the Trail; The lawn outside the new Damascus Trail Center, opening later this summer, provided a gathering spot for the ATC and other local partners; Thanks in part to Trail Days, the town of Damascus, Virginia, has become an inseparable part of the A.T.’s identity; Raffles held throughout the three days equipped lucky attendees with free backpacking gear provided by the ATC’s generous donors and corporate partners.

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