Bob Beauprez: “I rise to call attention of the Members of this House of what has been called the most significant conservation project…”

“I rise to call attention of the Members of this House of what has been called the most significant conservation project of our time, the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail. The idea of a 31,000-mile trail stretching across 5 western States from our northern border with Canada, southward to Mexico, came into being in 1978 through congressional designation. For many of the same reasons national parks are established, national scenic trails are created to conserve the nationally significant scenic, historic, natural and cultural qualities of critical areas. In 1995, a group of dedicated citizens founded the Continental Divide Trail Alliance to coordinate and gain support for the completion and protection of this king of all trails. Within 2 years, the first border-to-border inventory of the trail conditions was completed. Alliances were forged with the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service and the equivalent State and local agencies to plan and schedule trail development projects. To date, through efforts of the CDTA, over 300 miles of new trail was built and opened to the public. Over 1,200 miles of existing trail has been improved or rerouted and hundreds of acres of land acquired or donated for the trail's route. Through enormous effort by the CDTA, the trail is on track for completion and dedication in 2008, the 20th anniversary of its congressional designation.”