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By: Robert Janis
The National Trails
Training Partnership Helps Train Personnel to
Manage Nation’s Trail Systems
The ultimate goal of training is
building better trails. Photo by Cam
Lockwood, Trails Unlimited
NTTP shares information about
sustainabile trail techniques. Photo by
Cam Lockwood, Trails Unlimited. |
Just like in any community, the nation’s
trail system community is going through a
transition. People who have worked hard to
create, maintain, and manage the nation’s trails
are now approaching retirement; and there is a
need to educate people to replace them. That is
where the National Trails Training Partnership
(NTTP) comes in.
Founded in 1999, NTTP is a partnership of
federal, state, and private groups who are
concerned about the status of the nation’s trail
system. They include the National Park Service,
the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, the Federal Highway
Administration, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,
and the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention on the federal side. Also included is
the American Hiking Society, American Trails,
the American Motorcyclist Association, the Back
Country Horseman of America, the International
Mountain Bicycling Association, Leave No Trace,
National Association of Service & Conservation
Corps, National Association of State Trail
Administrators, National Off-Highway Vehicle
Conservation Council, the National Recreation &
Park Association, Partnership for the National
Trails System, Professional Trail builders
Association, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy,
Student Conservation Association, and Tread
Lightly! on the trail systems community side.
The purpose is to create training programs and
communicate to the country the existence of
these programs and where they are located. For
example, a wide variety of training
opportunities can be found at the NTTP
website--www.TrailsTraining.net.
Communication is the thing. Also, NTTP uses a
variety of ways to communicate and educate the
public about training programs. For example,
there is a calendar of training opportunities
online at http://www.TrailsTraining.net: a
clearing house of training contacts and
information at
www.AmericanTrails.org;
web pages for each state that feature training
providers, training organizations, and other
resources; links to publications, resources and
training providers; means of identifying
colleges and universities who offer training
programs; an on-line library of studies,
research papers, theses, training manuals,
design guidelines and other trail-related
publications; state-of-the-art examples on
planning, improving, and managing accessible
trails for people with disabilities; and
information sharing on trail training
conferences and interagency meetings.
Not only does NTTP communicate to the community
what training opportunities are available as
well as all things involved in training, the
group also identifies training needs and is
involved in the creation of training
opportunities that meet those needs. It also
explores ways to identify basic skills,
abilities, and knowledge needed to further the
development of the skills of professionals and
volunteers who already work on the trails.
All groups involved with NTTP have their own
responsibilities which include identifying trail
education programs and creating training and
curricula materials.
NTTP also works to maintain a web-based
clearinghouse of National Trails Training
Information, identify trails skills experts
willing to share their experiences, and
determine what skill subjects are in demand and
discovering where training gaps may exist.
Initiatives which NTTP is currently supporting
and promoting include:
Learning effective use of mechanized
trail building equipment is increasingly
important. Photo by Stuart Macdonald,
NTTP |
Colorado’s Outdoor Stewardship Institute
- Alaska Trails, Inc.
- Two Courses for the Connecticut Forests and
Parks
- Florida Accessibility Training
- Nevada Outdoor Stewardship
- California Mott Training Center
- IMBA/Subaru Traveling Training Crews
- Volunteer Training at Tahoe Rim Trail
Association
- Tread Lightly!
- Leave No Trace
- Appalachian Trail Conservancy
- National Scenic and Historic Trail Organizations
- National Off Highway Vehicle Conservation
Council
- Accessibility Workshops at American Trails
- Marshall University OHV Courses
- Mountain Bike Course at the University of Guelph
in Canada
- University of Wisconsin Land Stewardship Course
- Professional Trailbuilders Association
- USFS Technology and Development Program
- USFS Trails Unlimited
- BLM National Scenic and Historic Trails Training
Needs Assessment
More urgent issues the group is concentrating on
now include developing clear concepts of
sustainable trails, promoting the need for
professionalization of trail work, standards on
the local level, developing more college level
courses, developing advanced training modules to
complement Trails 101, offering training courses
to state trails programs, and helping to sustain
volunteer efforts.
NTTP subcommittees are also working to identify
trails skill competencies, develop guidelines to
assess training opportunities, determining
characteristics of trail career paths, and help
develop more interagency training opportunities.
For more information visit:
www.TrailsTraining.net and
www.AmericanTrails.org.
For current news and resources see the new
summer 2009 edition of the American Trails Magazine
available free online at:
www.americantrails.org/trailtracks/index.html
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