Collaboration with Government
The Appalachian Trail and its development was also unique in how in order to formerly protect the trail it required government intervention. Various trail clubs interacted with multiple levels of government, federal, state, and local, in order to advance their interests.
In her book, Tangled Roots, Sarah Middlefehlt discusses the federalization of the Appalachian Trail. One key piece of legislation pertaining to the Appalachian Trail was the National Trails Act of 1968. The act was a broad set of laws that recognized recreational infrastructure like the Appalachian Trail as a public good that needed government protection
The Appalachian Trail and its federalization allowed for several trail clubs to come together and lobby their interests at multiple levels of government. Congressional hearings were important steps that would help further formal legislation and protection of the Appalachian Trail. Even though clubs like the Appalachian Trail Conference and the Wilderness Society had differing trial philosophies, in 1965 they gave their respective testimonies before the Senate Subcommittee on Parks and Recreation. Other clubs at this hearing included the Green Mountain Club and the Appalachian Mountain Club.
"We believe that the enactment of S.622 will provide the means for substantial protection of trail lands and the needed coordination of activities of government agencies relative to land near the trail."
-Stanely A. Murrary, Chairman, Appalachian Trail Conference
National Trails Systems Act 1968
Lobbying and interactions with various levels of government helped introduce formal legislation to protect the Appalachian Trail. As threats of post-war industrialization and urban development threatened public lands, especially those on or near the Appalachian Trail, trial enthusiasts sought government protection and support for the Appalachian Trail. The National Trail Systems Act of 1968 aimed to maintain the two thousand long mile trail and gave the National Park Service the ability to use eminent domain to acquire land to carry out the maintenance of the trail.
Legislation like the National Trail Systems Act demonstrates how small civil societies, even as robust and niche as Appalachian Trail clubs and enthusiasts, can work together to influence legislation at the national level. Trail clubs helped maintain the integrity of American pillars of representative democracy by interacting with the government to advocate their interests.