For nearly two decades, the Alabama Trails Association, The Conservation Fund, Georgia Pinhoti Trails Association and others have worked to protect more than 7,000 acres and add more than 200 miles to the Pinhoti Trail across Alabama and Georgia.
“When I was 16 and 17 years old I took my first long hikes on the Appalachian Trail and developed the dream of linking the mountains of Alabama to the Appalachian Trail. I applaud The Conservation Fund, Centex and Temple Inland for helping to make this dream a reality. It is an extraordinary achievement born from hundreds of volunteer hours and decades of work to link the trail between Alabama and Georgia.
With support from the Centex Homes Land Legacy Fund and in partnership with the Alabama Trails Association and Georgia Pinhoti Trail Association, The Conservation Fund acquired 1,760 acres of pine and hardwood forest, including 266 acres along the border of Alabama and Georgia, as an addition to the Pinhoti Trail. This capped a long-term effort to link the Alabama trail to the Appalachian Trail.
When the Appalachian Trail was mapped in the 1920s, the plan set out by Benton Mackaye called for a trail and associated spurs that stretched from Maine to northern Alabama. While the primary trail was completed in north Georgia in the 1930s, efforts to extend the trail into Alabama faded.
In 1985 the Alabama Trails Association spearheaded an attempt to link the Pinhoti Trail in the Talladega National Forest in Alabama to the Appalachian Trail in north Georgia. The Association worked with The Conservation Fund to engage private landowners and negotiate the acquisition of properties key to completing the trail.
The Fund helped acquire nearly 10 properties to extend the trail, including the 2006 purchase from Temple Inland which protected three miles of trail corridor and culminated the effort of hundreds of volunteers who have worked for more than two decades to link the Pinhoti to the Appalachian Trail. Once complete, the trails will allow hikers to trek from Maine to Alabama.
Resourceful Communities and Family Farms
In North Carolina, farm families such as Mary and Nelson James have joined with the Fund's Resourceful Communities Program to cherish traditions, save farmland and sustain their community for future generations.
Read more »
From government agencies to corporations, from private landowners to land trusts and local communities, the Fund's partners seek our expertise to:
Powered by: Phase2 TechnologyThe Conservation Fund National Office
1655 N. Fort Myer Drive, Suite 1300
Arlington, Virginia 22209-2156
Phone: 703-525-6300
Fax: 703-525-4610
Email: postmaster@conservationfund.org