Partnership for the National Trails System - 11th Conference on National Scenic and Historic Trails

“Healthy Trail Partnerships – Healthy Trail Resources” reflects how critical it is to keep our partnerships healthy, vibrant, respectful, and strong to enable us to successfully work together to keep our trail resources – natural, cultural, and human -- healthy and well preserved. This theme will focus presentations and workshops on attitudes, methods, and approaches to successfully engage diverse communities and people of all ages in the joyful and healthful activity of sustaining the national scenic and historic trails and the resources that make them special places.

Interactive Workshops (Sunday, Monday & Tuesday) organized in four tracks will explore ways to keep “Trail Resources Healthy,” provide “Healthy Trail Experiences,” build “Healthy Trail Organizations,” and forge “Healthy Trail Partnerships.” Learn about approaches, techniques, projects, and programs that you can apply to your trail to engage new constituencies, to collaborate with new partners from the business and resource preservation communities, to create a fundraising culture in your organization, and to keep the resources along your trail well protected and healthy. Click here to view the workshops.

Pre-Conference Capacity Building Workshop (Friday) will be entitled “Legal Requirements for Maintaining a Nonprofit Organization.” The Association of Partners for Public Lands will equip organization leaders with knowledge on: Federal and state nonprofit requirements, reporting, disclosure, and impacts of Sarbanes Oxley on nonprofit organizations, sound financial practices for nonprofit management, human resource management, governance of nonprofit organizations including the roles and responsibilities of the board of directors. This pre-conference workshop will include lunch. Cost: $65.

Plenary & Caucus Sessions will provide opportunities to discuss issues and projects pertinent to the National Trails System, such as Accessibility Guidelines, trail expertise training in the National Trails System, the BLM NSHT Strategy, GIS data standards, and the Park Service Centennial Challenge. Two sessions will focus on “Partnerships at the Interface – What Works and What Doesn’t” to keep our trail partnerships healthy. Separate caucus sessions will focus on issues and projects pertaining to historic or scenic trails, such as a “Preservation Strategy for Historic Trails” and ongoing land acquisition projects along scenic trails. Help us celebrate the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail - the 17th national historic trail - and the rapidly approaching 40th Anniversary of the National Trails System and help us launch a “Decade for the National Trails” leading to the 2018 50th Anniversary of the National Trails System.

Partners at the Interface—What Works and What Doesn’t: During a plenary session and a follow-up workshop we will address some of the challenges—candor, communication, trust, shared values, shared goals, managing financial stresses, etc. – of forging and sustaining effective and genial partnerships. These sessions will examine both the positive and the challenging dynamics in partnerships, with opportunities to share and analyze real situations faced by our National Trails System partnerships. We’ll rely on Conference participants to share their issues, concerns, problems, and success stories to make these sessions valuable learning experiences in how to solve real partnering impasses. As guides, we’ll use Brian O’Neill’s 21 Principles for Successful Partnerships and “What Have We Learned About Working in Partnership Areas?” .

Evening Events will highlight some of the unique places in Duluth, Minnesota. Join us Friday night for the opening reception at the Lake Superior Railroad Museum, home of the Midwest’s largest, indoor train collection and “Depot Square” a realistic, life-size depiction of Downtown Duluth as it looked in 1910. Sunday night’s optional dinner will be a “Taste of Minnesota” dinner cruise aboard the Vista Star with a fully-narrated sightseeing tour of the Duluth-Superior harbor. The Great Lakes Aquarium will be the location for Monday evenings dinner and offer attendees a chance to explore the magic of Lake Superior, view gigantic sturgeon lurking in the two-story aquarium, and learn how large lake trout navigate their freshwater habitat, while a bald eagle presides over everything at the aquarium’s more than 120,000 gallons of freshwater displays.

Leo’s Famous Auction of Trail Treasures will give you an opportunity to bring home FABULOUS mementoes from other trails while contributing to the funding that helps the Partnership for the National Trails System coordinate activities and information among the scenic and historic trail organizations.

All-day Field Trips (Saturday) and Half-day Field Trips (Monday Afternoon) will explore the beauty and heritage of Duluth and surrounding areas. Click here for more details on the field trips.

Sign up for a Post-Conference Backpacking Trip on the North Country National Scenic Trail in Wisconsin after the Partnership Conference! This 4-day hike (three night) will cover 43.1 miles and take hikers along the longest, continuous (currently only) section of the trail that has been recognized with Gold Star Status by the NPS–meaning that the trail has been totally built to standards-including signing, campsites, and trail standards. Hikers will pass through Bayfield County Forest, Brule River State Forest, and Douglas County Forest. Among the highlights are small, kettle lakes; the famous Bois Brule River; vistas; the Gaylord Nelson Portal with it’s large granite memorial; the Historic Portage (where an interpreter will join us to talk about the history of the portage); clear flowing streams; artesian wells; and the Douglas County Wildlife Area, which is managed to preserve a Pine Barrens type of vegetation via prescribed burning. The hike will be led by Bill Menke, NCTA’s Regional Coordinator for WI and Michigan’s UP and retired NPS Manager for the NCT. Bill designed and led crews constructing this entire stretch and will talk about trail standards, routing decisions, and items of local interest. Hikers will be expected to be self sufficient in terms of shelter, food, and all personal items. Reserve your spot for this trip on the Registration Form.

Limited Exhibit Space will be available to Conference Sponsors and Partnership Member Organizations at no cost, but by reservation. Other organizations, businesses and consultants may exhibit for a fee. To reserve exhibit space contact Jen Tripp at 616-617-7688 or jentripp@mac.com.

Duluth is located on the shores of the largest freshwater lake in the world - Lake Superior and is the world’s largest inland seaport. It is a city of historic splendor and cultural grandeur-preserved so perfectly it’s as if time slipped right on by. Built by timber barons and mining tycoons, Duluth is hundreds of years old and is surrounded by ancient waterfront architecture including the shining steel beams of the Aerial Lift Bridge.

Original occupants of the western tip of Lake Superior were members of the Sioux and Ojibway tribes. In the 1600s, however, French explorers discovered what the Native Americans knew all along; the area was brimming with fur-bearing animals. Soon, Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut would arrive in an attempt to make peace between the Ojibway and Sioux in hopes of securing trading and trapping rights. His efforts earned him the opportunity to be the city’s namesake: du Lhut!

By the late 19th century, Duluth was rising to its zenith! The city boasted the only U.S. port accessing both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, making it easy for the rest of the nation to tap into the area’s rich lumber, ample wheat, and expansive ore mining opportunities. The arrival of the railroad was the puzzle piece that brought this zenith into full view; transporting people, products and prosperity. A great change from the simple life of the area’s original occupants: The Sioux and Ojibway.