Unique Approaches: Legislative Efforts - Federal

The two most significant legislations that have facilitated greenway planning are the transportation enhancement portions of the "Intermodel Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) and the Transportation Equity Act of 1998 (TEA 21). This second legislation is a continuation of ISTEA. These two Federal Acts have provided funding between 1991-1998 and will continue to provide billions of dollars for greenway and trail planning between 1998 and 2004. These legislations financed the majority of the first 10,000 miles of converted rail trails and it is anticipated and hoped that this legislation will continue to be a major source of funding for the implementation of the next 10,000 miles of rail trails in the United States. During the 1990's the Federal government made at least four significant initiatives which are implemented by various departments of the United States Department of Interior (USDI), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the United States Department of Transportation. These are the GAP analysis program, the American Heritage River Initiative, the Millennium Trails Initiative and the National Trail System. 1.) The Fish and Wildlife Service within the USDI is coordinating the GAP analysis program. As described earlier, this program is designed to protect the bio-diversity of all significant flora and fauna in the United States. Ecologists, such as Jack Finn believe that this program, when fully implemented will require the protection of a minimum 7% to 15% of the American landscape. Much of the flora and fauna has been already protected, especially in the west. This study anticipates that additional protection will be made in the eastern half of the United States providing additional opportunities for greenways and green spaces during the next century. 2.) The Clinton Administration announced the American Heritage River Initiative in 1998. The first fourteen Heritage Rivers were designated on July 30, 1998. Three of these designated American Heritage Rivers, the Connecticut, the Blackstone, and the Woonasquatucket are in New England. This designation strengthens the use of these rivers as multi purpose greenway corridors. 3.) The Millennium Trails Initiative "will celebrate, recognize and be a catalyst for creating trails to honor the past and imagine the future, as part of America's legacy for the year of 2000". There are three categories of Millennium Trails: o 2000 community trails (or approximately 40 trails per state); o 52 Millennium Trails nominated by each state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico; and o 12 National Millennium Trails or flagship trails. On June 26, 1999, First Lady, Hillary Clinton announced the designation of 16 National Millennium Trails. Three of these Millennium Trails fall at least partly in New England. The Freedom Trail in Boston, the Appalachian Trail (described below), and the partially implemented East Coast Greenway. This Millennium Trails initiative will provide the six New England states with an opportunity to develop a network of greenways and trails that will include such cultural resources as scenic hiking trails, rail trails and historic trails. 4.) Another trail program is the National Trail System. Several federal agencies worked together to map the trails and to distribute the maps to increase public awareness some of the country's most exciting cultural resources. In the same way as the Millennium Trails, the National Scenic Trail System also supports a national network of greenways and trails. Twenty national scenic and historic trails have been established by USDI's National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and USDA's Forest Service (see National Trail System Map and Guide of US, prepared by the three Federal Agencies listed above). Two of the eight National Scenic Trails travel through parts of New England, namely, the Appalachian National Scenic Trail which traverses through Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts and Connecticut, on the way south to Georgia. Second, the North Country Scenic Trail links North Dakota, through five Midwestern states, to Vermont.