Pnts will help unify and promote the work of the federal agencies that administer the national trails system and the nonprofit organizations that do most of the on-the-ground management of them

The Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management National Office awarded a $331,335.50 cooperative agreement to Partnership For The National Trails System Inc. on October 1, 2025, under the Recreation and Visitor Services program (CFDA 15.225).

Partnership For The National Trails System Inc. will unify and promote the work of federal agencies and nonprofit organizations that manage the National Trails System's 32 national scenic and historic trails. Deliverables include providing annual system-wide training activities and workforce development opportunities for federal trail administrators and nonprofit trail organizations; producing an annual printed publication titled Pathways Across America and a monthly e-newsletter; updating the Partnership for the National Trails System website as a centralized reference for information about national trails and their managing agencies and organizations; and developing a centralized data project in support of the EXPLORE Act in collaboration with the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, and U.S. Forest Service to enable system-wide digital mapping that enhances public access to trail information.

The award funds work focused on developing consistent cross-agency management policies, providing training in best practices and volunteer leadership skills through conferences, workshops, and webinars, conducting workforce readiness training and leadership development for the next generation of trail stewards, and fostering dialogue among federal and nonprofit partners to attain shared vision and best practices across the nation. Performance occurs nationwide through September 30, 2027.

The mutually agreed upon intent is to sustain a coherent system of 32 national scenic and historic trails. Much of this work is focused on developing consistent cross-agency management policies and objectives and providing training to the leaders of the nonprofit organizations, through conferences, workshops, and webinars in best practices and volunteer leadership skills. We will also conduct workforce readiness training and provide leadership development to the next generation of trail stewards. We will foster an ongoing dialogue among all of the federal and nonprofit partners focused on attaining a shared vision and best practices applied to sustaining this system throughout the nation. We also promote the system during major events like americas 250 and will work with the BLM to prioritize system-wide digital mapping for the use of the american public to enhance public access. Each of these tasks will increase access to our national trail system for all americans, strengthen the workforce that maintains these trails and celebrate americas 250.activities to be performed pnts will:l. Provide national trails system-wide training activities, workforce development and other training opportunities each year for federal trail administrators, managers and nonprofit trail ORGANIZATIONS2. Continue to produce an annual printed publication for the national trails system entitled pathways across america, and prepare a monthly e-newsletter. 3. Update the partnership for the national trails system website. The site provides a single reference location for people seeking information about any national scenic and historic trail and the agencies organizations that sustain them.4. In support of the explore act, work with BLM, NPS and USFS to create a centralized data project that will track individual agency data efforts and combine them into centralized reporting for the entirety of the system. 5. Provide opportunities for the NTS to celebrate americas 250 through free events for the public, online opportunities, specialized digital mapping and family-friendly programming. 6. Begin planning for celebrations of the 60TH anniversary of the national trails system act.7. Provide workforce readiness and leadership training through our trails apprentice program. 8. Support volunteer and private nonprofit involvement in the planning and development of the national scenic and historic trails to enhance public access to the full routes of these national trails. 9. Continue to maintain public access to the native lands, national trails mapping project and answer questions from the public about this project 10. Promote the value to our country of the most extensive system of national trails in the world.expected deliverables or outcomes pnts anticipates several outcomes:-to provide training opportunities that are open to the public that incorporate the three primary administering and managing agencies program policies and operational differences -to provide opportunities for federal-private collaboration-create a comprehensive list of opportunities for advancing public access through the entirety of the national trails system-to create a centralized data project that tracks individual agency efforts along the national trails system and compiles the information so that system-wide data can be combined and shared.-coordination of a system-wide celebration of americas 250 during 2026-begin planning a system-wide celebration of the 60TH anniversary of the national trails system act in 2028INTENDED beneficiaries the american public and visitors to americas national trails system