CORRIDOR MONITORING of the Appalachian Trail

Monitoring-the regular gathering of information about the Appalachian Trail corridor through periodic inspections by club monitors and reports from hikers, local residents, and local governments. Monitoring includes follow-up of problems identified, a system of record keeping and an annual report by each club to the ATC.

Appalachian Trail Conference
Monitoring Task Force
January 1983

WHAT IS THE CORRIDOR?

The A.T. follows a narrow corridor of mostly public owned land as it makes it way from Maine to Georgia. In 1978 the National Park Service (NPS) Appalachian Trail Park Office (ATPO) began the task of purchasing the privately owned lands needed to provide a protected corridor for the trail. It is anticipated that corridor land acquisition will be completed by the end of the year 2000.

RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE CORRIDOR

Responsibility for the corridor has been assigned to the Appalachian Trail Conference (ATC). The ATC coordinates monitoring of state and federal lands within established forests and parks, but delegates monitoring of NPS lands to the local maintaining clubs. PATC has responsibility for NPS corridor lands from Pine Grove Furnace State Park (Pennsylvania) to Rock Fish Gap(Virginia).

The largest parts of the NPS corridor lands are in VA/WV from the Potomac River to Shenandoah NP.

CHAIR OF THE A.T. CORRIDOR MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

The Chair of the A.T. Corridor Management, Committee, an appointed position of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, is responsible for all monitoring activities conducted by PATC. The Chair recruits volunteers to serve as corridor monitors, trains them and assigns them sections of NPS corridor lands. The Chair makes regular reports to the ATC and local agency partners as required to ensure an accurate picture is maintained about the status of trail corridor lands managed by the club.

CORRIDOR MONITORS

Corridor Monitors are responsible for patrolling their assigned section on a regular basis, placing appropriate signs, and filing written reports with the Chair of the A.T. Corridor Management Committee. The Monitors must be familiar with special use permits, reserved rights, conditions of easements, and other factors that regulate the use of corridor lands acquired by NPS. Monitors report changes in land use, damage from natural causes, and threats to scenic, cultural, or historical features contained within their assigned sections.

Click here to view a Powerpoint slide show about the PATC Corridor Monitor Program (or here to view a Flash version). 

 For additional information, contact the Corridor Manager at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it