The Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) has awarded The Cumberland Valley Appalachian Trail Club (CVATC) a $1500 grant for the purchase of a new utility trailer to haul CVATC owned mowers and trail maintaining equipment. Starting this past year, all of our trail mowing has been performed by CVATC volunteers and the need for this trailer was crucial to get our mowers to various points along the trail. The trailer has also been utilized to haul other equipment to perform the many needed tasks to maintain our section of the trail and has really proved to be a huge support to our club, its members and ultimately benefiting the Appalachian Trail and the folks that use it. This year, the ATC awarded grants to 13 Appalachian Trail (AT) clubs through this program. These grants, provided by the ATC with generous support from L.L. Bean Inc., help fund necessary projects along the AT, such as trail, bridge and shelter construction, recruiting and training new volunteers, purchasing tools and safety gear, developing educational materials and community outreach. Grants from this program may make the difference in a club’s ability to perform the vital work that makes the AT such a great recreational resource. Grant recipients are expected to match grants with labor, money or in-kind contributions. The ATC was founded in 1925 by volunteers and federal officials working to build a continuous foot path along the Appalachian Mountains. The AT is a unit of the National Park System, stretching from Maine to Georgia. At approximately 2,190 miles in the length, the AT is the longest hiking-only footpath in the world. Last year, nearly 6,000 volunteers donated more than 240,000 hours of their time doing trail-related work. More than 3 million visitors walk a portion of the AT each year. The ATC has awarded more than half a million dollars in grants to the ATC’s affiliated Trail clubs and their volunteers through the L.L. Bean grants to AT Clubs program since 1982. The ATC works with 31 Trail maintaining clubs by providing resources, training and volunteers to help maintain the Trail. The clubs are responsible for trail maintenance, monitoring protected land around the Trail, providing information to the Trail users and the public, and participating in regional partnership committee meetings. About Cumberland Valley Appalachian Trail Club: The Cumberland Valley Appalachian Trail Club is one of 31 Trail maintaining clubs that help to maintain the AT from Maine to Georgia. Our section is responsible for 17 miles through the Cumberland Valley from the top of Blue Mountain to Center Point Knob.
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