BOB PROUDMAN: THANK YOU, MR. CHAIRMAN. AND LADIES AND GENTLEMEN OF THE ACCESS BOARD. I JUST WANT TO GET MY PRESENTATION UP THERE, SO I WILL PROCEED. I'M WITH THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL CONSERVANCY. YOU HAVE ALSO HEARD FROM TIP RAY AND PETER JENSEN WHO ARE TWO OF OUR COLLEAGUES AND CONTRACTORS. I FEEL A LITTLE LIKE WE ARE OVEREXPOSED WITH YOU TODAY. YOU KNOW, THE NATIONAL RECREATION AND PARK ASSOCIATION WITH 60,000 PARKS REPRESENTED, HAD ONE REPRESENTATIVE AND WE HAVE 3 HERE TODAY.
(LAUGHTER.)
BOB PROUDMAN: I GUESS JUST PHILOSOPHICALLY, I WOULD POST IT IS WITH YOU THE FACT THAT THIS IS AN INDICATION OF BOTH OUR GREAT SUPPORT FOR YOUR WORK, BUT ALSO OUR GREAT CONCERN. THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL IS A PRIMITIVE FOOT PATH PUT IN BY VOLUNTEERS WHO THEMSELVES WERE MOTIVATED TO JUST GET OUT OF THE CITIES. IT WAS FIRST CONCEIVED BY […] HE WAS A VISIONARY, A SOCIALIST KIND OF A FUNNY, CRANKY FELLOW, AND HE CALLED IT A “BARBARIAN UTOPIA”. AND YET HERE MANY OF OUR WORKER'S AND VOLUNTEERS WE HAVE 4 OR 5 THOUSAND VOLUNTEERS ARE SAYING WHAT ARE YOU DOING MAKING THE TRAIL EASIER. YOU KNOW. AND SO I GUESS I BRING THAT TO YOUR ATTENTION, AS SOMEONE ACTUALLY WHO IS NEW TO THE ACCESS BOARD, MY BOSS, DAVE STARTZEL WAS A MEMBER OF THE REG-NEG COMMITTEE FROM 1997 TO '99, AND I'M AN ADMINISTRATOR, I ADMINISTER CONTRACTS, I WAS A TRAIL CONSTRUCTION EXPERT 20 YEARS AGO AND KEPT GETTING PROMOTED. AND SOME OF YOU MAY KNOW WHAT THE PETER PRINCIPLE IS. SO I'M ALL -- I'M NEW TO THIS MATERIAL WITH JANET ZELLER'S HELP AND THE FOREST SERVICE GREAT LEADERSHIP, WE HAVE LEARNED A LOT IN THE LAST TWO YEARS WITH THE FOREST SERVICE ACCESSIBILITY GUIDELINES AND THE OUTDOOR RECREATION GUIDELINES BUT THEY ARE NOT SIMPLE. I THINK YOU FOLKS KNOW BETTER THAN MOST THAT IT TAKES A WHILE TO LEARN.
AND SO I GUESS I WOULD REITERATE THE POINT MADE EARLIER BY PETER JENSEN I GUESS IN RESPONSE TO A QUESTION THAT WE REALLY NEED GOOD DOCUMENTATION TO HELP US UNDERSTAND THESE MATTERS MORE THOROUGHLY.
I GUESS I'M UP ON THE SCREEN NOW. HERE IS A REFERENCE TO MY POINT ABOUT THE UTOPIA. IT IS 2100 MILES LONG, TIP IS ONE OF THOSE AMAZING PEOPLE THAT DID IT IN ONE YEAR WE CALL THEM “THROUGH HIKERS’, BACK IN 1948 WHEN IT WAS FIRST DONE IT WAS CONSIDERED A STUNT. IT WAS DONE BY A MAN NAMED SHAVER, AND PEOPLE JUST DO NOT BELIEVE IT. I MEAN WHO WOULD WALK 2,000 MILES THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS.
MORE ABOUT THE TRAIL, WHERE WE DO CROSS VALLEYS, THIS IS THE POCHUK VALLEY IN NEW JERSEY WE INSTALLED BOARD WALKS AND TRIED TO MAKE THEM ACCESSIBLE. THIS PROJECT TOOK US 10 YEARS AND HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS, NOW IN TERMS OF EVALUATING COSTS I DON'T KNOW IF WE CAN DO IT MILE COMPARED TO MILE BUT I DO HEAR YOUR CONCERN, MR. CHAIRMAN AND WOULD LIKE TO COMMENT LATER BY YOUR DEADLINE.
IT CROSSES MANY TOWNS, WE HAVE A NEW COMMUNITY OUTREACH PROGRAM WHERE WE ARE TRYING TO REACH OUT TO THESE TOWNS. MORE THAN 200 IN THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE TRAIL. SO WE ARE NOT ONLY A NATIONAL TRAIL BUT IN MANY RESPECTS MUNICIPAL PARK. AND WE TRY AND WORK WITH OUR LOCAL COMMUNITIES.
IT IS MAINTAINED BY VOLUNTEERS. -- WHOOPS I WENT TOO FAST THERE. THERE IS ABOUT 4500 AT ANY ONE TIME. AND THEY ARE JUST TOTALLY DEVOTED. WE HAVE SOME VOLUNTEERS THAT WILL WORK AS MUCH AS FULL-TIME STAFF, 2,000 HOURS A YEAR. WE HAD 2 AWARDEES RECENTLY RECEIVE 50 YEAR CERTIFICATES OF CONTINUOUS SERVICE. I MEAN PEOPLE THAT WERE WORKING DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR.
HERE IS JUST SOME DOCUMENTATION. I POINT OUT THAT IT IS A PREMIER OPPORTUNITY FOR MULTIDAY BACKPACKING. PEOPLE WANT TO GET AWAY. IF YOU WANT TO GET AWAY FOR A WEEK OR A THREE-DAY WEEKEND, YOU CAN REALLY GET AWAY, AND IN THE EASTERN HALF OF THE COUNTRY, WHICH IS VERY POPULATED, AND THEN I WOULD EMPHASIZE MY LAST POINT. IT IS VERY RUGGED.
SPEAKING OF STUNTS, ALTHOUGH I WOULD NEVER POINT THIS OUT WITH REGARD TO MR. IRWIN. BILL IRWIN IN 1990 WALKED THE TRAIL FROM GEORGIA TO MAINE, NOT AN AMAZING ACCOMPLISHMENT IN ITSELF, UNTIL YOU REALIZE THE MAN WAS 100 PERCENT BLIND. A MAN OF GREAT FAITH.
WE HAVE SPONSORED A NUMBER OF PROJECTS IN ACCESSIBILITY. WE TRY AND DO IT WHERE WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO IT.
THIS IS IN CONNECTICUT. IT WAS A HARNESS RACE COURSE IN THE 19 CENTURY, AND WE MADE IT A PART OF THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL. FALLS VILLAGE, CONNECTICUT. HERE YOU SEE -- ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY IN SHADY VALLEY TENNESSEE, BROUGHT A FARM WITH BROAD LANDSCAPE ON THE TOP AND WORKED WITH THE FOREST SERVICE TO MAKE IT FULLY ACCESSIBLE.
WE ARE REALLY INTO AS WERE THE FOREST SERVICE, I SAW RUTH DOYLE'S WE ARE REALLY INTO TOILETS AND PRIVIES. AND THE REASON IS THAT WE ARE AT THE TOPS OF WATERSHEDS. YOU KNOW THAT OLD BUMPER STICKER, EVERYBODY IS DOWNSTREAM. WELL WE ARE NOT. WE ARE RIGHT AT THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN. AND SO WE WORK VERY HARD TO MINIMIZE POLLUTION AND YOU HAVE TO REALIZE THE ENVIRONMENT OF THE TRAILS IS LIKE A THIRD WORLD COUNTRY. THERE IS NO POWER SO WE ARE INTO COMPOSTING, ALL KINDS OF DIFFERENT TECHNIQUES AND WE HAVE DEVELOPED THIS PRIVY, WE CALL IT A WHOLE DEARING PRIVY AND IT LOOKS LIKE A TOWER HERE BECAUSE WE HAVE TO HAVE A BELOW GRADE AREA TO DO THE COMPOSTING. THIS IS FULLY ACCESSIBLE. IT WAS DEVELOPED COOPERATIVELY BY THE GEORGIA CLUB AND THE FOREST SERVICE. AND HERE IT IS, THAT IS WHY IT LOOKS SO TALL IT IS PREFABRICATED IN A PARKING LOT IN PREPARATION FOR AIR LIFTING. WHICH IS ANOTHER ELEMENT OF THE COST. THESE AREAS ARE REMOTE. THEY REQUIRE HUMAN PACKERS, PACK ANIMALS OR HELICOPTERS SO YOU CAN ALMOST DOUBLE THE COST FROM ROAD SIDE.
HERE A PICTURES OUR NORMAL TRAIL CONSTRUCTION. YOU CAN'T TELL BUT OUR DESIGN WIDTH IS ABOUT 18 INCHES, IT IS A LITTLE WIDER IN THE PHOTO ON THE RIGHT YET YOU KNOW WHEN WE ARE TALKING ACCESS INTEREST IT IS SUBSTANTIALLY MORE. SO THAT IS JUST TO WRAP UP, BILL IRWIN MADE IT TO THE SUMMIT AT KATOD IN OCTOBER OF 1990, AND WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT A MAN COULD FIND HIS WAY THROUGH THE WOODS THAT FAR. HE IS USED TO FEEL THE LETTERS ON THE SIGNS WITH HIS FINGERS AND HIS DOG WAS AMAZING, ORIENT, HE WOULD SMELL THE HUMAN TRAFFIC, BUT I MEAN JUST TO FIND WATER IT WAS JUST AN AMAZING ACCOMPLISHMENT. I GUESS THE POINT I AM MAKING IN BRINGING IT UP, IS YOU KNOW, THE POINT THAT WHO CAN TELL WHAT THE FUTURE WILL BRING. THANK YOU.
PHILIP PEARCE [BOARD MEMBER]: THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT AND THAT IS A NEAT SET OF COMMENTS TO HEAR THERE. DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR MR. PROUDMAN? JIM ELEKES.
JIM ELEKES [BOARD MEMBER]: THANK YOU, JIM PEARCE, IT IS A COMMENT MORE THAN ANYTHING. AS A NEARLY 45 YEAR RESIDENT OF MCAFEE NEW JERSEY, I WALKED AND SAW THE CONSTRUCTION OF WHAT YOU DID IN THE POCHUK VALLEY. IT MAINTAINED THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENT IT WAS ACCESSIBLE AND IT WAS A DELIGHT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
BOB PROUDMAN: ONE FINAL COMMENT, WE WILL SUBMIT WRITTEN COMMENTS BY YOUR DEADLINE IN OCTOBER.
PHILIP PEARCE: MR. PARK.
DAVID PARK [DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR LIAISON TO THE BOARD]: JUST ONE COMMENT, AND MR. PROUDMAN, I KNOW THERE HAS BEEN SOME WORK ON THE PART OF THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL OF LOOKING AT AREAS THAT CAN BE MADE ACCESSIBLE. AND IN FACT, YOU HAVE GONE OUT OF YOUR WAY TO SORT OF PROMOTE THE FACT THAT THERE ARE SOME SEGMENTS THAT CAN MEET THESE GUIDELINES AND YOU HAVE IN FACT DONE THAT. CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT PROCESS AND THE AREAS THAT HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED THAT ARE ACCESSIBLE? I THINK THAT WOULD BE GOOD FOR THE BIG PICTURE HERE.
BOB PROUDMAN: YES, THANK YOU, MR. PARK. WE LOOK BASICALLY FOR AREAS NEAR ROAD SIDE, AREAS THAT ARE ALREADY HEAVILY USED, AND AREAS WITH MODERATE SLOPE. SO FOR EXAMPLE, THE C&O CANAL WHICH IS ALSO A UNIT OF THE NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM, CANAL TOE PATH, THE GRADE IS I THINK 2 OR 3 FEET PER MILE. THE SUMMIT AT BEAR MOUNTAIN WHICH IS IN NEW YORK. IT IS EXTREMELY POPULAR. THERE IS MOTORIZED ACCESS TO THE SUMMIT. PETER JENSEN HAS BEEN WORKING ON THAT PROJECT WITH US. […] A COOPERATIVE PROJECT WITH THE TOWN OF PARISBURG VIRGINIA. AGAIN THE TERRAIN IS RELATIVELY FLAT.
I MENTIONED OR SHOWED PHOTOS OF THE OSBORNE TRACT. THE PROJECT IN CONNECTICUT WAS ACTUALLY SELECTED BY OUR LOCAL CLUB IN FALLS VILLAGE. IT WAS AN OLD RACE TRACK. AND SO IT IS ALMOST EVERY OPPORTUNITY WE HAVE BECAUSE IT IS SO MOUNTAIN US, AND MAYBE THAT IS OUR CONCERN ABOUT THIS POLICY. WE HOPE THAT IF WE MAXIMIZE OUR CONTRIBUTIONS, AGAIN, BEING ENCOURAGED BY THE FOREST SERVICE AND PARK SERVICE, YOU WILL LEAVE US GO IN THE MOUNTAIN.