Calling all Buckeyes!

June, 2014 – Do you live in Ohio? Want to take 5 minutes and do something HUGE to help the North Country Trail? (You know – the one that co-aligns with the Buckeye Trail!) Please ask Sen. Rob Portman to co-sponsor the North Country Trail Route Adjustment Act today!

The bill – the North Country National Scenic Trail Adjustment Act – will adjust the route in Minnesota from its originally planned route (which was not able to be constructed due to environmental issues) to a new route that’s not only viable but stunningly beautiful, traveling through the Boundary Waters and North Shore of Lake Superior. This bill will also connect the eastern end of the North Country Trail to the Appalachian Trail in Vermont. Imagine the hiking possibilities!

Because the North Country Trail – which is co-aligned with the Buckeye Trail as it travels through Ohio – is a Congressionally designated trail, the only way this reroute can be accomplished is through Congressional action. This bill is expected to be bipartisan (who doesn’t love hiking and the outdoors, right?) but still needs your action to help it move through the committee.

Please take a moment and either email Sen. Portman via this link or call his office at 202-224-3353. If emailing, we have a sample letter that you can use, but we encourage you to change it up and make it your own! The “ask” is simple: please encourage Sen. Portman to co-sponsor this important piece of legislation with Sen. Klobuchar of Minnesota. Volunteers stand ready to dig into these sections of trail but are waiting on Congress to simply approve the route.

If you speak with the Senator’s staff or hear back from him via email, we would be most grateful if you could let us know the response – email Peter Olsen at POlsen@AmericanHiking.org. From one Buckeye to another, thank you for helping one of America’s truly magnificent trails.