Michigan gains 500 miles of national park land
NORTHERN MICHIGAN — North Country Trail, a national park system that has over 500 miles of trails spread throughout the state, has been made into a national park.
On Dec. 7, the North Country Scenic Trail officially achieved the designation as a unit of the National Park Service. As a unit officially recognized by the National Park Service, different benefits will come to the trail with the status.
As a national park, the trail systems will have access to better resources and funding opportunities, as well as the legal standing to apply for services.
A nearly 5,000-mile-long trail leading from North Dakota to Vermont, the North Country Scenic Trail is the longest of the 11 national scenic trails in the United States. But for the entire life of the trail system, it has lacked the status as a national park, making it difficult to advertise and advocate for.
Created in 1980 by connecting several previously existing trails, it is one of the most popular trail systems used in the rural areas of many of the states it is a part of. While not all of the trail is connected, there are clear paths connecting the pieces together.
"These are incredible assets that runs through such a huge area of the country, and in many areas where we don't have a bunch of other national parks," said Andrea Ketchmark, executive director of North Country Trail Association.
In Michigan the trail passes through several state parks and forests, including Hiawatha and Ottawa national forests and crossing the Mackinac bridge.
The 4,800-mile-long path includes over 3,200 miles of trails and more trail is added every year. In 2022, more than 80 miles of trail were created and more than 40 miles were diverted from roadways.
Six of the 11 scenic trails in the country are administered by the National Park Service, but this doesn't mean that all their funding comes from the National Park Service, as much of the work done on the trails comes from local groups.
"It is still very much not something that the government fully funds, it is a public-private partnership and it requires partners like the (North Country Trail Association) and other nonprofits and agencies to fund it and to make it a reality," said Ketchmark.
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Three of the six trails administered by the National Park Service immediately received unit status, making them national parks. The North Country Trail, Ice Age Trail and New England Trail were not given unit status despite being a scenic trail run under the park service.
The three trails have advocated to be a National Park with unit status since, finally earning the designation earlier this month.
"We've been — for 34 years — advocating for this within the agency," Ketchmark said. "We have also engaged members of congress and Wisconsin and Michigan senators."
Now, the three trail systems will begin receiving the benefits of other park systems, such as being included on maps of national parks, something that has long stood in way of the park advertising itself.
"Our National Park Service Office has been told no to a lot of things in the past, including different funding opportunities," said Ketchmark. "Now with National Park Service supporting the trail, we hope that the opportunities for more funding will just continue to grow."
— Contact Brendan Wiesner: BWiesner@Sooeveningnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Sault News: Trails available to many Michiganders receive national park status
