Adventure Cycling and National Park Service Agreement

April 3, 2013

Last week, we received a package from the Department of Interior. Adam, my colleague, snapped a photo of the envelope and posted it on Facebook. Wow! We didn't realize how excited our supporters would be to know that the final version of the national agreement between Adventure Cycling Association and the National Park Service was finally in hand. Thank you adventure cyclists! We are excited too.

Once the agreement is signed by Director Jarvis (pictured above with me and Jim Sayer) and filed, we're looking forward to working on a number of projects, including:

• Working with individual national park units on projects that can help both the park and cyclists. This might be a "share the road" educational campaign, or promotion of "cyclists only" days (like the ones offered at Yellowstone National Park in the spring and fall months), or a way to make a park near an urban center, like the C&O Canal and Great Allegheny Passage, relevant to families via bike-packing and overnight bike trips.
• Infrastructure and facilities for cyclists in parks where it's appropriate. We won't be building facilities, but we would like to help park officials find the financial support and planning expertise that can make these ideas become reality. I think it's especially important now, with the sequestration in effect, that the cycling and non-profit communities put out a helping hand how ever we can.
• Promotion and documentation of bicycle tourism and the many benefits it provides. We know that bicycle tourists are great for parks, offering low-impact on the environment and economic impact for concessionaires and gateway communities. We'll look for park and community partners to find methods to measure these benefits in meaningful ways.

Designation of U.S. Bicycle Routes that will bring cyclists to National Parks or, in some cases, designation of routes through them. After all, National Parks are a key destination identified by the U.S. Bicycle Route System Task Force when developing the National Corridor Plan. These are amazing places that traveling cyclists are interested in experiencing. Helping nurture that experience in partnership with the parks will be very exciting. We can't wait to get started.

Top photo by Adam Reel. Second photo courtesy of Jim Sayer.

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BUILDING THE U.S. BICYCLE ROUTE SYSTEM (USBRS) is posted by Ginny Sullivan, USBRS coordinator at Adventure Cycling, and features news and updates related to the emerging  U.S. Bicycle Route System. The USBRS project is a collaborative effort, spearheaded by a task force under the auspices of the  American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). Members of the task force include officials and staff from state DOTs, the Federal Highway Administration, and nonprofits like the  East Coast Greenway Alliance, and  Mississippi River Trail, Inc.