Seven Actions You Can Take to Support the Rail-Trail Movement:

1. Explore: Visit a rail-trail and experience for yourself its benefits. TrailLink.com may be the quickest route to a rail-trail near you. Through its extensive database of trail locations, reviews and photos, TrailLink.com is your primary resource for rail-trail activities. Once on the trail you will see and feel how far-reaching the benefits of rail-trails really are.

2. Advocate: Join our Action Alert Network and stay informed about important legislative issues and RTC-related news. Learn how you can urge your local, state and federal representatives to support trail-friendly policies. Call or write your elected officials to urge them to support trail-friendly policies including transportation enhancements funding and railbanking. Visit your state or town's Web site to learn how to communicate your thoughts. Your representatives in Congress can be contacted by visiting www.house.gov and www.senate.gov.

3. Organize: Organize a bike ride or walk on a rail-trail for your community group. Whether it's with your young Scouts or senior citizens group, take the opportunity to organize an event, either formal or informal, to get out on the trail. Rail-trails can be enjoyed by all ages for a range of activities from bicycle riding to bird watching. You many even want  to join an already organized event. The 2006 Midwest Express and Pennsylvania Greenway Sojourn provided two great opportunities to get out on the trail. Register with us to stay information about next year's rides.

4. Stay Informed: Become a trail advocate by joining our online community. By joining  you can stay close to what's happening in the world of rail-trails through our monthly Rail-Trail eNews bulletins filled with latest news and success stories. Working together we can continue to influence and shape our communities across this country.

5. Volunteer: Contact your local trail group to learn how to volunteer. With nearly 1,400 rail-trails across the country there are plenty of chances for you to be a volunteer. Many trail entries in TrailLink.com provide trail contact information and/or a link to trail Web sites. Try contacting your local trail group to see if you can lend a helping hand. You can be sure that they will appreciate your help building, maintaining and restoring the trails.

6. Visit: Plan your next vacation around a rail-trail. Rail-trails are destinations that offer many opportunities for activity such as biking, hiking, horse-back riding and cross-country skiing. Take advantage of trails for pleasure, exercise, or transportation in your own community or anywhere around the country by using TrailLink.com, Rails to Trails magazine or RTC guidebooks to plan your next vacation.

7. Donate: Support Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) with a tax deductible contribution. Your dollars will help the continued creation of a nationwide network of trails. RTC member-support has helped put more than 13,300 miles of rail-trails on the ground. Each of your dollars helps RTC assist the rail-trail movement, secure the future of rail-trails and enhance America's communities and countryside.