Participants chat during a break from the Successful Strategies for Trail Development workshop.
	More Information
	For more information about the Successful Strategies for Trail Development workshops in the Midwest Region (Ill., Ind., Mich., Minn., Ohio, Wis.), please e-mail Rhonda Border-Boose at Rails-to-Trails Conservancy's Midwest Regional Office or (614) 837-6782. If you are interested in Successful Strategies for Trail Development workshops outside of the Midwest Region contact one of our other Regional offices (Florida, Northeast or Western) or our national office for more information.

Midwest Hosts Trail-building Workshop for "Success":

In September 2006, more than 30 trail users, builders and visionaries came together at Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Peninsula, Ohio for a "Successful Strategies for Trail Development" workshop organized by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy's (RTC) Midwest Regional Office. RTC staff members from two regional offices, as well as the national office in Washington, D.C., were on hand to host the workshop, which addresses topics such as the history of rail-trails, trail benefits, corridor acquisition, implementation, design, funding and liability issues. The goal: putting more trail mileage on the ground in the Midwest.

Rory Robinson, outdoor recreation planner with the National Park Service River, Trails & Conservation Assistance Program , spoke about the economic benefits of trails and how communities are investing more money into trail programs with the knowledge that these pathways will pay both short and long-term dividends. 

"[The workshop] was great!" says Robinson. "This was an opportunity for trail managers and advocates to learn all there is to learn about trails." 

The sentiment was echoed by Ira Willet a representative from the newly formed New London Greenwich Rail-to-Trails group. "It was quite informative," says Willet. "[The workshop] was loaded with information for rail-trail groups needing information pertaining to the particular problem or point they were at. The information that was presented we will certainly be able to use. Thanks for a great program and we look forward to attending another one."