The success of individual trail projects has sparked the idea of growth to expand connectivity between some Missouri towns and counties. Backers of the trail networks said the goal is to create healthier lifestyles and offer safer, active transportation opportunities.
The Rail to Trails Conservancy is steering an accelerator program it calls "TrailNation," a first-of-its-kind project to help rural and small communities build connected trail networks throughout the state. Technical assistance, capacity building, and peer learning will be provided.
Kelly Pack, director of the program, said the idea is to create better local connections from the towns to public lands in the area.
"We're really excited to be working with a group of community leaders in Southeast Missouri, in (the) Van Buren and Poplar Bluff area," Pack noted. "They are looking at closing some of the critical gaps to the Ozark trail system."
Pack pointed out the project is a natural evolution of the Rail to Trail Conservancy’s work to support local efforts through decades of learning from its other trail network projects. Neighboring state Illinois is also part of the program.
Pack emphasized the larger trails network will offer safe, welcoming spaces with biking, shopping and dining options for area residents and out-of-state visitors, which also makes good economic sense. The connected trail network is unique, in part because of the evolution of the Rails to Trails Conservancy’s place in the larger trails movement, and Pack stressed they do not want smaller communities left behind.
"It is going to be taking a lot of the great learnings and kind of new strategies that smaller and rural communities are using to help trails really propel either their outdoor recreation access or their place as a tourist destination in their region," Pack underscored.
She added that the group will work in eight communities across the country, including projects with the Trails of the Grand Prairie in Illinois and the Ozark Trail Association, for the next year, which will allow opportunities for networking and gaining insights from each other to help address the challenges small and rural communities face.
The Missouri News Service originally published this story.
