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Develop Land and River Trail Management Plan for Mammoth Cave National Park
Mammoth Cave National Park » Develop Land and River Trail Management Plan for Mammoth Cave National Park » Document List
Dear Friends of Mammoth Cave National Park,
In recent years, Mammoth Cave National Park has seen an increase in the popularity of its land and water trails. While this increase in use is a good thing—more people are discovering the aboveground wonders of this world-class park—the increased use also impacts park resources on the ground and in the cave. In fact, the park's hard-working trail staff have been unable to keep up with the wear and tear due to poor trail design and placement, increased trail use, and the intensified large group sizes. This means visitors often find trails that are wet, muddy, badly rutted, eroded, braided, and difficult to travel, resulting in reduced enjoyment of these recreational opportunities. Our river-based water trails also lack intentional recreational opportunities.
We believe that we can do better. That's why we have started a process to develop a new land and river trails management plan for the park. The plan will ensure the long-term sustainability of our trails by providing strategic direction that guides trail maintenance, investment, and construction over the next few decades. Our goal is for this plan to preserve park resources and limit erosion while also providing increased access and more diverse opportunities to experience points of interest in the park.
Last summer, my staff and I heard from users of Mammoth Cave National Park's equestrian, biking, hiking, and river trails. We incorporated your feedback into the Mammoth Cave National Park Draft Land and River Trails Plan / Environmental Assessment. We invite individuals who are interested in the park's trails and rivers to continue engaging in this conversation.
This newsletter describes the land and river trails management planning effort and provides an overview of progress to date, including a description of the National Park Service (NPS) preferred alternative. These strategies would apply to the whole trail system and several proposals for new trail alignments, possible new connections to local communities, and other stewardship approaches. But we recognize that this plan can't be solely about adding new trails if we are to achieve a truly sustainable trail system. We are also proposing decommissioning unsustainable trail alignments that are costly to maintain, contribute to erosion and runoff, and contribute to poor visitor experiences, and we are proposing weather-related limitations on certain trail segments that are prone to erosion and damage during wet weather conditions.
This newsletter explains how you can provide feedback on the draft plan and participate in the finalization of the land and river trails management plan. This process is a multiyear effort, and your input will be invaluable as we continue to make progress towards finalizing this plan.
By sharing your input on the draft plan, you can help us shape the park's future. Thank you in advance for your participation!
Sincerely,
Barclay C. Trimble, Superintendent
Details about the LRTMP are included in an online story map that discusses Mammoth Cave National Park and the trail alignments. You can access the story map through the ArcGIS StoryMaps website at bit.ly/mammothtrailsmap.
A short informational video narrated by Superintendent Trimble outlines the LRTMP and the park's planning process. It can be viewed on YouTube at https://youtu.be/GKyGth9iDNU.
The planning team reviewed comments received during an earlier civic engagement period in Summer 2023 to refine the management scenarios in the Land and River Trail Management Plan (LRTMP). These insights have informed the development of this draft plan and environmental assessment (EA), which will be available for review from October 16, 2024, to November 15, 2024.
In recent years, Mammoth Cave National Park has seen an increase in the popularity of its land and water trails. While this increase in use is a good thing—more people are discovering the aboveground wonders of this world-class park—the increased use also impacts park resources on the ground and in the cave. In fact, the park's hard-working trail staff have been unable to keep up with the wear and tear due to poor trail design and placement, increased trail use, and the intensified large group sizes. This means visitors often find trails that are wet, muddy, badly rutted, eroded, braided, and difficult to travel, resulting in reduced enjoyment of these recreational opportunities. Our river-based water trails also lack intentional recreational opportunities.
We believe that we can do better. That's why we have started a process to develop a new land and river trails management plan for the park. The plan will ensure the long-term sustainability of our trails by providing strategic direction that guides trail maintenance, investment, and construction over the next few decades. Our goal is for this plan to preserve park resources and limit erosion while also providing increased access and more diverse opportunities to experience points of interest in the park.
Last summer, my staff and I heard from users of Mammoth Cave National Park's equestrian, biking, hiking, and river trails. We incorporated your feedback into the Mammoth Cave National Park Draft Land and River Trails Plan / Environmental Assessment. We invite individuals who are interested in the park's trails and rivers to continue engaging in this conversation.
This newsletter describes the land and river trails management planning effort and provides an overview of progress to date, including a description of the National Park Service (NPS) preferred alternative. These strategies would apply to the whole trail system and several proposals for new trail alignments, possible new connections to local communities, and other stewardship approaches. But we recognize that this plan can't be solely about adding new trails if we are to achieve a truly sustainable trail system. We are also proposing decommissioning unsustainable trail alignments that are costly to maintain, contribute to erosion and runoff, and contribute to poor visitor experiences, and we are proposing weather-related limitations on certain trail segments that are prone to erosion and damage during wet weather conditions.
This newsletter explains how you can provide feedback on the draft plan and participate in the finalization of the land and river trails management plan. This process is a multiyear effort, and your input will be invaluable as we continue to make progress towards finalizing this plan.
By sharing your input on the draft plan, you can help us shape the park's future. Thank you in advance for your participation!
Sincerely,
Barclay C. Trimble, Superintendent
Details about the LRTMP are included in an online story map that discusses Mammoth Cave National Park and the trail alignments. You can access the story map through the ArcGIS StoryMaps website at bit.ly/mammothtrailsmap.
A short informational video narrated by Superintendent Trimble outlines the LRTMP and the park's planning process. It can be viewed on YouTube at https://youtu.be/GKyGth9iDNU.
The planning team reviewed comments received during an earlier civic engagement period in Summer 2023 to refine the management scenarios in the Land and River Trail Management Plan (LRTMP). These insights have informed the development of this draft plan and environmental assessment (EA), which will be available for review from October 16, 2024, to November 15, 2024.