{"id":52881,"date":"2025-04-10T13:18:29","date_gmt":"2025-04-10T17:18:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanhiking.org\/?p=52881"},"modified":"2025-04-10T13:18:29","modified_gmt":"2025-04-10T17:18:29","slug":"american-hiking-with-259-organizations-urge-trail-public-lands-funding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanhiking.org\/american-hiking-with-259-organizations-urge-trail-public-lands-funding\/","title":{"rendered":"American Hiking Society With 259 Organizations Urge Congress to Prioritize Trail and Public Lands Funding in FY26"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>SILVER SPRING, MD \u2013 April 10, 2025 \u2014\u00a0<\/strong>American Hiking Society, in partnership with 259 local, state, and national organizations, has submitted testimony to Congress calling for increased funding in the Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) budget to support trails and public lands across the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The coalition of organizations, business, and local governments \u2014 representing millions of trail users, outdoor enthusiasts, and conservation advocates \u2014 emphasized the critical role trails and public lands play in recreation, health, and economic development. Their unified testimony highlights the need for investment in federal agency trail programs and staffing, including those within the U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The coalition\u2019s recommendations call for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Increased funding for federal trail programs across public land agencies<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Strategic investments in trail maintenance, access, and resiliency<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Support for volunteerism and partnerships that help extend the capacity of federal land managers<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Protection and improvement of federal land management staffing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><br>\u201cThe urgency to support and invest in America\u2019s trail systems has never been greater,\u201d said Tyler Ray, American Hiking Society\u2019s Senior Director for Programs and Advocacy, \u201cwe are urging Congress to meet this moment with meaningful investments that ensure safe, sustainable trail access for all and grow local economies.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The full testimony can be found here:<a href=\"https:\/\/americanhiking.org\/american-hiking-and-259-organizations-support-fy26-trail-funding\"> https:\/\/americanhiking.org\/american-hiking-and-259-organizations-support-fy26-trail-funding<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>####<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Founded in 1976, American Hiking Society is the only national nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering all to enjoy, share, and preserve the hiking experience. To learn more about American Hiking Society and its mission and programs, visit&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/americanhiking.org\/\">americanhiking.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>American Hiking Society With 259 Organizations Urge Congress to Prioritize Trail and Public Lands Funding in FY26<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":78,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[542],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-52881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.3 (Yoast SEO v26.9) - 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