Officials want to update old planning documents and the first step to that is establishing a Foundation Document, which means first revisiting a national park unit’s core purpose and significance, most important resources and values, and the interpretive themes that tell the park’s important stories. Although the Foundation Document is not a decision-making document and does not include actions or management strategies, it describes a shared understanding of what is most important about the park. In this capacity, the Foundation Document will reestablish the underlying guidance for future management and planning decisions at Appalachian National Scenic Trail. The Park Service wants input from trail users which will help identify its most pressing threats and its greatest opportunities. Feedback may be submitted from Dec. 9-Jan. 9 at www.parkplanning.nps.gov /appafoundation. The Appalachian Trail is a 2,184 mile long public footpath that traverses the scenic, wooded, pastoral, wild, and culturally resonant lands of the Appalachian Mountains. Conceived in 1921, built by private citizens, and completed in 1937, today the trail is managed by the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, Appalachian Trail Conservancy, numerous state agencies and thousands of volunteers. 

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