Manager of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s A.T. Communities Program, Julie talks about the effort to enhance the benefit local communities obtain from use of the Appalachian Trail

1. Appalachian Trail Communities
! The Trail
! A.T. Communities
! Sustainable Tourism in Unicoi
County

3. Benton MacKaye

4. " a path interspersed with planned
wilderness communities where
people could go to renew
themselves"
" to seek respite from an increasingly industrialized,
urbanized society.

5. ATC
Last year, more than 6,200
volunteers contributed over 220,000
hours to Trail maintenance projects.

6. Appalachian Trail Communities

7. Economic Impact of the
A.T.
!2 million recreation visits annually
!$125 168 million annual spending
! $27 million spending in local
communities
!626 jobs supported by trail-related
tourism
J.M. Bowker, S.J. Zarnoch, H. Ken Cordell USDA FS; Neelam Poudyal,
Gary Green UGA; Matt Owens GA DNR. Presented as preliminary
findings at 20th American Trails National Symposium in Chattanooga, TN,
November 14-17, 2010

8. How the Trail Benefits Communities
Protecting Natural Resources:
vital habitat corridors, species diversity, ecosystem services that
citizens depend on such as watershed, air quality, foodsheds and even
medicine
Protecting Rural Character and Place:
ridgelines, river corridors, visual relief by framing neighborhoods in the
face of sprawl, preserving farmland (e.g. in PA)
Healthier lifestyles:
encouraging hiking, walking, jogging from a close location, positive life-
long exercise and experience, free!
Education:
citizen scientists, outdoor classrooms, experiential learning, teaching
stewardship
Enhanced quality of life for residents

9. Ecosystem
Management Restoration
Employment opportunities for ecosystem
management and monitoring,
Increase the work force of communities to
accomplish ecological restoration activities
like non-native invasive species control,
prescribed fire, timber stand
improvements, and biomass thinning
Job training opportunities for young adults
Providing high quality experiential
education

10. Appalachian Trail Community Benefits
Media Support:
guidebooks, web mapping, etc..
National Network
Logo Usage and branding
Signage
Increased Recognition and Visibility
Teacher Eligibility
Increased Environmental Stewardship

11. Outcomes and Successes, example
Unicoi County
Sustainable Tourism Initiative
Hiking Trails info
Festival
Increased land manager
and community partnership

12. Asset Based Action Plans
1) Recreational activities at Rocky Fork
2) Programming showcasing the new TN Welcome
Center
3) Cultural Asset guidelines booklet
4) Commercial Services through beautification plan
5) Marketing plan for natural resources

13. Entrepreneurs Workshop
Regional economic analysis
Business planning
Financial Strategies and resources
Case studies

14. Unicoi Already Attracts Tourists
3,600 Hikers visit Unicoi
each year
28,000 Boaters visit Unicoi
50,000 Anglers live within an
hour
Many More
____________________________________________________
TOURISM IMPACTS on UNICOI County:
Local Taxes: Employment: Local Taxes:
$620,000 74 Jobs $620,000
Source: Upper Nolichucky River Watershed Resource Benefit Study, Equinox Environmental Consultation, May 2005

15. 2008 Tourist Expenditures
Selected TN & NC Counties
2008 Tourist Expenditures
County / State
($ million)
Source: TN Dept. of Tourist
Washington Co., TN $197.37 million Development & U.S. Travel
Association; NC Dept. of
Commerce, Tourism Division
Avery Co., NC $89.76 million
Greene Co., TN $71.83 million
Carter Co., TN $31.27 million
Madison Co., NC $29.26 million
Yancey Co., NC $26.33 million
Mitchell Co., NC $19.86 million
Unicoi Co., TN $7.62 million

16. Economic Benefit Could Be Higher
! Unicoi receives an estimated $12.1 M annual
economic benefit from nature-based recreation
! Economic Impact from Recreational Users in
Unicoi Could Increase by 39%
! With planning, promotion, and partnerships built from
asset-mapping plans
! With growing of Appalachian Trail Community Network
(now 24 Communities) and
! Growing destination packages to an national and
international market of Voluntourists.
Source: Upper Nolichucky River Watershed Resource Benefit
Study

17. Julie Judkins, ATC
jjudkins@appalachiantrail.org
The Mountains are calling, and I must go.
John Muir
Join the Journey