Читать книгу The Outdoor Citizen. Get Out, Give Back, Get Active онлайн

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Conceived of in 1929, the BCT was the brainchild of Benton MacKaye, a forester, planner, and conservationist who, earlier that same decade, conceived of the Appalachian Trail, which was the AMC’s biggest urban trail effort. MacKaye envisioned a ring of greenery, an “outer emerald necklace,” circling the densely populated Boston area.40 The Great Depression and residential and commercial developments delayed the realization of much of MacKaye’s original vision, but interest in the project was renewed in the 1980s. In 1990, the Bay Circuit Alliance (BCA) formed and it saw the BCT through to completion.

Alan French was chair of the BCA through 2016. A former selectman and sporting goods store owner in Andover, Massachusetts, Alan made it his mission to see that MacKaye’s vision was carried out. MacKaye saw the potential the greenbelt held to draw urbanites to the outdoors and serve as a catalyst for economic development, and Alan carried these goals with him as he traveled to the fifty-seven BCT communities along the greenbelt and sold them all on the idea of building it. In November 2016, with great respect and appreciation for Alan’s work, the Appalachian Mountain Club took over the leadership of the BCA. Today the AMC leads dozens of groups on trails through the BCT and works daily to move closer to MacKaye’s ideal. The AMC has also raised more than two million dollars to fund trail work, policy efforts, land acquisition, and trail signage. The funds come from local supporters, and we have thousands of volunteers. The BCT is better utilized than we could have imagined, and we’re proud of the work.