Trail Planning

 

A range of management and implementation plans are used to administer the California National Historic Trail. These documents provide overall guidance for National Park Service administrators and their partners in trail protection, development, and interpretation.

Management and Implemention Plans

Comprehensive Management and Use Plan

The Comprehensive Management and Use Plan/Final Environmental Impact Statement (finalized in 1999) is shaped, in part, by the planning requirements found in section 5(f) of the National Trails System Act (see appendix A). It focuses on the trails' purpose and significance, resource protection, visitor experience and use, and long-term administrative objectives.

Elements of the proposed plan have been developed in cooperation with federal, state, and local agencies, as well as various nonprofit trail organizations-the entities that form the core of any partnership for national historic trails.

This plan serves as a coordinating document that provides policies, guidelines, and standards for administering the four trails in such a manner as to ensure the protection of trail resources, their interpretation, and their appropriate public use.

The plan, includes not only the California NHT, but also the Oregon, Mormon Pioneer, and the Pony Express trails as well.

Long-Range Interpretive Plan

The long-range interpretive plan (LRIP), finalized in 2010, provides an overall vision and basis for decision-making relating to interpretation and educational media.

4-Trails Feasability Study

The National Park Service (NPS) has prepared a feasibility study to evaluate some 64 routes for possible addition to the Oregon, California, Mormon Pioneer, and Pony Express National Historic Trails. The study was authorized by Congress — in response to years of sustained public interest — under the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009.