The week of May 14th – 18th, the Partnership for the National Trails System hosted a National Historic Trails (NHT) workshop in Socorro, New Mexico.  The workshop was composed of two major portions:  1) National Historic Trails in Urban Settings and 2) National Historic Trails in Rural Settings.
     The workshop took a hands-on, applied approach that was designed to engage participants in identifying, protecting, and developing trail resources.  Workshop attendees, which included federal and state agencies, non-profit trail partners and others, broke into multiple mixed-groups and utilized “tool-boxes” developed by Park Service personnel to accomplish these ends.  Synergies were developed that allowed the leading trail stewards from across the nation to come together, learn from each other, and leave with valuable strategies and insights to take back home for their respective trails.   
     In addition, a full day was devoted to “NHT Trail Corridor Protection in America’s Large Landscapes.”  The goals of this portion of the event were to:  1) Orient those unfamiliar with NHTs about the basics of the National Trails System, 2) Create an understanding of how NHTs can relate to the America’s Great Outdoors Initiative (AGO), 3) Explore how sensitive cultural resources are protected by wildlife and natural resource agencies, and 4) To begin developing an inter-program action agenda linking NHTs to AGO.
     All-in-all, workshop attendees took part in four mobile workshops to urban and rural settings, as well as two wildlife refuges with NHT resources within them.  The workshop was a great success and we look forward to participating in future ones.  

Steve Burns-Chavez of the National Trails System Intermountain Region leads PNTS workshop participants in Socorro, NM.