Support the Arrowhead Reroute

Royal River bluff on the MN Arrowhead (photo by JHY)

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from Bruce Matthews, NCTA Executive Director

We've got some movement in Congress on the Arrowhead re-route legislation--please help us get this over the top in 2010! Find out how below....

Support S. 553--Need YOUR Senators to co-sponsor!

The members of our North Country Trail community- our red plaid nation- have long cherished the notion that the world class hiking in northeastern Minnesota on the Superior Hiking Trail along the north shore, and on the Border Route and Kekekabic Trails through the Boundary Waters (together known as the Arrowhead Route) was worthy of inclusion as part of the North Country National Scenic Trail. However this requires an act of Congress- literally- to make it so.

Currently two bills are pending in this Congress, HR 481 and S. 553. Both would authorize the Arrowhead as part of the NCNST. HR 481 has been reported out of committee, but with two amendments that could be problematic. Consequently our efforts are now focused on getting a clean Senate version through the Environment and Natural Resources Committee in hopes this will be the version eventually passed and signed into law.

What we need you to do:
S.553 was introduced by Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar and is currently co-sponsored by Senators Levin and Stabenow (both MI) and Senator Feingold (WI). We need all 14 Senators from our North Country Trail states to sign on as co-sponsors. Please contact your Senator(s) and request their support of S.553, the North Country National Scenic Trail Route Adjustment Act of 2009.

Fax, e-mail or phone call works best. Simply support their joining the rest of their NCNST Senate colleagues in signing onto S. 553 as a co-sponsor.

Next steps will be getting the bill through the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which we hope will be scheduled in early 2010. We'll keep you posted.

See the Senate Bill Find your Senator