[swalling]

These cuts are particularly nasty because federal spending on public trail maintenance is already razor thin. A ton of the Pacific Crest Trail and other scenic trails are already primarily maintained by volunteer groups doing work like log clearing, brush removal, and tread work. Trail users ourselves—hikers, mountain bikers, or trail runners—already put in hundreds of volunteer hours every season doing the basic trail work, and that's just regular seasonal maintenance. Significant work rebuilding parts of the Appalachian Trail and PCT after wildfires or hurricanes will likely not happen this year, or for years to come, unless volunteers fill in more gaps.

[phyzix5761]

Can we start a non profit where people can donate for things like this so we can actually get funding without relying on government?

[grg0]

Let's also pool some money to help the sick pay for health care, the young pay for education and those affected by layoffs tackle the transition. Heck, we could even start our own government.

[rchaud]

Such a nonprofit exists, it's called the federal government.

Maybe the super-rich can create their own nonprofit to fund commercial space tourism or whatever absurdity they've deemed so important that it needs spending elsewhere to be cut and diverted to them.

[999900000999]

At this point why don’t we just go back to the Articles of Confederation.

If we accept the federal government can’t do anything what are we paying taxes for? Get rid of social security too, I’m not going to make it to whatever stupidly high age they raise retirement to.

I used to be a big government liberal, but the problem is eventually people you disagree with start running super government.

[embedded_hiker]

There are many local, and not-so-local, groups that do this volunteer trail maintenance, and they could definitely use some monetary donations. There is the PCTA, mentioned up-thread ( pcta.org ). I volunteer for Trailkeepers of Oregon, based in Portland, and is active in many parts of the state. trailkeepersoforegon.org . There is also the Washington trails Association, and many more.

[emptybits]

This feels like the trend of Americans having to start GoFundMe campaigns for surgeries and health care. (!) I mean, do what you feel you have to do in the urgent moment. But come on. What's the plan? This is not civilized.

[SoftTalker]

I kind of like the idea of the people using the trails paying for them in kind.

[2muchcoffeeman]

I’ve read some exchanges from an American friend with their other American friends on social media years ago. I noticed that many of the people were very against the idea of people they don’t think are deserving from benefiting from them. Even in abstract ways. For example people getting welfare who are actually scamming the system. Or having an outside benefit, like poor people getting free healthcare even if they can’t pay taxes. Trails would have been a good example for this group, “why am I paying for trails I don’t use?”.

I have a hypothesis that Americans are so scared of others benefitting from themselves that they miss that many, many more people are deserving and it makes for a better society. But they don’t see that and would rather punish the deserving and themselves, if it means the undeserving will hurt more. I think this thinking also bleeds into your social justice movements.

[Matheus28]

Yeah, let’s make road users spend a couple days a year pouring asphalt as well. It’s only fair

[lurking_swe]

if we’re going to suggest silly stuff like that, let’s also suggest that cities stop subsidizing suburbs and their expansive infrastructure. sound good?

let’s take it a step further, let’s cut spending to anything that brings people joy! let’s all be crabs in a bucket together. convert public beaches to private beaches, public parks to private parks, make every school in the country a private school.

this will surely increase the well being of our society (sarcasm).

where does this crazy fallacy end? Taxes (and life) is not about min-maxing what benefits YOU personally. It’s about min-maxing your community and society. Kind of like how there is no “I” in team…

[ok_dad]

I kinda like the idea that people don’t have to pay for public land access.

[mauvehaus]

We do.

- Moped

GA-ME 2010

Volunteer maintainer Smarts Mountain Ranger Trail (AT side trail) 2021-present.

Landowner and volunteer maintainer on the Cross Rivendell Trail (CRT) 2023-present

My wife, who also thru-hiked the AT, before we met is on the CRT board.

We spent three days of our vacation in 2023 helping to re-roof Jeffers Brook Shelter on the AT.

We are also members of the ATC, GMC, MATC, and PCTA and have been for some combination of those between us since before we met.

ETA:

Oh yeah, also two weeks ago we helped hump a 200 pound bear box in to Velvet Rocks Shelter on the AT.

[0xTJ]

Yes. That's how it works. They're called taxes.