Commentary: Old Spanish Trail Is Our Own National Treasure

Summary

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As we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the National Trails System Act on June 7, you will find me looking out on a footpath that leads past my house into the mountains, thinking about the age- old pull of America's historic trails.

National historic trails have become paths into the heart of our history. Yet many of them would have passed into oblivion, been plowed under or paved over, were it not for the National Trails legislation signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson in 1968. Those of us who endorsed the legislation wanted to make it possible for Americans to share some of the adventure and toil experienced by our forebears -- the native people, explorers and pioneers who first laid eyes on what became the American landscape.

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Extract

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Commentary: Old Spanish Trail Is Our Own National Treasure

Today, the National Trails System encompasses more than 40,000 miles of trails, including one of the most recently designated, Old Spanish Natio...

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