Freeman Grant Will Help Protect
Catamount Cross-Country Ski Trail

The Catamount Trail Association, a non-profit organization dedicated to developing, maintaining, and protecting Vermont’s 300-mile-long Catamount Cross-Country Ski Trail, has received a $60,000 grant from the Freeman Foundation to help continue its trail protection efforts.

This grant, to be spread over three years, follows an earlier grant received in 1998 from the Freeman Foundation that helped the CTA launch its trail protection program.

"The Catamount Trail is a unique and important winter recreational resource for Vermont, and we are very pleased that the Freeman Foundation recognizes this value and has chosen to continue its support of our protection efforts" remarked Ted Milks, Executive Director of the CTA.

CTA Trail Protection Director Dorothy Weinstein explains the need for trail protection.

"More than 180 miles of the Catamount Trail crosses private land through the generosity of more than 300 landowners. Changes in property ownership and land development activities frequently make it necessary to reroute the Trail.

"We are actively seeking landowners who are willing to negotiate easements which will keep the Trail route open and available for future generations of winter recreational users. To date, our efforts have resulted in the permanent protection of eleven miles of the Trail, and several additional protection projects are currently pending."

The Catamount Trail winds its way north from the Massachusetts border through the Green Mountains to Canada—the longest ski trail in North America. The terrain varies from flat easy touring to intermediate rolling hills and mountainous telemark slopes.

Eleven cross-country ski areas are linked by the Trail, and many country inns along the way facilitate inn-to-inn tours.

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