A two-year study of possible side connections into the Cumberland Trail.
Joint project of the University of Tennessee – Chattanooga and the Cumberland Trail Conference.
Cumberland Trails Conference’s
Cumberland Trail State Park Connector Program Summary
The right side of our work returns our organization to our early roots as we begin building the framework and infrastructure for the 2nd Tier Community Connectors and 3rd Tier East-West Connectors as originally laid out in the 1999 Cumberland Trails Conference (CTC) Cumberland Trail State Park (CTSP) Acquisition and Development Plan, i.e. the Oak Ridge and Knoxville Connectors, Morgan County Loop, Sequatchie Valley and Fall Creek Falls Connectors, 
2John Muir and Trail Of Tears, Rail to Trails, and the Great Eastern Trail (not inclusive). CTC will drive the formation of an organizational committee and dedicated staff that will complete a Corridor Connector Study, in cooperation with corridor counties, cities, managing agencies, and NGO’s, to understand and define how the Cumberland Trail (CT) will link to our communities. The program will consist of a two-year study, down to the landowner, of all the potential community/landscape connectors to the CTSP, with an endpoint of a published ranked document defining those approved corridors.
- Creating a supportive and structured framework that recognizes those linear corridors that have the highest natural heritage and recreational value.
- Providing the weight and justification for CTC and its partners to move forward on the acquisition and development of approved Community and East-West Connectors to the CTSP.
- To provide a generational foundation to expand the recreation and conservation opportunities for all Tennesseans.
We will use the original CTSP community team structure to include a heavy emphasis on botanical/natural resources and recreation. Partnerships are critical to the success of the program and in that regard, we have partnered with the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s (UTC) GIS Research Lab and Biology, Geology, and Environmental Science Department allowing us to drill down to the individual landowners in every county and to drive this work to a completion in a 2-year time period.
Please see attached Connector Program Summary .pdf document to fully understand this program.