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Buckeye Trail Association urges state support for National Scenic Trail designation
Summary
Maureen Gatewood and Andrew Beshaw of the Buckeye Trail Association testified in favor of House Concurrent Resolution 13, asking the Ohio legislature to endorse consideration of the Buckeye Trail as a National Scenic Trail and describing the trail's history, volunteer support and the National Park Service feasibility study process.
Maureen Gatewood and Andrew Beshaw of the Buckeye Trail Association testified before the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee on Sept. 30, 2025, in support of House Concurrent Resolution 13, which urges congressional and federal consideration of the Buckeye Trail for designation as a National Scenic Trail.
Gatewood recounted the trail's origin and the role of her great‑grandmother, Emma "Grama" Gatewood, in popularizing long‑distance hiking in Ohio. "Great grandma had a difficult life... At age 67, she was the first woman to through hike the AT," Gatewood told the committee, and she described Gatewood's role in the Buckeye Trail's early history. Andrew Beshaw highlighted the trail's length and national significance, telling senators the Buckeye Trail now runs about 1,454 miles and connects national and state sites including Wayne National Forest and Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
Beshaw outlined the federal feasibility process: Congress authorized a feasibility study in the 2022 omnibus, the National Park Service conducted stakeholder meetings in January 2025, and the study is due to the Department of the Interior and Congress in 2026. "This bill would bring national recognition to one of Ohio's greatest ideas," Beshaw said, and he described the Buckeye Trail Association as a volunteer organization that annually provides substantial volunteer hours and partners with land managers without ongoing state or federal operating support.
Committee members asked about next steps should the feasibility study be favorable. Beshaw said an authorization bill by Ohio's congressional delegation would be needed after a positive feasibility recommendation, and that the resolution would demonstrate state support to the National Park Service and to Congress. Senators Liston and Hicks Hudson expressed support and asked procedural follow‑ups; the committee received written proponent testimony from other groups including The Nature Conservancy and the Buckeye Trail Association.
The hearing closed with no committee vote; HCR 13 remains a resolution urging federal consideration and does not itself create federal designation or funding.
