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BOISE, Idaho (AP) -- U.S. officials are taking a big step involving a 1,200-mile (1,900-kilometer) hiking trail stretching from the Continental Divide to the Pacific Ocean.
The U.S. Forest Service is accepting comments through Oct. 30 on a comprehensive plan for the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail, which starts in Glacier National Park in Montana, crosses through northern Idaho and finishes in Olympic National Park in Washington.
The Forest Service wants to complete the plan by late 2023. It's a key document that will give state, federal and tribal land managers a guide for developing the non-motorized trail throughout its entire length. Currently, about a third of the trail is on roads and some portions in remote areas require bushwhacking with no trail.
"I love what it could be," said Jeff Kish, executive director for the Pacific Northwest Trail Association. "The bones are there, but we still have to flesh it out."
The comprehensive plan, he said, "gives us the opportunity to preserve what makes the trail so special."
The trail was first proposed and crossed in the 1970s, with a handful of additional early adventurers making the trek in following years.
Congress approved the trail as the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail in 2009, making it the 11th trail added to the National Trails System that includes the Pacific Crest Trail, Appalachian Trail and Continental Divide Trail.
Kish, who completed the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail in 2014, estimates that fewer than 1,000 hikers have finished the route that includes significant elevation gain and loss when going through mountainous areas. In recent years, he said, about 75 people annually have attempted to complete the route, though not all are able to finish.
Completion and approval of the comprehensive plan and potential changes along the trail as a result could boost hiker numbers. The plan would look at how many hikers the trail can handle and such things as locating campgrounds.
Kish noted that, currently, many hikers might choose not to try the trail because so much of it is along roads.
The Forest Service will use the comments to develop a draft comprehensive plan and environmental assessment this winter that will be made public in the summer of 2023. The agency by December 2023 wants to sign a decision notice for the trail and implement the comprehensive plan. The comments will also help the agency determine what type of experience hikers want, trail conditions and future management.