Nature Trails and Mixed Routes - Tourism and Trails: Cultural, Ecological and Management Issues - page 68

• encourage local governments (e.g. municipal and county) to participate
in programs that complement the MHWT Program; and
• guarantee that private property rights along MHWT routes are not
infringed or disrupted. (Lemberg, 2004)

The American Canoe Association actively encourages the use of water
trails in the US and provides one of the most comprehensive waterway data-
bases in North America. In recognition of the importance of water trails and
in an effort to 'promote healthy and accessible rivers', in February 2012, the
US Department of the Interior established the National Water Trails System,
which at the time of writing included nine national water trails (see Table 3.1).
Each inscribed water trail is managed by a local entity or collaborative unit,
although the entire program is overseen by the National Park Service.
The 2012 National Water Trails System (NWTS) aims to link existing
and new water trails into a national network of blueways. 'The National
Water Trails System is a network of water trails the public can explore and
enjoy, as well as a community of water resource managers that can benefit
from information sharing and collaboration' (US National Park Service,
2013b). The goals of the NWTS are to:

• protect and restore America's rivers, shorelines, and waterways and
conserve natural areas along waterways;

• increase access to outdoor recreation on shorelines and waterways;

• establish a national system of exemplary water trails;

• become a catalyst for protecting and restoring the health of waterways

and surrounding lands; and

• build a community that mentors and promotes the development of water

trails and shares best management practices. (US National Park Service,
2013b)

While there are designated water trails in several countries, including
canal trails in the Netherlands, river-based water tourism routes in Lithuania
(Macerinskiene, 2010) and other European countries, and wilderness water
trails in Canada (Boyd & Butler, 1999), the water trails movement has been
most notable in the US. More and more states are designating water trails as
the concept continues to become popular for conservation, education and
recreational purposes. Quite naturally, they are more popular and plentiful
in north-western, north-eastern and upper midwestern states.
The second type of water-based route is waterfront trails, which typi-
cally do not require recreationists to paddle or float directly on the water, but
they sometimes include bridges or raised trails over water bodies to add vari-
ety and interest to an otherwise land-based trail. While they often focus on
more than water resources, shorelines are the common element that makes
them attractive and provides the rationale for their existence. The Lake