Completing the Continental Divide Trail – a Great Shovel-Ready Project

With U.S. unemployment currently at 9.6%, here’s an idea for a truly shovel-ready project that would follow in the footsteps of FDR’s successful Civilian Conservation Corps.   The Continental Divide Trail, which was designated by Congress in 1978, and envisioned to be a 3,100 mile long trail from Mexico to Canada up the spine of the Rockies, is still only 70% usable, with many of those miles in desperate need of repair and rerouting for sustainability, according to the Continental Divide Trail Alliance.   Substantial numbers of volunteers are already hard at work on the Continental Divide Trail. President Obama and Congress should consider funding a CCC-style program to push the Continental Divide Trail to completion more quickly, as a way to get more young Americans back to work.