<font color='black' size='2' face='arial'>
<div><FONT face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"></FONT> I can't be the only one to be thinking this, so I have to pose the question, and I'll admit up front I wasn't currently a CDTA member: Do others think it odd that, if financial difficulties caused the disbanding of the CDTA, that downsizing wasn't an option? The CDTA web site listed eight presumably paid staff, 3,000 members, and an office in Golden, CO, and wasn't there another field office? Was completely closing doors really the only option? Would someone from the CDTA be willing to address this? Downsizing obviously is not ideal, but many trail organizations do their work with fewer paid staff and resources, although not at the scale of the CDT. Was it really all or nothing? </div>
<div> It just doesn't seem plausible that abruptly closing was the only answer, and that there weren't signs of financial concerns months or years ago that could have been addressed then by the CDTA board and then to its members and supporters. It just seems like there's some extenuating circumstance.</div>
<div>Jim<br>
<br>
<br>
</div>
<div style="FONT-FAMILY: arial,helvetica; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">-----Original Message-----<br>
From: Teresa Ellis <tomteresa89@gmail.com><br>
To: lynne whelden <lwgear@juno.com>; cdt-l <cdt-l@backcountry.net><br>
Sent: Sun, Jan 15, 2012 5:59 pm<br>
Subject: Re: [Cdt-l] CDTA<br>
<br>
<div style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #fff; MARGIN: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, Sans-Serif; COLOR: #000; FONT-SIZE: 12px" id=AOLMsgPart_0_8bb92adb-dd29-44c0-b18e-66505ab6500e><PRE style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt"><TT>What about the CDTS?
T-
----- Original Message -----
From: "lynne whelden" <<A __removedLink__1279778812__href="mailto:lwgear@juno.com">lwgear@juno.com</A>>
To: <<A __removedLink__1279778812__href="mailto:cdt-l@backcountry.net">cdt-l@backcountry.net</A>>
Sent: Saturday, January 14, 2012 5:44 AM
Subject: [Cdt-l] CDTA
> The CDTA's closing its doors sent a shock wave through the hiking
> community. Just when it seemed like there was some momentum building, what
> with the new data books and the well-organized summer work trips and the
> ever-increasing volumes of hikers each summer. It personally affected me
> because I had just released my "Overexposed" CDT documentary and was
> hoping the CDTA would add it to their store. I was hoping the video would
> inspire and educate and mobilize.
> So now what? Will government agencies keep building trail only to have it
> lie fallow from then on (as is already the case in places)? Will someone
> step forward with a new vision for how to organize and marshall the forces
> of long-distance/long-time hikers who by their very nature are fiercely
> independent and are suspicious from anything smacking of boards and rules,
> business-mindedness and corporate donations?
> Will the CDT(_) always be a 3rd cousin to the grand ATC and the PCTA? Will
> the trail ultimately become a fuzzy corridor concept that never quite made
> it off the ground due to lack of funds and clubs?
> lynne whelden
> lwgear.com
>
> ____________________________________________________________
> Groupon&#8482 Official Site
> 1 ridiculously huge coupon a day. Get 50-90% off your city&#39;s best!
> <A target=_blank __removedLink__1279778812__href="http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/4f11872a6695214c9aa0st05vuc">http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/4f11872a6695214c9aa0st05vuc</A>
> _______________________________________________
> Cdt-l mailing list
> <A __removedLink__1279778812__href="mailto:Cdt-l@backcountry.net">Cdt-l@backcountry.net</A>
> <A target=_blank __removedLink__1279778812__href="http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/cdt-l">http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/cdt-l</A>
_______________________________________________
Cdt-l mailing list
<A __removedLink__1279778812__href="mailto:Cdt-l@backcountry.net">Cdt-l@backcountry.net</A>
<A target=_blank __removedLink__1279778812__href="http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/cdt-l">http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/cdt-l</A>
</TT></PRE></div>
<!-- end of AOLMsgPart_0_8bb92adb-dd29-44c0-b18e-66505ab6500e --></div>
</font>