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The National Park Service studied the routes of the Long Walk, which refers to the U.S. Army's removal of the Navajo Nation and Mescalero Apache Tribe from their homelands, 1862-1868. This feasibility study, authorized by Congress in 2002, considered several questions:
1. Is the Long Walk a route established by historic use and is it nationally significant?
2. Are the routes of the Long Walk well enough known to provide the potential for historical
interpretation and appreciation?
3. Should the Long Walk be designated as a National Historic Trail, to be added to the National Trails System?
* indicates the current step in the planning process
Step 1. Draft feasibility study/EIS will be prepared.
Step 2. Draft feasibility study/EIS will be made available for public review.
Step 3. Final feasibility study/EIS will be completed.
Step 4. Prepare final plan/decision document
Step 5. Release final plan/decision document to the public
Step 6. Release of Record of Decision *
To meet the criteria of national significance the Long Walk must be of "exceptional value" in illustrating or interpreting the heritage of the United States. It was determined that the Long Walk routes are of national significance, a finding with which the National Park System Advisory Board concurred in January 2006.
An environmental impact statement was prepared to analyze potential impacts from any federal actions.
A National Historic Trail (NHT) follows as closely as possible the original trails or routes of travel associated with significant historic events. Designated by Congress, NHTs are a series of historic sites and trail segments which, taken together, comprise the NHT. (They are not hiking trails.)
The removal routes cross private, tribal, and public lands. Some historic sites associated with the Long Walk events are in public ownership. For example, Fort Sumner at Bosque Redondo is a New Mexico state monument. Museums and cultural centers along the route are important because they provide interpretation and education through exhibits, programs, activities, and in many other ways.
1. Is the Long Walk a route established by historic use and is it nationally significant?
2. Are the routes of the Long Walk well enough known to provide the potential for historical
interpretation and appreciation?
3. Should the Long Walk be designated as a National Historic Trail, to be added to the National Trails System?
* indicates the current step in the planning process
Step 1. Draft feasibility study/EIS will be prepared.
Step 2. Draft feasibility study/EIS will be made available for public review.
Step 3. Final feasibility study/EIS will be completed.
Step 4. Prepare final plan/decision document
Step 5. Release final plan/decision document to the public
Step 6. Release of Record of Decision *
To meet the criteria of national significance the Long Walk must be of "exceptional value" in illustrating or interpreting the heritage of the United States. It was determined that the Long Walk routes are of national significance, a finding with which the National Park System Advisory Board concurred in January 2006.
An environmental impact statement was prepared to analyze potential impacts from any federal actions.
A National Historic Trail (NHT) follows as closely as possible the original trails or routes of travel associated with significant historic events. Designated by Congress, NHTs are a series of historic sites and trail segments which, taken together, comprise the NHT. (They are not hiking trails.)
The removal routes cross private, tribal, and public lands. Some historic sites associated with the Long Walk events are in public ownership. For example, Fort Sumner at Bosque Redondo is a New Mexico state monument. Museums and cultural centers along the route are important because they provide interpretation and education through exhibits, programs, activities, and in many other ways.