(26 Jul 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Unicoi County, Tennessee – 22 July 2025
1. Wide of volunteers gathering equipment from vehicles to rebuild Appalachian Trail
2. Wide of volunteers unloading tools from a truck to rebuild trails in Tennessee
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Matt Perrenod, Appalachian Trail Conservancy crew leader:
"So the project we’re working on this week is to repair damage that occurred during Hurricane Helene last fall. The trail has been sawed out through this area, but there are numerous places where trees used to stand and their roots were in the ground and the roots got pulled up and have left a large hole in the middle of the Appalachian Trail. So we’re what we’re going to be doing primarily is repairing those root ball holes."
4. Wide of volunteers gathering equipment in a forest as part of a trail rebuilding effort in Tennessee
5. Wide of tools and equipment laid out as Tennessee volunteers prepare for rebuilding efforts
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Jake Stowe, Appalachian Trail Conservancy program support specialist:
"The Appalachian Trail is this amazing way to connect folks, right? It can be somebody who’s, yeah, wanting to hike from Georgia to Maine and, and is going to do that in one summer or it’s somebody who’s never stepped foot on a trail and we can bring them to that as well and, and, you know, allow that opportunity. So, I think it’s just such a cool way to, to bring folks into the outdoors and, and get them engaged with stewardship and volunteerism, to me that’s, yeah, not much more important than that."
7. Mid of volunteers hiking through a forest trail as part of a rebuilding effort in Tennessee
8. Wide of volunteer operating machinery to clear fallen trees in Tennessee forest
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Matt Perrenod, Appalachian Trail Conservancy crew leader:
"The vast majority of work gets done by the volunteers. However, we can’t ignore all the other partners around like the Forest Service people that helped get our gear up who pay attention to this trail day in and day out. We would not know what to do if it weren’t for them. So there is an entire infrastructure built around that volunteer experience and then volunteers provide a lot of muscle. We’ve got the 9 volunteers out here. They have varying levels of experience, some are out for the first time, some have been out for a decade or more."
10. Wide of volunteers assessing area during a trail rebuilding project in Tennessee
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Matt Perrenod, Appalachian Trail Conservancy crew leader:
"Some people come from fairly nearby. Some people come from across the country, and this week we have 3 volunteers from Japan, who are all involved with hiking trails in Japan. So they kind of set the record, I think for coming the furthest."
12. Mid of a volunteer taking pictures of damage by Hurricane Helene
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Matt Perrenod, Appalachian Trail Conservancy crew leader:
"If the Forest Service budget gets cut, if the Park Service budget gets cut, our volunteer program feels it. Most of the funding that we get to pay for our equipment, to buy the gas that got us here, to pay me – that comes on forest service contracts and park service contracts. So if that gets cut, we can’t do as much and if our forest service partners get laid off, they’re not here for us and they’re not here for all the other things they do. So while the volunteer is a component is essential and an important part of using the resources we have with the trails, you gotta have the money too. You gotta have both. You can’t pit one against the other."
AP video shot by Erik Verduzco
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