From the moment word got out that James W. Marshall had discovered gold in Sutter’s Mill in Coloma, California in 1848, thousands of prospectors traveled across the country in search of fortune.

Welcome to our third issue. We are thrilled to again bring you a unique compendium of timely and stimulating articles. As always we thank our contributors from across the world for their willingness to share their knowledge.

Tucked away from the bustle of the city, the Bristol Botanic Garden The theme of this edition focuses on a key mission of the World Trails Network to engage trails as a catalytic component in the promotion of ecological stewardship, resiliency and the preservation of treasured landscapes and cultures.

It is frightening that we are now witnessing, in a number of nations, the metastasizing of a disturbing trend – the prioritizing of exploitation over conservation. This includes promoting selling off, or otherwise taking protections away from, treasured places. This also includes, in some instances, the deliberate destruction of precious places and artifacts. Sadly, once these places are defaced or destroyed they are virtually gone forever.

In contrast we, in the global trails community, believe that creating and sustaining high quality trails and trails experiences can play a vital role in resisting this trend, and, hopefully, reversing it. We are working to further the broader values of protecting precious and increasingly endangered landscapes, cultural and spiritual legacies worldwide. As trails people, we can do this, not only by sound trail corridor planning, but by attracting and promoting awareness among a multitude of trail users, who will not only bolster local economies, but will through their rewarding trail experiences, become constituencies and advocates for conservation and sustainability values.

In closing, we would also like to welcome, David Landis to the Editorial Team. We are grateful to David for his work in assembling and editing articles.

ROBERT SEARNS, The Greenway team inc.  –  EDITOR

Our team is made up of 16 Next Generation Trail Visionaries from: Korea, Australia,