Established in 1925, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) leads the effort to protect, maintain and celebrate the A.T. The ATC is part of a unique cooperative-management system, working with numbers of local, state and federal partners to ensure greater protections for the Trail. Our partners include the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, dozens of state agencies and 31 local Trail-maintaining clubs. The ATC has more than 42,000 members and over 600,000 supporters located throughout all 50 states and in more than 15 countries.