Federal government has paid $1.4 million in claims in ongoing Legacy Trail cases
SARASOTA – The federal government recently paid about $1.4 million in claims to 30 Sarasota County landowners who saw some of their property seized as part of the northern extension of the popular Legacy Trail project.
The abandoned Seminole Gulf Railway corridor is being converted into the Legacy Trail for biking and hiking under the National Trails System Act of 1983.
The money is paid from a Judgment Fund set up by the Treasury Department and not the $65 million bond approved by Sarasota County voters in 2018 to pay for extending the trail north to Payne Park in Sarasota and east through public land in North Port.
camera icon COURTESY OF NORTH COUNTRY TRAIL ASSOCIATION
Their seemingly far-fetched idea came to life in 1980, when the North Country National Scenic Trail was established by Congress. Ever since then, a crew of intrepid supporters has been laboring steadily to build the trail. Progress is slow: The footpath, though it’s more than twice the length of the Appalachian Trail, isn’t well known, and it’s only about two-thirds complete. But the trail, which winds through land owned by federal, state and county governments as well as private individuals, is already essentially walkable it’s possible to get from one end to the other by hiking along roads where the path is unfinished. And advocates recently have celebrated a few milestones including the addition of a critical extension in Vermont, which brings the total length of the trail to a stunning 4,600 miles.