12/28/2015

Santa was good to participants in the ARRL National Parks on the Air (NPOTA[1]) program, which gets under way on January 1. On December 23, the National Park Service (NPS) updated its official list of NPS Administrative Units. As a result, 18 new Scenic and Historic Trails and 29 new Wild and Scenic Rivers and have been added to the list of eligible NPOTA Units[2], increasing the number of NPOTA units from 434 to 481.

"More NPOTA units ultimately mean more fun, and we hope these additions make more activations possible for you or your club," said ARRL Media and Public Relations Manager Sean Kutzko, KX9X.

Among the new Historic Trails on the NPOTA list are the five major trails associated with the westward expansion of the US in the 19th century: The Santa Fe, California, Mormon Pioneer, Lewis and Clark, and Pony Express National Historic Trails. The list also includes the North Country and Ice Age National Scenic Trails. These new trails represent thousands of miles of additional area from which NPOTA Activators may operate in 2016.

Not all of the trails and rivers added to the NPS Affiliated Areas list have been included on the NPOTA list, however, because many are administered by other federal agencies, such as the US Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. Because NPOTA celebrates the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, units not administered by the NPS have not been added to the NPOTA list of eligible units.

While the unexpected addition of new NPOTA units is ultimately welcome, it has delayed the release of a TQSL[3] update for Logbook Of the World (LoTW[4]). ARRL staff worked over the holiday weekend to add the new units - and combinations of units - to the update, and this has required additional testing. The TQSL update will undergo final testing this week and be released as soon as possible.

The 11th hour addition of large trails and rivers also has made it necessary to revise some of the ground rules for certain types of NPOTA units. For example, large portions of some new trails are on existing stretches of highway or other roads, raising safety issues for pedestrian Activators.

"We will be reviewing these and other situations Activators may encounter, and update the rules accordingly," Kutzko said. "Activators will need to be careful only to operate from the portions of rivers and trails that are administered by NPS. It is not uncommon for several agencies to administer different parts of the same unit. In addition, many portions of rivers and trails are on private property, which should not be accessed unless you have permission from the landowner."

The National Trails System Map & Guide[5] and the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System[6] website provide information on the boundaries of these units. Due diligence on the part of Activators is critical, however, to ensure that they are operating from an NPS-administered portion of these units.

Further updates and additional information will be posted on the ARRL NPOTA[7] page as soon as they are available. 




New Trail Unit



Designator



State




North Country National Scenic Trail[8]

 



TR04



MI, MN, NY, ND, PA, OH, WI

 




Ice Age National Scenic Trail[9]

 



TR05



WI




New England National Scenic Trail[10]

 



TR06



CT, MA




Oregon National Historic Trail[11]

 



TR07



ID, KS, MO, NE, OR, WA, WY




Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail[12]

 



TR08



IL, IA, NE, UT, WY




Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail[13]

 



TR09



ID, IL, IA, KS, MO, MT, NE, ND, OR, SD, WA




Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail[14]

 



TR10



NC, SC, TN, VA




Santa Fe National Historic Trail[15]

 



TR11



CO, KS, MO, NM, OK, TX




Trail of Tears National Historic Trail[16]

 



TR12



AL, AR, GA, IL, KY, MO, NC, OK, TN




Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail[17]

 



TR13



AZ, CA




California National Historic Trail[18]

 



TR14



CA, CO, ID, KS, MO, NE, NV, OR, UT, WY




Pony Express National Historic Trail[19]

 



TR15



CA, CO, KS, MO, NE, NV, UT, WY




Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail[20]

 



TR16



AL




El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail[21]

 



TR17



TX, NM




Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail[22]

 



TR18



HI




Old Spanish National Historic Trail[23]

 



TR19



AZ, CA, CO, NV, NM, UT




El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail[24]

 



TR20



LA, TX




Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail[25]

 



TR21



VA, MD, DE, DC, PA, NY




Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail[26]

 



TR22



DC, MD, VA




Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route Nat'l Historic Trl[27]

 



TR23



MA, RI, CT, NY, NJ, PA, DE, MD, VA, DC



  




New River Unit



Designator



State




Alatna Wild River[28]

 



WR11



AK




Aniachak Wild River[29]

 



WR12



AK




Charley Wild River[30] (Affiliated Area)

 



WR13



AK




Chilikadrotna Wild River[31]

 



WR14



AK




Eightmile National Wild and Scenic River[32]

 



WR15



CT




Farmington National Wild and Scenic River[33]

 



WR16



CT




Flathead Wild and Scenic River[34]

 



WR17



MT




John Wild River[35]

 



WR18



AK




Kern River[36]

 



WR19



CA




Kings River[37]

 



WR20



CA




Kobuk Wild River[38]

 



WR21



AK




Koyukuk Wild River (North Fork)[39]

 



WR22



AK




Lamprey Wild and Scenic River[40]

 



WR23



NH




Maurice Scenic and Recreational River[41]

 



WR24



NJ




Merced River[42]

 



WR25



CA




Missisquoi and Trout Wild and Scenic River[43]

 



WR26



VT




Mulchatna Wild River[44]

 



WR27



AK




Musconetcong National Wild and Scenic River[45]

 



WR28



NJ




Noatak Wild River[46]

 



WR29



AK




Salmon Wild River[47]

 



WR30



AK




Sudbury, Assabet and Concord National Wild and Scenic River[48]

 



WR31



MA




Taunton National Wild and Scenic River[49]

 



WR32



MA




Tinayguk Wild River[50]

 



WR33



AK




Tlikakila Wild River[51]

 



WR34



AK




Toulumne River[52]

 



WR35



CA




Virgin Wild and Scenic River[53]

 



WR36



UT




Wekiva National Wild and Scenic River[54]

 



WR37



FL




Westfield National Wild and Scenic River[55]

 



WR38



MA




White Clay Creek National Wild and Scenic River[56]

 



WR39

 



PA



    


[1] https://npota.arrl.org/
[2] https://npota.arrl.org/nps-units.php
[3] http://www.arrl.org/TrustedQSL/tQSL-help/
[4] http://www.arrl.org/logbook-of-the-world
[5] http://www.nps.gov/hfc/carto/nps-trails.cfm
[6] http://www.rivers.gov/
[7] https://npota.arrl.org/
[8] http://www.nps.gov/noco/index.htm
[9] http://www.nps.gov/iatr/index.htm
[10] http://home.nps.gov/neen/index.htm
[11] http://www.nps.gov/oreg/index.htm
[12] http://www.nps.gov/mopi/learn/historyculture/index.htm
[13] http://www.nps.gov/lecl/index.htm
[14] http://www.nps.gov/ovvi/index.htm
[15] http://www.nps.gov/safe/index.htm
[16] http://www.nps.gov/trte/index.htm
[17] http://www.nps.gov/juba/index.htm
[18] http://www.nps.gov/cali/index.htm
[19] http://www.nps.gov/poex/index.htm
[20] http://www.nps.gov/semo/index.htm
[21] http://www.nps.gov/elca/index.htm
[22] http://www.nps.gov/alka/index.htm
[23] http://www.nps.gov/olsp/index.htm
[24] http://home.nps.gov/elte/index.htm
[25] http://www.nps.gov/cajo/index.htm
[26] http://home.nps.gov/stsp/index.htm
[27] http://www.nps.gov/waro/index.htm
[28] http://www.nps.gov/gaar/alatna.htm
[29] http://www.rivers.gov/rivers/aniakchak.php
[30] http://www.rivers.gov/rivers/charley.php
[31] http://www.rivers.gov/rivers/chilikadrotna.php
[32] http://www.rivers.gov/rivers/eightmile.php
[33] http://www.rivers.gov/rivers/farmington.php
[34] http://www.rivers.gov/rivers/flathead.php
[35] http://www.rivers.gov/rivers/john.php
[36] http://www.rivers.gov/rivers/kern.php
[37] http://www.rivers.gov/rivers/kings.php
[38] http://www.rivers.gov/rivers/kobuk.php
[39] http://www.rivers.gov/rivers/koyukuk.php
[40] http://www.rivers.gov/rivers/lamprey.php
[41] http://www.rivers.gov/rivers/maurice.php
[42] http://www.rivers.gov/rivers/merced.php
[43] http://www.rivers.gov/rivers/missisquoi-trout.php
[44] http://www.rivers.gov/rivers/mulchatna.php
[45] http://www.rivers.gov/rivers/musconetcong.php
[46] http://www.rivers.gov/rivers/noatak.php
[47] http://www.rivers.gov/rivers/salmon-ak.php
[48] http://www.rivers.gov/rivers/suasco.php
[49] http://www.rivers.gov/rivers/taunton.php
[50] http://www.nps.gov/gaar/tinaygukriver.htm
[51] http://www.rivers.gov/rivers/tlikakila.php
[52] http://www.rivers.gov/rivers/tuolumne.php
[53] http://www.rivers.gov/rivers/virgin.php
[54] http://www.rivers.gov/rivers/wekiva.php
[55] http://www.rivers.gov/rivers/westfield.php
[56] http://www.rivers.gov/rivers/white-clay.php

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