The superintendent of Desoto Falls State Park in DeKalb County, Ala., has been chosen for a new position designed to bolster Alabama’s trail network as the state parks place a renewed emphasis on trails amid favorable financial developments for the system.
Alabama State Parks Director Greg Lein announced last week that Ken Thomas is being appointed trail coordinator for the park system’s north region.
Thomas, a 27-year veteran of the park system, will spearhead the effort to bolster the state park trail system while still maintaining some supervisory responsibilities at DeSoto Falls, which is about 50 miles southwest of Chattanooga.
The role will include building a formal program that will inventory existing trails, survey trail users’ interests, plan trail construction and maintenance and coordinate with trail-oriented volunteers, clubs and grants.
“We’ve just seen a growing interest in trails from all different forms of trail communities across the state, and the state park system is kind of the mothership of good, well-maintained trails,” Lein said. “But we feel like we need to be doing a better job of maintaining the trails we have, looking at building new trails and being responsive to this growing interest in trail use.”