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SEPPALA HERITAGE GRANT

In keeping with the legacy of Leonhard Seppala and the qualities demonstrated by him in his lifetime, the Seppala Heritage Grant has been established to support and promote those persons demonstrating a commitment to work with, train and race sled dogs, and who demonstrate the qualities of generosity of spirit, courage, integrity and love for the dogs, land and people of Alaska.

In 2005 the grant was seeded by the Seppala Family with a $10,000 donation and a four-year commitment of $10,000 per year per recipient. Mitch Seavey, Iditarod Champion and winner of the 2008 All Alaska Sweepstakes, has graciously donated the $10,000 for the 2010 Seppala Heritage Grant.  It is the hope of the Seppala Family and the selection committee that other persons or organizations will donate to this charitable grant with money or services, thereby increasing the outreach potential of this grant. Grant funds are administrated by Iditarod National Historic Trail, Inc., a private, nonprofit organization with 501, C-3 federal tax status.

Persons eligible for the grant include any youth, junior musher or rookie who aspires to the senior Iditarod race for the first time, and who demonstrates the qualities outlined above. Financial need will also be considered.

The selection committee members for the grant are:
Dan Seavey, musher of Seward, Alaska, a founder and four time runner of the Iditarod Race, member of the Iditarod Trail Committee and Iditarod National Historic Trail, Inc., and retired history teacher.

Libby Riddles, musher, of Fritz Creek, Alaska, first woman to win the Iditarod Race and recipient of the 1985 Seppala Humanitarian Award, author and sled dog tour operator.

Laura Samuelson, musher of Nome, Alaska, Iditarod Finish Checker 1991-2001 and Director of Nome’s Carrie M. McLain Memorial Museum.

Mike Williams, musher of Akiak, Alaska, ten time finisher of the Iditarod Race promoting sobriety, Chair of the Alaskan Inter-Tribal Council and member of the Alaska Board of Education.

Maja Ramsey, horsewoman of Sausalito, California, teacher, mediator, retired litigator and granddaughter of Leonhard Seppala.

Leonhard Seppala is an Alaskan legend. Born in Norway in 1877, as a young man he migrated to the Nome goldfields. There he began his lifelong love affair with Northern sled dogs. First, as a gold mine freighter, later as trainer and racer of imported Siberian dogs. With these, on three occasions, he won the famed 408-mile All Alaska Sweepstakes. He garnered international acclaim in 1925 for the giant’s role he played in the dog team relay of serum from Nenana to diphtheria stricken Nome. Seppala died in Seattle at age 90. His ashes were spread along the Iditarod Trail.

Today, Seppala is an honored icon of the world famous Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Annual presentations of the Leonhard Seppala Humanitarian Award pay tribute to Seppala’s exemplary care and kind treatment of racing dogs. Also, honorary mushers selected by the Iditarod Trail Committee’s Board of Directors are designated “Leonhard Seppala Honorary Mushers.” He was the first to be inducted into the Alaska Mushers Hall of Fame in 1967.

Applications for the 2010 Seppala Heritage Grant- Click Here (PDF)







The Iditarod Historic Trail Alliance’s “Centennial Team” will participate in the 37th Iditarod Dog Sled Race ceremonial start in Anchorage on March 7th. As part of the Iditarod Trail Centennial celebration, Dan Seavey, one of the founders of the Iditarod Race, will be the first out of the starting gate with a historic freight sled to commemorate the thousands of gold seekers who mushed to the Iditarod gold fields a hundred years ago. The historic freight sled is on loan from the Knik Museum for the event. Riding with Dan Seavey is his grandson Conway, Mitch and Janine Seavey’s youngest son.

The Iditarod Historic Trail Centennial, January 2008 to October 2012, commemorates events of historical significance to Alaska, from sled dog travels to gold mining to the designation of Alaska as a territory in 1912. The year 2008 marked the 100th anniversary of the Alaska Road Commission efforts to open an overland route from Seward to Nome. Starting in 1909, gold seekers hiked or mushed to the Iditarod Mining District after word spread of the 1908 Christmas Day gold strike by John Beaton and W.A. Dikeman on Otter Creek, a tributary of the Iditarod River. This was the beginning of the last great gold rush in Alaska’s history. After the Alaska Road Commission completed trail construction in 1911, gold carrying sled dog teams became a regular sight on the trial.

During the next three years Dan Seavey and his Centennial Team will promote the Iditarod National Historic Trail and encourage all Alaskans and visitors to experience the spirit of the Iditarod National Historic Trail, to explore its rich history of people, communities and development and to become active stewards promoting the protection and preservation of the trail. Dan Seavey is a member of the Board of Directors and past president of the Iditarod Historic Trail Alliance, who is sponsor of this Centennial Team. He is also founder and 27 year president of the Seward Iditarod Trail Blazers.

Dan Seavey ran the inaugural Iditarod Race in 1973, again in 1974, and competed in the 25th anniversary race in 1997. In 2001, three generations of Seaveys – Dan, son Mitch and grandson Danny – become the first ever 3 generations to compete in the same race.

About the Alliance
The Iditarod Historic Trail Alliance, a.k.a. Iditarod National Historic Trail, Inc., is a statewide nonprofit organization chartered to advance the knowledge, appreciation, and enjoyment of the historic Iditarod Trail. Founded in 1999, a number of Board members of the Alliance have been involved in efforts for the Trail for over 30 years. Several served on the Department of Interior’s Iditarod National Historic Trail Advisory Council, which sunsetted in 1998. State and federal land management agencies work with the Alliance on projects to benefit the Trail.

The Alliance, along with its partners, is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Iditarod Trail. 2008 marks the 100th anniversary of the beginning of work by the federal government to open the Iditarod Trail. Between 1910 and 1912, over 10,000 gold seekers came to Alaska’s “Inland Empire” and in the following years worked $30 million of gold from the ground.

While the Iditarod Trail is well known nationally and internationally due to contemporary sled dog racing, many Alaskans and most Americans are unaware of the basic history of the Trail. While parts of the Trail go back thousands of years to trade routes used by Alaska Natives, today’s Iditarod Trail began with an Alaska Road Commission scouting expedition in mid-winter 1908. With the overall goal of raising public recognition and understanding, the Alliance is working with a consortium of public agencies and private partners during the Iditarod Historic Trail Centennial, 2008-2012, in a coordinated public education effort.

For more information on the Iditarod Centennial, go to www.Iditarod100.com



   

What are National Trails? The Iditarod National Historic Trail is one of a number of trails designated by Congress in recognition of their significance as scenic, recreational or historic transportation routes. The Iditarod was specifically designated for its historic importance. The system was created to provide areas of hiking and for meeting the outdoor recreation needs of an ever-expanding urban population.



Which trails are designated as National Trails?
Click here to learn more


Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail E Mau Na Ala Hele
, Appalachian National Scenic Trail
Appalachian Trail Conservancy, California National Historic Trail Oregon-California Trails Association, Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail Friends of the Captain John Smith Trail, Continental Divide National Scenic Trail Continental Divide Trail Alliance
Continental Divide Trail Society, El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail, El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail, El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro Trail Association (CARTA), Florida National Scenic Trail Florida Trail Association, Ice Age National Scenic Trail - Ice Age Park and Trail Foundation, Inc., Iditarod National Historic Trail
Iditarod Historic Trail Alliance, Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail Amigos de Anza Anza Trail Coalition of Arizona Web de Anza, Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail - Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation, Inc. National Council for the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial, Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail - Mormon Trails Association Iowa Mormon Trails Association, Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail, Nez Perce (Nee-Me-Poo) National Historic Trail
Nez Perce Trail Foundation, North Country National Scenic Trail - North Country Trail Association, Old Spanish National Historic Trail - Old Spanish Trail Association, Oregon National Historic Trail Oregon-California Trails Association, Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail
Overmountain Victory Trail Association, Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail Pacific Crest Trail Association, Pony Express National Historic Trail National Pony Express Association Pony Express Trail Association, Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail Potomac Heritage Trail Association Allegheny Trail Alliance, Inc. C&O Canal Association, Santa Fe National Historic Trail Santa Fe Trail Association,
Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail Selma to Montgomery NHT Association, Trail of Tears National Historic Trail Trail of Tears Association
Who owns the Iditarod trail?
Because the Iditarod is such a complex trail system, stretching from Seward in the south, to Nome (mile 926) on the Bering Sea, it crosses lands owned by several Native corporations, municipal governments and the State of Alaska as well as federal lands managed by the BLM, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Department of Defense. In all there are 10 institutional land managers and numerous private owners.


The Iditarod National Historic Trail
Seward to Nome


Steamboat "Reliance" on the
Iditarod River, 1911
Iditarod is a magical word not only in Alaska, but also in the Nation and in many other parts of the world. It is a word that raises different images and emotions in different people. To the oldest Alaskan Natives, it recalls the approximate name of a 19th century Athabaskan Indian village on a small river now also called Iditarod. To "Sourdoughs" and others familiar with the State's history, IDITAROD refers to the now-abandoned Gold Rush town of the 1910's and it's associated mining district in South central Alaska. More technically, to the historian, IDITAROD refers to the 1910 Seward-to-Nome mail trail surveyed by the U.S. Army's Alaska Road Commission. Yet today the name IDITAROD, above all in National recognition, symbolizes the dramatic, long distance sled dog race between Anchorage and Nome held each March since 1973.

In November of 1978, IDITAROD took on still another meaning when the National Trails System Act was amended. At the urging of the public, Congress created a new category of the National Trails when the Lewis and Clark, the Oregon, the Mormon-Pioneer, and the Iditarod were designated as National Historic Trails.


Traveling on the trail was a challenge
for even the hardiest of pioneers.
The Iditarod National Historic Trail (Iditarod NHT) is composed of the federally administered areas of the Gold Rush Trail network which connect Seward in southern Alaska with Nome in northwestern Alaska via the Iditarod Mining District. The 938-mile Trail, commonly known as the "Iditarod Trail" during the Iditarod Gold Rush of the 1910's, was formally constructed by the Alaska Road Commission under the direction of Walter L. Goodwin during 1910-11. This constitutes the Iditarod NHT's "Primary Route." Yet branching from the primary route are hundreds of miles of land and water based routes and trails. They were important not only during the 1910's, but also during the entire Gold Rush Period in Interior Alaska from the 1880's into the 1920's, with some based on even earlier Indian Trails.In addition to the trails used during this period, other route used yearly in the IDITAROD TRAIL SLED DOG RACE are also part of this Trail System. Collectively, these trail segments and associated historic sites make up what is referred to as the IDITAROD NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL SYSTEM.

Though the IDITAROD NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL SYSTEM currently includes only the federally administered portions of the Gold Rush trail system, the remainder of the network will be recognized officially as components of the National Trail System once cooperative agreements between the Secretary of the Interior and the non-federal land managers are executed.

Archeologists for the Bureau of Land Management, examine the remains of an old dog barn near Pioneer Roadhouse, Mile 330 on the Iditarod Trail.

The Iditarod National Historic Trail Comprehensive Management Plan, as mandated by Congress, represents the cooperative efforts of the Bureau of Land Management, the Forest Service, the Fish & Wildlife Service, the National Park Service, the State of Alaska, the Iditarod National Historic Trail Advisory Council, various local governments, Native corporations, and interest groups, as well as hundreds of individuals. Together, these agencies, groups, and individuals have proposed a cooperative management philosophy.

This management philosophy, which is based on the spirit of cooperation and on formal agreements, seems particularly appropriate for Alaska. The entire Trail system would be managed as a unit by a coalition of volunteer Trail organizations in partnership with the local land managers who are ultimately responsible for the various segments of the Trail.


Survey party of the Goodwin
expedition around 1911

The IDITAROD NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL is unique in Alaskan and American history. It represents the last vestiges of a truly remote and wild trail system which today remains much the same as it was 75 years ago. We trust that as stewards of this remarkable nonrenewable resource, we will work cooperatively to preserve a prominent part of America's past for future generations who will treasure this resource as much as or more than we do today.

Millennium Trails Program
Iditarod -- Millennium Trails Program
Under the White House Millennium Program, Millennium Trails is a national program that will celebrate, recognize and be a catalyst for creating trails to "honor the past and imagine the future" as part of America's legacy for the year 2000. From the earliest routes of our ancestors, to new urban greenways, to itineraries that tell the story of our nation, trails are an important part of the American landscape, providing real connections between our people, the land, our history and culture.The Iditarod trail is one of the few trails listed as a Millennium Trail.

The Iditarod National Historic Trail is one of a number of Trails designated by Congress in recognition of their significance as scenic or historic transportation routes. The Iditarod was specifically designated for its historic importance. The system was created to provide areas for hiking and for meeting the outdoor recreation needs of an ever expanding urban population.

Trail Ownership
Who owns the trail? Because the Iditarod is such a complex trail system, stretching from Seward in the south, to Nome on the Bering Sea, it crosses lands owned by several Native Corporations, municipal governments and the State of Alaska as well as federal lands managed by the BLM, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Department of Defense. In all there are 10 institutional land managers and numerous private owners.


Iditasport Race 1989 - © BLM photograph


The Iditarod Trail Today

Unlike the Appalachian or Pacific Crest national trails which are located near heavily populated areas, most of the Iditarod is located in remote areas with sparse populations. The Iditarod evolved as a winter access route to various mining districts. As a result, the trail tended to follow features which required little to no construction. Swamps, tundra bogs, lakes and unbridged rivers became pathways during the long winter. Most current use occurs when the tundra and rivers are frozen and easier to cross.



Today, only a small portion of the trail can be hiked during the summer months due to the thick wet tundra vegetation and voracious mosquitoes on much of the trail. However, short segments of the trail can be hiked near Seward on the Chugach National Forest or near Anchorage on Chugach State Park. Visitors to Nome can also follow the trail east of town along the Bering Sea coast. Winter trail users include dog mushers, skiers, snowmachiners and even mountain bikers.


Bison -- A wild self-sustaining herd of American bison (Bison bison) is located near Farewell, Alaska. North American bison also known as Wood bison (Bison bison athabascae) were once part of the native Alaska fauna. These bison became extinct in Alaska only a few hundred years ago. The reason for this relatively recent extinction is not known for certain. Some scientists have suggested that it might have been caused by over hunting by early humans and/or changes in the bison's habitat. Wood Bison can still be found in some areas of Canada.

In addition to the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, other competitive events include the Iron Dog -- Gold Rush Classic Snowmachine race (the World's longest) which is run from near Anchorage to Nome and back, and the Iditasport human endurance competition for skiers, runners, and mountain bikers.

 

 

 

 

 

 













 



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