I would also consider myself an overweight man. I am not claiming to be 100 percent on track with a healthy diet but in the past five years I can say I am probably 80 percent. Around 10 years ago I noticed a bodily change that happens to many of us as we grow older, I was getting fatter by the day. I had watched extended family members gain weight as they got older and remember making several mental notes that I should start a diet and exercise program to prevent the seemingly inevitable path to morbid obesity. In my family the three-hundred mark is a rule rather than an exception but I was going to be different. I harnessed my love for the outdoors into hiking and cross-country skiing and while I would never be considered svelte, I at least managed to stay on the lower end of obese rather than plunging into the abyss of morbidly obese. In my early forties I suffered a broken limb and other medical issues which limited my physical activity for about a year, just long enough for my genetics to get a foothold and I know this isn't actually true, but the way I remember, is that one day I woke up and I weighed 299 lbs. About this time I was recovering from my injuries and got a physical. I was morbidly obese, pre-diabetic and had high blood pressure.

Today, I am at about 260 and hopefully dropping. I keep to the diet 80 percent of the time and am feeling pretty good. My blood pressure is normal and my blood sugar are still a little on the high side but are below pre-diabetic levels. I feel that if I didn't have such easy access to trails I would not have achieved these health goals. I have a ways to go but I am confident, because I am engaged in a working formula. It is easy for me to walk, ski or ride my bike every day. Today I choose the more difficult trails because they are more strenuous and provide better results, but when I started out after my health problems, there were plenty of easier and/or paved trails at my disposal.  

I would be curious to know the breakdown on how much taxpayer money is used on a given trail system but I would consider it a worthwhile investment. Certainly this is based on my personal experience but I know several people who use the trails to stay mentally, physically and spiritually healthy and I am extremely encouraged by the number of young people and families I see using the trail. Seems hard to argue that it isn't a good thing but I realize the question is -- should taxpayer money be used.

I have been involved in trails long enough to know that public interest ebbs and flows. Government entities will allow  taxpayer dollars to be used for this kind of thing for multiple reasons. Attract people to the area, promote health, attract tourism, prestige, etc. The more popular trail use becomes the more likely tax dollars are used but if the tax dollars dry up, the trails will still happen. I belong to three trail associations and I have never seen a more dedicated and motivated group in my life. People who love trails will use or own money, time and sweat to make this happen and I have seen it in every place I have lived. Portland, the cities, and now Duluth. Enthusiastic people who want to accomplish something are often rewarded which seems to be the case in Duluth with the city backing some key projects.  

As a trail advocate, here is my response to the whole taxpayer and accessibility issues. Regardless of whether taxpayer money is used, I think access to a variety of trails by those who want to experience them is a priority. However, I don't think that necessarily means paving a trail. It might mean allowing a motorized vehicle for personal transport in some cases or widening existing trails or being open to ideas from the people who have the most at stake.  

Finally, as a trail advocate, I am interested in any resources that can help create trails and promote use but I am not hung up on getting taxpayer dollars to do it. It will happen without it. I also enjoy the arts but if taxpayer dollars are not used for promoting the arts, then I am confident that myself and others will still create art and find a way to share our art with others.

Personally, in our current political climate, I think the whole "taxpayer dollars" scenario is used to pit one group against another. I am not saying that was the intention of the original post but I think we have grown accustomed to view these discussions politically and economically and often the discussion leaves out the hard work of people who will make this stuff happen whether or not government funds are available.