Morgan Sommerville is the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) Southern Regional Director. He began work with ATC in 1983 following work with the Blue Ridge Parkway (BLRI) and Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GRSM) as a backcountry ranger. Between the BLRI and GRSM, in 1977, Morgan hiked about 1850 miles of the A.T. Blocked from climbing Katahdin that year by the great Baxter State Park spruce blowdown fire, Morgan finally got to the summit in 1991, and section hiking, became a 2000-miler in 2000. Morgan has been pleased to put his NC State Univ. degree in natural resource management to use by helping to design, build, conserve and protect a national park (the A.T.) from the ground up while overseeing the evolution of the SORO office from a one man operation to four full-time, one half-time and ten seasonal employees.
Career highlights: Receiving the National Primitive Tools and Skills Award from the Chief of the US Forest Service in 1992 (for construction of the no-hardware Coonford bridge in the Pond Mountain Wilderness) and being named Blue Ridge Outdoors Outdoor Person of the Year in 2003. In addition to his work with ATC Morgan is on the advisory board of the Southern Appalachian Wilderness Stewards and is a board member of the Partnership For The National Trails System, representing all the national scenic and historic trails. Morgan has a wife, Avi, and three grown and gone children – Megan, Joseph and Hannah.
Presentation Title: Movies About Our Trails: A Behind the Scenes Look at the Rest of the Story
E-mail: msommerville@appalachiantrail.org