Riverline Pilot Offers New Opportunities To University Of North Alabama Students

May. 30, 2019

Michelle Eubanks, UNA, at media@wybxx.com, 256.765.4392 or 256.606.2033

Michelle Eubanks, UNA, at meubanks@wybxx.com, 256-606-2033 or 256-765-4392 FLORENCE, AL - The Shoals has been named a Tennessee RiverLine Pilot Community. Throughout the summer, the area and four other communities along the Tennessee River, will help develop the vision of the proposed regional trail system and gain a number of benefits as early ambassadors for the project. University of North Alabama students will have an opportunity to be an engaged part of the project, according to Carrie Crawford, director of the Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area, which operates under the auspices of UNA. "One of the main goals at the Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area is to seek out opportunities and projects that enhance the educational experience of students at UNA," Crawford said. "The Tennessee RiverLine project will engage students across campus as we move forward with mapping potential trail locations, creating interpretive signage about the history of our region to be placed along the trail, and developing outdoor recreation programs related to the RiverLine." The Tennessee RiverLine is a continuous system of paddling, hiking and biking experiences along the Tennessee River's 652-mile reach, from its formation in Knoxville, Tenn., to its confluence with the Ohio River in Paducah, Ky. The RiverLine celebrates the Tennessee River, connects people, and catalyzes economic development and healthy lifestyles in river communities by providing paddle-hike-bike experiences for residents and visitors. Dr. Carmen Burkhalter, Dean of UNA's College of Arts and Sciences, said, "I am pleased that our participation in this trail system will be part of an ongoing recognition of this region. I feel certain visitors to this historic area will find it as wonderful as the residents do." Other pilot communities are Roane County, Tenn., Bridgeport, Ala., Benton County, Tenn., and Paducah-McCraken County, Ky. The Tennessee RiverLine Partnership chose them from a pool of 17 communities that applied. Every community along the river ultimately will benefit from the Pilot Community Program thanks to a strengthened vision and a focused direction for the Tennessee RiverLine Partnership. Analysis from this program will be shared with all communities beginning in the fall. About The University of North Alabama The University of North Alabama is an accredited, comprehensive regional state university offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs through the colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business, Education and Human Sciences, and the Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professionals. Occupying a 130-acre campus in a residential section of Florence, Alabama, UNA is located within a four-city area that also includes Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia. UNA Athletics, a renowned collegiate athletics program with seven (7) Division II National Championships, is now a proud member of the NCAA Division I's ASUN Big South Conference. The University of North Alabama is an equal opportunity institution and does not discriminate in the admission policy on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, disability, age, or national origin. For more: xvmzih.wybxx.com and xvmzih.wybxx.com/unaworks/ About the Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area The mission of the Muscle Shoals National Heritage Areas, or MSNHA, is to promote cultural tourism by education, preservation, and conservation of the heritage and culture of the six counties within the designated area. The MSNHA seeks to inform, education, develop, and interpret visitor-ready sites, create living history experiences, and chronicle the evolution of the area's landscape as well as extend these opportunities to the largest audience possible. About the Tennessee RiverLine The Tennessee RiverLine originated in 2016 in the School of Landscape Architecture at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, College of Architecture and Design, and UT Herbert College of Agriculture. Today, it is conducted by the Tennessee RiverLine Partnership with ongoing support from UT. For details, visit www.tnriverline.org or email info@tnriverline.org. Follow the RiverLine on Twitter and Instagram (@tnRiverLine) and Facebook (@tnRiverLine652).