The Appalachian Trail Conference, the premier organization dedicated to the preservation and management of the natural, scenic, historic, and cultural resources associated with the AT, is changing its name to Appalachian Trail Conservancy.

The name change will allow the 80-year-old organization to keep the initials ATC, as the group is most often referred to by its 33,000 members and AT hikers.

When the ATC was formed in 1925 and adopted a name, its primary role was an umbrella organization for smaller clubs along the trails length that met for periodic “conferences.” The ATC’s mission is now focused more on preserving America’s premier hiking experience, thus the name change.

“I do sympathize with members who might resist the name change. But, to achieve our vision of an enduring, protected special place that rings with the affection of those who maintain it, we must blaze this new chapter of the organization’s strong history together,” Brian T. Fitzgerald, chairman of Appalachian Trail Conference board of directors, wrote in an open letter to the groups 33,000 members.

ATC leaders see a series of new threats to the trail over the next century, including cell phone and wireless communication towers, road construction, development along the trail corridor, acid raid and air pollution killing high-elevation trees, and exotic species killing off the native ecosystem.

“‘Conference does not describe our primary work today, and it confuses people who might otherwise want to support us,” according to a message posted on the ATC Web site explaining the name change. “While the Appalachian Trail welcomes three to four million visitors each year, only a tiny fraction — less than 1 percent — are members of the ATC. Our research showed that trail users did not see a reason to join an organization that, if they knew about it at all, exists only to coordinate ‘the real work’ done by others.”

The ATC board of directors voted on the name change in November 2004. Of the 28 board members present, one member voted against it and one abstained. The name change will be finalized in July 2005 at the ATC annual gathering, held this year in Johnson City, Tenn., on July 4.