Engagement
The Midwest Continental Divide Master Plan process began in 2025 and included nine months of planning before pausing while enabling legislation was updated. The effort resumed in 2026 and continued through the summer, encompassing inventory and analysis, governmental coordination, stakeholder interviews, public engagement, and the development of planning recommendations.
The Midwest Continental Divide Master Plan included a robust engagement process to gain valuable feedback from community members about opportunities and concerns surrounding the direction of the project. The process included both in person and online engagement methods, and surveyed participants on preferences of land uses, trail design, and experiences around the trail alignment to gauge how individuals would like to interact with the trail. The following is a summary of all engagement results.
In-Person Open House and Stakeholder Meeting Overview
A series of public workshops, open houses, and stakeholder meetings were held throughout the project area to help shape the vision and goals of this plan. More than 155 community members participated in meetings in St. Joseph County and City of South Bend, North Liberty, and Lakeville. Additional stakeholder meetings were conducted with local officials and staff, representatives of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, state agencies, conservation organizations, farmers, business owners, residents, and other community partners.
Future Engagement
As the Midwest Continental Divide Commission is established, implementation of the Midwest Continental Divide Initiative will remain grounded in ongoing collaboration with residents, property owners, conservation organizations, agricultural interests, local governments, and other stakeholders. As trail routes, conservation projects, and development initiatives advance, continued engagement will help refine recommendations, build consensus, identify opportunities and concerns, and ensure implementation reflects community values and local priorities.
Online Survey Overview
The Midwest Continental Divide online survey, deployed through the project website, collected targeted feedback from the community. The survey questions included many of the same questions as the workshop materials, but added additional questions to help collect demographic data and gain focused insights into trail-specific uses. The survey collected responses from over 285 unique users.
