Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation

**Mission** We preserve, promote and teach the diverse heritage of Lewis and Clark for the benefit of all people. **Vision** The Foundation will be the nation’s premier non-profit organization for the preservation of the Lewis and Clark Trail and the sharing of its stories. The Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation (LCTHF), Inc. was created to stimulate public appreciation of the Lewis and Clark Expedition’s contributions to America’s heritage and to support education, research, development and preservation of the Lewis and Clark experience. The Foundation serves as advocate, interpreter and protector of the trail. For more than 40 years, the Foundation and its chapters across the country have promoted Lewis and Clark scholarship, developed educational programs and encouraged the telling of all the stories of the Expedition, including the tribes they met. The Foundation works with dozens of organizations and agencies (government, nonprofit and private) to preserve and protect the Trail. Established in 1969, the Foundation is a non-profit, 501(c)(3), corporation. **History** In 2014, we observed the 50th anniversary of the Lewis and Clark Trail Commission. The Commission worked for five years to identify and mark the Lewis and Clark Trail, advance public awareness of the significance of the expedition, and encourage conservation and outdoor recreation objectives along the expedition route. In 1969, the Commission issued its [final report](https://lewisandclark.org/archives/1969_commission_report.pdf) with a number of far-reaching objectives, including the establishment of one or more groups “to further the broad program developed by the Commission.” In that same year, individuals who had served on the Commission and its state committees established the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation as the main group to succeed the Commission in support of the [Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail](https://nps.gov/lecl). - [Administrative History of the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation](https://lewisandclark.org/archives/admin-history-lcthf.pdf) (LCTA, 2019) - [Administrative History of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail](https://lewisandclark.org/archives/admin-history-lcnht.pdf) (NPS, 2018)