Are the trails built by volunteers, or are government entities building them?

I was remembering today that my friend from Vermont suggested I ride down country back roads when I can't get to the trails. I thought she must be crazy. When I went to meet her in Vermont, I saw that she had a very different idea of what a country road was. Around here, a country road is a graded and gravelled road that is maintained by the county. Around her place in Vermont, a country road is a shaded, quaint little lane, populated by people who are used to bikes. So yeah, the difference can be stark.

Karen