[MA-RPC] FW: [at-l] Motocross Track Plans Fuel Debate

[Hal Wright]

On Dec 10, 2005, at 12:47 PM, James Hooper wrote:
> The laws in Pa are loaded in the developers favor.  Being a veteran  
> of the development plans in my township I am convinced that the  
> only way we can protect the trail corridor in Pa is to obtain the  
> development rights of the land surrounding the trail corridor.   We  
> need to do this before a developer tries to develop the land.  The  
> state courts have been ruling in favor of the developers.

...and therein lies the central tension of ATC leadership in the 21st  
century. Peopled with hikers whose core value is to live naturally,  
simply and cheaply, the ATC must nonetheless find and pick deep  
pockets to preserve the Trail in its present form. Or, it must accept  
that change is inevitable, rezone parts of the Trail as suburban, and  
manage those parts in a way that is consistent with their new,  
developed setting. Or, it must consider wholesale relocations that  
would put the trail in less developed areas. None of these options is  
palatable, but the clear message of the recent reorganization is that  
leadership finds option 1 less nauseating that options 2 and 3.

My prediction is that we will end up preserving some land, doing some  
minor relocation, but mostly resigning ourselves to continued  
development around major sections of the Trail. Here is where  
partnership with law enforcement, first responders, and new residents  
will prove invaluable. In PA, and elsewhere, the trail is already  
very close to civilization, stuck in a no man's land where local  
enforcement feels not-so-responsible in terms of being proactive, yet  
easily accessed by abusers of the environment and homeless non- 
hikers. In developed areas, I believe we will find ourselves managing  
the Trail more like a suburban rail-trail in the years ahead, to keep  
it safe and clean. We will be uncomfortable about the compromises to  
wilderness ethics that will be required, but we will still have a  
nice, woodsy place in which to walk and camp, and key historical and  
cultural aspects of the Trail will remain intact.

Just my 2 cents.

>
> On Dec 10, 2005, at 10:37 AM, Walt Daniels wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: at-l-bounces at backcountry.net [mailto:at-l- 
>> bounces at backcountry.net] On
>> Behalf Of Steve Landis
>> Sent: Saturday, December 10, 2005 10:28 AM
>> To: at-l at backcountry.net
>> Subject: [at-l] Motocross Track Plans Fuel Debate
>>
>> .http://tinyurl.com/bfnp3*
>>
>> *"The Appalachian Trail passes along Walker Mountain above the  
>> track. On the
>> other side of the mountain beginning at the summit, and therefore  
>> in sight
>> of the track, Crawfish Valley is proposed for protection as a  
>> National
>> Scenic Area. About 1,700 feet downhill from the track flows the  
>> North Fork
>> of the Holston River, not far at that point below its headwaters.  
>> Two miles
>> upstream lies land awaiting federal designation as the largest  
>> contiguous
>> wilderness area east of the Mississippi River."
>>
>> Steve
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