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

[James Hooper]

I have not seen the ATC reorganization aimed to protecting the 
corridor.  It seems to be looking for new priorities such as water 
quality.

On Dec 10, 2005, at 3:52 PM, Hal Wright wrote:

>
> 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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>>
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