Virginia’s Old Rag Mountain is one of many places in the southern mountains that have been overused during the pandemic; a pilot project to require a day-ticket for hiking has been begun.
Increased use of public lands has put pressure on sensitive sites, resulting in efforts to curb crowding and damage to flora and fauna.
Visitation to the public lands in our region—the national parks and forests, the Appalachian Trail and Blue Ridge Parkway—has been rising fast in recent years, a trend that federal agencies have been concerned about and working to address. Then the pandemic and lock-downs hit, driving even more people into the great outdoors and adding pressure on wildlife habitat and other natural resources as well as recreational amenities.
• One area—Max Patch, a unique mountain bald in North Carolina famous for its 360-degree views—has already made a comeback after a September 2020 drone video showing 130 tents atop the baldband sparked outrage among long-time hikers and others. New U.S. Forest Service rules for the site —no camping, large-groups or off-leash dogs for two years—have resulted in birds, grasses and wildflowers returning to the mountain.
• Shenandoah National Park in Virginia has long grappled with growing crowds at the iconic Old Rag Mountain, a huge rock outcropping, and other popular sites. After substantial public outreach, the park plans to raise fees for campgrounds and backcountry camping (though not park entrance fees), and will start a pilot project for requiring a day-ticket to hike Old Rag.
• The Appalachian Trail itself has also seen growing usage for some time, but the pandemic has upped the stakes. The Washington Post in August 2021 compared the crowds on a 13-mile stretch of trail west of D.C., known as the Roller Coaster to a “linear version of Costco on a Saturday.” Local officials are looking at ways to regulate the parking in order to curb the crowds.
Taking the long-view, several agencies and nonprofit groups have been making headway on establishing the 1,800-mile Great Eastern Trail stretching from Alabama to New York.
“The idea was to have the several existing trails through the western Appalachians connected together, and it was in hope it would take some of the pressure off the Appalachian Trail,” says Great Eastern Trail Association President Tim Hupp. The GET traces more valleys than mountains, says Hupp, but still has plenty of scenery including gorges, plateaus and waterfalls. greateasterntrail.net
There’s also a growing movement in public lands management to enhance protections for wildlife, which is under increasing pressure from human activity—hiking and driving. In 2020, six organizations launched the Safe Passage project to channel resources for wildlife crossings (which can be either overpasses or underpasses) on I-40 near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. (See Blue Ridge Country, March/April ‘21.) SmokiesSafePassage.org
In Virginia, the legislature has passed a Wildlife Corridor Action Plan to identify and protect wildlife migration routes. The nonprofit Wild Virginia is advocating for further coordination and funding to establish crossings, which have decreased wildlife/vehicle collisions in the state up to 92% when combined with fencing, based on several pilot projects. wildvirginia.org
While the number of people hitting the trails (and woods and waters) after the pandemic may decline, it’s unlikely to go back to pre-pandemic levels. Pressure will remain to protect our natural resources and to expand publicly accessible green spaces.
The story above first appeared in our March / April 2022 issue.
