[at-l] David Richie Dies; Helped Secure Appalachian Trail

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David Richie Dies; Helped Secure Appalachian Trail
By Claudia Levy
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, December 21, 2002

David Richie, 70, the National Park Service official whose often-contentious
negotiations with private landowners helped secure the path of the 2,100-mile
Appalachian Trail, died of colon cancer Dec. 20 at his home in Hampstead,
N.C.

Running between Georgia and Maine, the pathway had been started in the 1920s,
and for many years was run by private groups. It was originally blazed
through woods and farmlands where occasional hikers were tolerated. But as
the mountain property was acquired by vacationers, no-trespassing signs began
to proliferate.

Congress had designated it the first National Scenic Trail in 1968, when
about 40 percent of the pathway went through private land. About 200 miles,
including 41 in Maryland and Virginia, were not actually in woods but had
been shifted to public roads.

Congress established the trail as a national park in 1978 and authorized
spending up to $90 million to acquire a permanent corridor 1,000 feet wide
and thus protect it from development. The Park Service was given the
authority to take land by eminent domain.

Landowners for the most part were reluctant to sell, arguing that the trail
was "used only by elitist urbanites and suburbanites" who would contribute
nothing to the local economy, recalled Larry Van Meter, former head of the
Appalachian Trail Conference. That nonprofit organization has overall
responsibility for the trail.

Mr. Richie, as trail project director, undertook the complicated negotiations
with owners, including major ski resorts, timber companies and retirees
planning to live along the ridge line, Van Meter said.

He said that, rather than dragging much of the acquisition process through
the courts, Mr. Richie overcame the many obstacles of a "fundamentally
adversarial process" involving thousands of landowners in hundreds of
jurisdictions. The acquisition program was not without its bitter disputes.

By 1985, 55,669 acres were acquired through purchase and easement along 372
miles of trail, and the Park Service had gone to court to seize 2,687 acres
along 17 miles. Today, more than 99 percent of the trail is protected because
of Mr. Richie's efforts, Van Meter said.

Mr. Richie was named deputy regional director of the Park Service's northeast
regional office in 1974. He retired in 1987, the year after he finished
walking the length of the Appalachian Trail. He did work for the Appalachian
Trail Conference after leaving government.

He was a member of the board of the American Hiking Society and ran in two
Boston Marathons. He moved to North Carolina in 1993.

Survivors include his wife of 47 years, Catherine Campbell Richie of
Hampstead; three children, Robert Richie of Takoma Park, David Richie of Fort
Collins, Colo., and Deborah Richie Oberbillig of Missoula, Mont.; a brother;
a sister; and five grandchildren.