Trail closures -- Was [at-l] FLA Trail reopens

[daveh at psknet.com (David Hicks)]

Today, most of the AT is on Public Land -- NFS, NPS, State Game Lands, Parks, 
etc.

The "Governmental Partners" of the ATC can and do close segments to the 
public.  These "closures" are usually for safety/liability reasons.

The most common reason, in my experience, is because of damage such as fire, 
hurricane, flood, ice storm, etc.  On rare occasion a Government Partner 
leaves the AT open for the long distant hiker, yet close the Park/Forest/etc 
to the general public, or close the roads through/into it/etc.  I can remember 
the AT through the SNP be cleared by volunteers (w/ some help from the USFS) 
after an ice storm long before the roads were reopened.  The ATC put out a 
call to all clubs for help, PATC set up a field kitchen and we had sawyers 
from NY to GA working for weeks.

On occasion the Government Partner will close a segment, for a day or two, for 
a prescribed burn.

On very rare occasion a segment will be closed because of extreme fire hazard.

In the past, there were often short segments closed by private owners -- for 
what ever reason.  Thankfully the NSTA has made that mostly a memory of old 
farts like me.

Bottom line: it is not wilderness trail -- as in a trail through some un-owned 
wilderness.  It is a highly developed trail on land with well established 
ownership.

Bottom line 2: this is not GB with a "common law" foundation of open pathways. 
This is the US with the "common law" foundation of  the "rights of ownership" 
and with trails very existence and access based on very specific legislation 
and regulation, easements, etc.  Those laws/rule/contracts/etc are very 
temporal things, subject to change as the priorities and values of public and 
the control of the public purse change.  That is why I am so concerned about 
boorish/illegal/etc behavior in and around the trail and trail community.  It 
just hands ammunition to those who would take from us what we need -- funds, 
and trails. The horse folk, the ATV's, the snowmobiles, the four-wheelers, the 
bicyclers, etc want your Trail to ride on.  Everyone want the $s for another 
pet project.  And they are our friends, or at a minimum groups with which we 
sometimes have some common ground.

Then there are those who really hate us, those want to "develop" the area that 
they see as "wasted" on a few undeserving hikers.  Car racers/fans, ski 
resorts, condos, lumber companies, mountain top removal mining companies, etc 
all win points in the court of public opinion when we, or others tarnish our 
image as a good, wholesome, clean healthy activity.  But. I've preached that 
sermon before.

So, I hope the only "trail closings" we and our kids and grandkids need worry 
about are the short term, "public safety/liability reasons" ones; not segments 
closed for what has (in the future) become a higher value/priority in the eyes 
of our Government Partners.

Chainsaw

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Shane Steinkamp" <shane@theplacewithnoname.com>
To: <GoVolsKelly@aol.com>; <AT-L@backcountry.net>
Sent: Wednesday, October 13, 2004 9:55 PM
Subject: RE: [at-l] FLA Trail reopens


> The Florida trail is officially open in all three national
> forests!

How exactly to you close a wilderness trail anyway?  I've never figured that
one out...

Shane

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