Much of the area east of the Tuscarora Trail is affected by expanding metropolitan areas, including Washington DC, and commercial development along the Interstate 81 corridor. Although much land appears rural and relatively sparsely populated to the west of Interstate 81, the population is changing rapidly to one of a more suburban nature, and various new industries are quickly gaining roots on former agricultural lands within the Shenandoah and Cumberland valleys. As the population grows, the demand for increased and varied recreational uses of public open lands increases.
Some of these uses include increased equestrian recreation, hunting, mountain biking, and off-highway or all-terrain vehicle use. Increased population simply means more people using the same resources, even if the percentage of use by the population does not increase. Mountain bikers, all terrain vehicle drivers, and horseback riders often attempt to use the Tuscarora Trail even where such use is restricted. Local youth learn quickly of shelters along or near the Tuscarora Trail and use them for their own purposes.
Suburban sprawl in “rural” counties increases the burdens placed upon the land. For example, the lack of public trash pickup often results in local residents’ use of non-occupied lands as dumps. Population increase means increased vehicular traffic along adjacent roads and increased pressure upon local authorities and state highway departments to improve rural roads to suburban or urban standards. This means at least increased noise everywhere along the Trail and increased risk to hikers in areas where the Trail is still located on public roads.
All of these pressures upon the land directly and adversely affect the quality of the air and water; increased development means less open and forested land. These factors must be taken into account when considering the causes for the increased susceptibility of hardwoods to disease and pests.
The privately-owned portions of the Great North and Tuscarora mountain ranges cannot be roped off from development and returned to any kind of “wilderness” state, regardless of how that state is defined. The policies contained within this chapter identify the problems as they currently exist and identify the actions pursued by PATC and local partners to mitigate their effects.
