Growth in the use of the Tuscarora Trail and the network of side trails connecting with the Trail, due to an increasing population in the area, will force the Trail Community—the Club and partners, including local governments—to expend more resources to educate and inform the public about the legal and proper use of the Trail and its corridor lands.
In the future, the Community will have to improve emergency planning and coordination between the Club and governmental agencies responsible for law enforcement, fire control, and search-and-rescue operations. Based on experience with managing the Appalachian Trail during recent decades, the Community can expect that the increased development and population density in areas surrounding the Trail will probably result in increasing crime, or the probability of crime, along the Trail. In the years since 1980, the Appalachian Trail in this area has experienced homeless individuals and families who “squatted” in trail-side shelters, and assaults and murders of hikers on the Appalachian Trail and on connecting side trails. Droughts occurring regularly from the mid-1980s have resulted in many forest fires and, in 1991, caused the state of Virginia and the Shenandoah National Park to briefly close backcountry areas to any use.
These issues will be ongoing ones. The Club will have to strive to work closely with partners, to include local governments, to mitigate the effects of increased development, use, and potential crime along the Tuscarora Trail. This chapter describes our policies and concerns relative to emergency response, special and large group uses, and public information and education programs.
