Are you getting enough physical activity in this summer? If you’re like many people, you have found multipurpose, off-road trails to be incredibly useful for many activities.
The three westernmost counties in Maryland—Garrett, Allegany, and Washington—are mountainous but still provide homes for about a quarter of a million people. And like any other people, including, I hope, you, the people who live in far-western Maryland are following right along with the national trend of making multipurpose, off-road trails increasingly popular.
- 2012 population estimate for Garrett County: 29,854
- Allegany County population estimate: 74,012
- Washington County population estimate: 149,180
The problem in western Maryland is that in 2011, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources closed an 18-mile trail on the Green Ridge State Forest in Allegany County and another along Poplar Lick on the Savage River State Forest in Garrett County. They said improper use of the trails had caused environmental damage. But closing the trails also brought hardship to residents: “The Green Ridge closure cost business in Allegany County $1.6 million,” the Cumberland (Md.) Times-News quoted Allegany County Commissioner Bill Valentine as saying.
At the time of the closure, the DNR said it would replace one of the trails with a loop in eastern Garrett County. Now this new trail idea, a 13-mile stretch near the St John’s Rock area, should have a public comments phase completed by late summer. Assuming the approval goes through, the trail would then be ready for use after about a 12-month construction phase.
Two additional trails aren’t quite as far along in the process: one in a Washington County wildlife management area and one in a natural resources management area on Sideling Hill. Sideling Hill is famous for its layers of sedimentary rock, which can be seen as parts of the hill were cut away to create an interstate highway through the area.
A few drawbacks to building multipurpose trails have been cited, and they tend to counterbalance the benefits to the local economy and health of residents. One drawback is the noise level for residents who live near the trails. Sure, bringing all these people into the area is good for local businesses, but with the people come traffic and noise.
A second concern is over liability. Some proposed trails may run through private land or may be built close to private property. There’s a small concern that trail users may leave the trails, wander onto private property, become injured there, and then have a liability claim against the owner of the private property. I would like to think we don’t live in a litigious society, but that view is pretty much a pipe dream. Besides, property owners would still have to carry liability insurance that would account for trail users, and insurers may raise premiums as a result of a property’s proximity to a multipurpose trail.
