Each year, thousands of people come to Pennsylvania
to hike the scenic and historic Appalachian
Trail. As was the intent of its founder, Benton MacKaye, most use the trail to escape from life in a busy
city or suburb and relax in nature -- trees, plants, wildlife and clean vistas.
In some areas of the trail in this state, however, these views are being
threatened.
Efforts to keep the skyline unobstructed and things like
power lines far away have been initiated by state Rep. Bob Freeman, the Democrat
from Easton
and chairman of the House Local Government Committee. His bill, HB 1281, has
been passed in the House of Representatives and is now awaiting action in the
Senate. The new legislation, an amendment to the Appalachian Trail Act of 1978,
would require each municipality through which the trail runs to create and
enforce zoning laws to protect the trail from these visual
encroachments.
While it is normally not wise for state government to
mandate local zoning, protection of the Appalachian Trail
is an exception. Actually, most of the decisions regarding development around
the trail that are currently in place have come from the municipalities and
counties that the trail extends through. Yet, some areas have no ordinances, and
areas close to the trail are open to intrusion.
The advocacy group PennEnvironment has identified the Smith Gap area on the
Kittatinny Ridge between
Northampton and
Monroe counties as one particularly
threatened place. Because Eldred
Township did not have a zoning
ordinance in 2002, the Alpine Rose motor-racing resort was allowed to proceed on
the mountain's northern flank -- quite near the trail. (The project still is
clearing environmental reviews and has not yet been built.)
The 229 miles
of the Appalachian Trail in
Pennsylvania cross some of the
most scenic vistas in the state. Because the trail is 2,160 miles along and
stretches from Maine
to Georgia,
it is a national natural resource, but one that depends on individual states and
municipalities for its protection. It most places,
Pennsylvanians have lived up to that responsibility. Rep. Freeman's bill will
empower them to keep doing so in the future.
