Innovative Trails Idea
                    

The sKYward trails will ultimately provide thousands of miles of well-managed recreational trails for off-highway vehicle enthusiasts, horseback riders, bicyclists, and others, all on private land.  This trail system, which is modeled after the growing Hatfield-McCoy Trails in southern West Virginia, continues to progress toward reality in eastern Kentucky.  

Most of the land in the sKYward trails area is owned by a relatively few corporations and held for coal or timber production.  There are long periods when the corporate owners are not actively working on the land.  During such times, properly managed public recreation can take place without interfering with the owner's interests.

The sKYward trails region is situated within a day's drive for the owners of millions of off-road vehicles (motorcycles, ATVs, and four-wheel drives) who currently have relatively few good riding areas available to them.  Eastern Kentucky has beautiful mountains, rugged terrain, and pleasant vistas, exactly what's needed for top-notch trails. 

The trails would connect with trailhead centers located near major highways.  These points of access would include parking, unloading, restroom, and administrative facilities.  Trailhead center locations would be relatively fixed, but the connecting trails would be flexible, moving as necessary to meet the needs of the landowners.

The trails would also connect with adjacent towns, providing access to campgrounds, motels, grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, and other tourist services.  They would also link with existing recreation facilities, historic and cultural landmarks, and scenic vistas.  The trails will help to unlock the area's significant potential for tourism development. 

A governmental entity, perhaps named the Kentucky Mountain Trails Authority, will be created or identified by state government in order to manage the trail system in Kentucky.  This entity will need appropriate authority, including law enforcement authority, to operate the trail system.  Purchase of the trail corridor land by this entity is not contemplated.  Rather, it will obtain from the landowners a license to permit public recreational use of the land where trails are developed and maintained. 

Private property is a vital resource for public recreation that must be tapped, especially in the eastern half of the nation where there is relatively little public land available.  The Hatfield-McCoy Trail system in southern West Virginia has shown that it is viable to use large tracts of private land for public recreation under a well-conceived system.  The sKYward trails will be among the first to take advantage of this novel model for public-private partnership.  This is the model that is being pursued.  Trails will be developed on private property.  There are no plans to develop new trails in the Daniel Boone or Jefferson National Forests or to use existing trails there as part of this project. 

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Location
        

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Quality Facility Promised
            

The planners of the sKYward trails are intent on providing the finest recreational trail system in the country.  It will be a trail system that complements the natural beauty of the Appalachian Mountains, and one that the cooperating landowners and area residents and businesses will be proud to host. 

To assure a quality outcome, the developers of the sKYward trails will rely upon the expertise of federal land management agencies  which manages thousands of miles of recreational trails in the western part of the country.  Just as with the development of the Hatfield-McCoy trails, experienced federal land management partners will be closely involved in all project planning and will continue to assure that every detail is completed to the highest standards. 

The sKYward trails will provide a variety of recreational experiences for different kinds of trail users including off-highway vehicle (OHV) riders/drivers, mountain bicyclists, equestrians, and pedestrians.  The trails will also be suitable for persons with varying skill levels in each sport.  While most of the system's trails will accommodate novice riders, some of the trails will be narrow and technically difficult, providing a challenge for the most skilled riders.  All of the trails will provide twists, turns, and grade changes that allow the trail user to have fun without going too fast.   All trails will be well delineated with signs and confidence markers to keep the trail users on the trails.   

The trails will also be designed to afford maximum protection to the environment.  Trail designers will use sophisticated techniques to assure that the soil stays where it belongs, that water does not erode the trails, and that stream quality is not degraded.  Wildlife and plant biologists will help locate the trails and develop management strategies for reducing the impact on plants and animals in the project area.  

The management strategy for the sKYward trails will assure that the project operates in a manner that proclaims its commitment to quality.  Professional management efforts will include regular trail system inspections, environmental impact monitoring, law enforcement patrols, repair and maintenance operations, litter and trash removal, and coordination with the landowners and community leaders to promptly address any problems.  The operating authority will establish high standards for project management and assure those standards are met. 

The sKYward trails overall commitment to quality means that the project will be a point of pride for the landowners and communities in the project area.  It will be the crown jewel in the tourism development and economic renewal of our region.  Recreational users from all over the country will come and experience the beauty of our mountains and the hospitality of the area residents.
           

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Community Based Trailheads
          

Again, following the model that was developed for the Hatfield-McCoy Recreation Area, planners of the sKYward trails will locate trailhead centers in the communities adjacent to the trails rather than out in the country.  This will help maximize the economic benefit of the trail system. 

Trailhead centers will be the points of access to the trail for recreational users.  They will be places where trail users can park their highway vehicles and prepare to go out on the trail on their off-highway vehicles (OHVs), horses, mountain bicycles, or as pedestrians.  Trail users will also be able to get information about the trail system at the trailhead centers.  sKYward trails Rangers, the system’s law enforcement officers, will be available to answer questions.  They will also inspect for spark arresters and necessary safety equipment, monitor OHV sound levels, and enforce user fee requirements. 

In addition to accessing the trails, trail users need to reach gasoline stations, restaurants, stores, museums, motels, campgrounds, and other points of interest and tourism services.  These facilities are usually located within communities rather than in the country where trailhead centers have often been placed in other trail systems.  The significant economic benefits of the trail system depend on giving trail users maximum access to the businesses and services within the communities.  The designers of the sKYward trails want to provide trail access directly into as many communities as possible.  They believe that community-based trailhead centers will encourage trail users to make the towns a part of their trail experience. 

Trailhead centers usually have a gravel parking lot large enough to accommodate the anticipated traffic, toilets, and signs and information racks to provide maps and brochures about the trails.  Other amenities sometimes provided include picnic tables, ramps to ease the unloading of horses and OHVs, drinkable water, and pay phones.  The sKYward trails trailhead centers are expected to provide similar facilities. 

The number and location of trailhead centers for the sKYward trails network is not fixed.  A community that wants a trailhead center will be able to have one if they can meet the necessary requirements, primarily a safe and appropriate route connecting the trail system with the proposed trailhead center.  The entity that is finally given responsibility for operating the trails system will establish other standards relating to the size of trailhead centers and necessary facilities. 

Communities within the project area should begin planning how they can bring the trail into their town.  Where can parking be provided?  How can trail users be given direct access to local businesses?  Communities which put the most thought and resources into planning in-town trailhead centers are likely to reap the greatest benefit from the sKYward trails system.
          

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Trails Will Bring Money and Jobs
          

The participating counties are on the verge of reaping an enormous economic benefit from their familiar mountain terrain.  The sKYward trails system running through those beautiful mountains and into the communities will bring hundreds of thousands of visitors to the region.  Those visitors will bring new money and jobs with them. 

When the Hatfield-McCoy trail was originally being developed in West Virginia, Congress funded a feasibility study of the trail project to be performed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  As part of that study, a qualified consultant was retained to project the potential economic benefits of the project. 

            Here's a brief description of how the consultant performed the study, followed by a summary of the results. 

First, the promoters of the Hatfield-McCoy trail concept held a number of trail ride events to test whether trail users would really come.  With relatively little publicity, each event drew hundreds of participants from dozens of states.  Participants were asked to complete surveys indicating how much money they spent in the project area in connection with the events.  When it was time to complete the feasibility study, the consultant used this and other data to determine how much economic benefit could reasonably be anticipated

from the trail system.  They entered the data into an input-output computer model know as the IMPLAN.  This model was developed by a collaboration of the University of Minnesota and the U.S. Forest Service.  In broad terms, it consists of sets of mathematical relationships between the defined sectors of a local economy (such as banking and food stores) coupled with data files which describe the local county economy.  Based on these relationships, the effects of changes in the demand levels of the various sectors can be calculated.   

The consultant figured the potential economic benefits first for a theoretical 300-mile startup trail system, recognizing that the whole system could not be completed and opened all at once.  They then figured the potential benefits of the entire 2,000-mile trail system envisioned by the proponents of the Hatfield-McCoy Recreation Area. The results of these calculations are summarized below.   
                                  

Potential Economic Benefits
Hatfield-McCoy Region
of Southern West Virginia

     
Figures from:  

Trailhead Facilities Economic Impact Study, Final Report, April, 1996.  U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntington District, Booker Associates, Inc. of Kentucky (now Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade & Douglas, Inc.)
     

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Government Entity Will Operate Trails
           

It is anticipated that the Kentucky Governor or Legislature will designate or create a governmental entity with the necessary powers to operate the sKYward trails system. 

In West Virginia, a statutory corporation created by the West Virginia Legislature, the Hatfield-McCoy Regional Recreation Authority, operates the Hatfield-McCoy trails.  A board of at least 19 members, appointed as provided in the statute to represent all the various interests in the project, governs the Authority. The county commissions of the eight participating counties each appoint two members of the board, one representing a landowner in the county whose land is being used for the project and one representing travel and tourism or economic development efforts within the county.  The board members appointed by the county commissions then select three additional board members, at least two of whom must represent recreational users of the trail system.   Three state officials, the director of the division of travel and tourism, the director of the department of natural resources, and the director of the division of forestry, also serve as nonvoting members of the board. 

The Authority obtains necessary start-up funding, contracts with landholding interests for licenses to use the land, obtain insurance, and implements plans for opening and operating the trail system.   The Authority also adopts regulations for the conduct of trail users and establishes a structure of user fees to provide revenue for continuing operation, maintenance, and expansion of the trail system.  The Authority hires necessary staff and secures appropriate training for its employees, including Hatfield-McCoy Rangers who provide law enforcement for the project. 

It is expected that a similar government entity will be created or designated in Kentucky to operate the sKYward trails system.
             

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Rangers Will Enforce Laws
      

Planners of the sKYward trails system anticipate that most trail users will be good citizens.  That's been the experience on recreational trails in other parts of the nation, including the Hatfield-McCoy trails in neighboring West Virginia.  For the few trail users who might have contrary ideas, however, there will be  sKYward trails Rangers patrolling the trails and trailhead centers, just as there are Hatfield-McCoy Rangers on that system.  The Rangers will encourage appropriate behavior and guide trail users in proper use of the trails.  They will ticket or arrest any users who insist on breaking the rules.  The Rangers will also enforce the user fee requirements, and they will coordinate any necessary rescue operations with local emergency services personnel. 

In West Virginia, the legislation that created the Authority to operate the trails authorized the appointment of Hatfield-McCoy Rangers with full power to enforce all laws and regulations within the recreation area.  The Rangers make sure that trail users stay on the trails, obey the rules, respect the landowner's property, use proper safety equipment, and do not endanger others.  They also monitor off-highway vehicle (OHV) sound levels and assure that all OHVs have a spark arrester.  They also make sure that trail users have paid the required user fee that produces the revenue to maintain and operate the facility. 

The sKYward trails Rangers will provide friendly guidance to trail users and will encourage appropriate conduct by advising and educating where appropriate.  When necessary, they will issue violation notices or make arrests for the violation of any applicable law or regulation.  Within the project area, Rangers are expected to have full authority as law enforcement officers.   

The entity that operates the sKYward trails system will write rules for the conduct of people using the trails.  These rules will require trail users to stay on the trails, operate at reasonable speeds, obey signs, yield the right of way when appropriate, and use specified safety equipment.  OHV spark arresters will be required and sound-level restrictions will be established.  The rules will prohibit operating recklessly or while under the influence, destruction of property, littering, and other dangerous or anti-social conduct.  They will be much like the traffic laws that apply when we drive our cars on the highways except that they will apply to the recreational use of the trails. 

Trail users will get a copy of the rules at the time they pay their user fee and receive a sticker or other appropriate evidence that they are entitled to use the recreation area.  The rules will also be posted on bulletin boards at all trailhead centers.  Reminders of the most important rules will also appear on large signs at the trailheads and along the trails. 

The sKYward trails system will draw recreational trail users from throughout the country and around the world to enjoy the beautiful mountain terrain.  They will come as the guests of the sKYward trails system, the surrounding communities, and the landowners who will graciously make their land available for this project.  We know that most of these guests will be the kind we will want to invite back.  For the few others, we will have the rules and the Rangers necessary to convince them to either shape up or stay home.
          

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It's Good Business For Landowners
          

By making the sKYward trails system possible, the landholding interests in eastern Kentucky will provide a significant benefit for their communities while also seeing an enhancement of their own interests.  Although these companies are not in the business of providing public recreation, the sKYward trails system will be “good business” for them.  

Some reasons why the project makes good business sense are obvious.  Right now, for example, economic factors in eastern Kentucky place a heavy tax burden on those who own the land or remove its resources.  They are almost the sole tax base.  Building a new tourism industry in the area will expand that tax base.  Nothing will relieve the tax burden on the land interests like new money flowing into the community through new business operations.  Greater wealth in the project area means less reliance on the wealth of the land interests to pay for schools and other public services. 

A somewhat less obvious but equally important consideration is the potential enhancement of long-term property values in the area.  The sKYward trails area will come to be recognized as a desirable destination for tourism and recreation.  The natural beauty of the region will finally be noticed and people will come.  As this activity increases, property in the area will become valuable for residential, commercial, and resort development.   Landowners will reap the benefit of this growth in their capital investment. 

Several benefits will flow to the landholding interests as a direct result of the professional trail management of the sKYward trails system.  People are already using the existing network of trails on the land without the landowners’ express permission for various kinds of recreation, including off-highway vehicle (OHV) operation.  The existing trails are not properly designed or managed for recreation, so the current recreational use is more dangerous than it need be, and can result in environmental degradation.  Also, there is no monitoring of the existing use to prevent abuses except by employees of the land interests.  The professional design, operation, management, and enforcement activities of the sKYward trails system will greatly alleviate these existing problems.  Additionally, the operating entity of the sKYward trails system will assume the responsibility and expense for properly maintaining miles of trails which the land interests now must maintain in order to serve their own access needs for fire control and other activities. 

The landholding interests have consistently expressed concern about their potential liability for someone injured while using their land for recreation.  The operating entity of the sKYward trails system will secure substantial liability insurance protection that will specifically name the participating landholding interests as insured parties.  The operating entity will also enter into legal agreements under which it will assume the potential liability and reimburse the land interests for any losses incurred as a result of liability suits.  Land interests will find that participating in the sKYward trails system will actually improve their current situation with respect to potential liability to recreational users of their land. 

Of course, one of the most important benefits for landholding interests is the goodwill of the community that their participation will warrant.  The communities will welcome the new jobs and added economic activity that will flow from the trails, and they will greatly appreciate the cooperation of the landholders in making the sKYward trails system a reality.  Signs throughout the trail system will name the cooperating landholders and remind trail users that they are enjoying the trails because of the landholders’ gracious hospitality.  The high quality of the project will assure that the landholders will remain pleased to host the trails. 

The sKYward trails system is a unique and precedent-setting public-private partnership.  It coordinates and balances the landholders’ interests with the needs of the communities and the recreational users so that all benefit.  It’s one of those rare “win-win” projects for all involved.
          

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