Coronavirus: Pisgah National Forest trails likely to 'reopen sooner' than Aug. 13

Pisgah National Forest draws millions of hikers, mountain bikers and other outdoor enthusiasts, so when officials shut down parts of the forest April 13 in response to the coronavirus, there was plenty of feedback about the closure's large size and time frame of up to four months. 

"I would prefer we don't close the outdoors. We need open spaces and forests and sunshine to beat this virus," Brian Hennebry, an Asheville resident and rock climber, said in an April 16 Facebook post. 

But now Forest Service officials are saying they expect the closure to end sooner than Aug. 13, the date the order will end unless terminated earlier.

Meanwhile, leaders of two prominent outdoor groups representing mountain bikers and hikers have come out in support of the shutdown.

"The closing of the Pisgah Trails is unfortunate. But I think we certainly support the efforts to control the coronavirus," said Randy Fluharty, a past president of the Carolina Mountain Club, a nearly 100-year-old local hiking group with more than 900 members. 

"A lot of people are having to make adjustments to their lives and make sacrifices, and we feel like it’s what we have to do."

Until Aug. 13?

Some of the pushback has been about the possibility of four-month closure period. 

The April 13 Forest Service order number 08-11-07-20-071 prohibits being "on certain roads and trails, entering or using a developed recreation site or camping on the Pisgah National Forest until August 13, 2020, or until rescinded."

Responding to questions from the Citizen Times, Forest Service spokeswoman Cathryn Dowd noted the order allows for early termination. 

"One hundred and twenty days is the standard length for this type of emergency closure order, but we do expect things to reopen sooner," she said. 

Dowd said the order has generated a lot of comments to the Forest Service that she characterized "as varied from negative to positive."

Matt Leach, president of the Pisgah Area Southern Off-Road Bicycle Association, said Forest Service officials told him in an April 20 phone call there was no timeline but that they are already developing a reopening strategy.

"I think it will be progressively reopened. They might say, 'Now you can bike on these gravel roads, but you can’t drive. Now you can access this parking lot and park here but you can’t camp.' I think it will be a phased reopening," said Leach whose group is part of the Southeast's largest mountain biking nonprofit.

Leach said he had the conversation after polling SORBA members and compiling a list of the top five concerns. 

Long, confusing list; 'bushwhacking'

The order's shutdown list includes 30 Forest Service roads, 81 trails and more than 100 recreation sites. 

That's left many puzzling over maps trying to figure out where it's legal to hike, bike or run.

Asheville resident Han Winogrond said the order is causing people to pack into the few areas that are open.

"What possible good comes from closing trails and concentrating people in smaller areas and fewer trails? Social distance requires distance. This policy puts more people in closer contact," Winogrond said. 

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Leach said SORBA considered publishing a map of the areas that were open. But after the April 20 discussion with Forest Service officials, he decided against it, saying it would run counter to the intent of the order, which is to reduce the spread of the virus, cut the work of rescue personnel and discourage tourists from traveling to Pisgah.

"The real purpose is to reduce use," he said.

It's not clear why the Forest Service didn't opt to close all of Pisgah. By noon April 22, Dowd hadn't responded to a question about that possibility. In an earlier statement Dowd said "temporarily shutting down access to recreational sites or areas is a particularly difficult decision" and is done after considering public health, the national effort against COVID-19 and local communities' access to their public lands.

Bikes must stay on trails in the forest, though hikers are allowed to "bushwhack" or walk off-trail. That's something the Carolina Mountain Club is discouraging, Fluharty said. 

"We pretty much follow trails as a rule because we very much are about safety and people not getting lost or getting hurt," the club past president said.

Fines, prison

Dowd said some areas have locked gates or barricades, and law enforcement officers are patrolling. Violators of the order may be ticketed, the Forest Service spokeswoman said.

"Our goal is always to have visitors voluntarily cooperate with our efforts to keep themselves and others safe."

But the order lists stiffer penalties with fines ranging from $130 to $5,000 and the possibility of six months in prison.

Dowd declined to say if anyone has faced enforcement actions, saying that would have to be answered through a Freedom of Information Act request, a process that can take months. 

The officials with Carolina Mountain Club and SORBA said they didn't know of any alleged violators.

Who gave input?

Leach said one of the concerns about the closure was lack of communication with groups like his. SORBA along with Carolina Mountain Club build and maintain many of the forest's trails.

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Dowd said local officials were consulted. In the case of Transylvania County, where many of Pisgah's most popular trails lie, such as Black Mountain, Daniel Ridge and Cat Gap, local officials approached Pisgah District Ranger David Casey, she said. Those officials also sent a letter to Gov. Roy Cooper and state and federal legislators asking for help closing the forest, she said.

After that, Casey spoke with Buncombe County Manager Avril Pinder and Haywood County local government leaders, she said. 

Joel Burgess has lived in WNC for more than 20 years, covering politics, government and other news. He's written award-winning stories on topics ranging from gerrymandering to police use of force. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.