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EAST FREEDOM -- Local residents packed into the Freedom Township fire hall to get more information and give feedback on a proposed Six-County Motorized and Multi-Use Heritage Tourism Trail.
The discussion was led by Doug Wagner, president of the Allegheny Ridge Recreation Association, and Jim Laird of Laird Landscape Architecture.
In a survey conducted online through the ARRA website, 2,644 people responded.
Those who responded favored opportunities to access land legally for all-terrain vehicle use.
Wagner said when organizers started looking at the idea of the trail, they envisioned something similar to the Hatfield-McCoy Trail System in West Virginia.
The six-county trail system would include Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Centre and Clearfield counties.
Areas of interest for the trail are Flight 93 National Memorial, Mountain Ridge ATV Resort, Martin Hill ATV Trails, Lost Children of the Alleghenies Monument, Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site, Horseshoe Curve, Rock Run Recreation Area, Snowshoe Rails to Trails and Bloody Skillet ATV Trails.
With over 40,000 ATVs registered in the area, the trail proposal was created with those in mind, but both Laird and Wagner want the trail to be multi-use, which would also allow snowmobiles, dirt bikes, mountain bicycling, hiking and horseback riding on the trail.
To keep the trail environmentally friendly, it will use existing railbeds, logging roads, old mining sites and fire lines.
"To make this successful, we realize that it has to be well planned, and respect private property," Laird said. "We cannot put a trail on anyone's property that is not willing to participate."
Laird took part in the feasibility study as the consultant and helped facilitate the project. He also helped to get the communication going and put together maps to help people understand the plans for the project.
"I have been working with (the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources) as a consultant for bicycle trails and that's been wonderful, but my heartstrings go back to motorized recreation," Laird said. "We have to acknowledge riding an ATV is part of the culture here."
According to Laird, Pennsylvania's No. 2 industry is outdoor recreation, and by creating a trail system, it will draw more people to areas that need economic development.
"The economics in the area is a little down right now," Wagner said. "How you could change that is by bringing in tourism dollars."
Wagner said people using the trail system would go into the nearby towns for gas, food and lodging, which would positively affect the local economy.
When creating this trail, ARRA also wanted to give landowners opportunities to create a business.
"If you establish a legal system for ATV users to use, then there is an opportunity to continue with more,"said Maura Cruse, retail recreation manager of Omni Bedford Springs Resort in Bedford, who attended the meeting.
The Springs offers ATV tours through trails on the resort's property.
Cruse said while there are no plans to connect those trails to the six-county trail system, she can see a huge benefit for its business and other private businesses in the area.
Funding available for the trail system includes DCNR's ATV Restricted Fund, Recreational Trails Program, Department of Economic Development Commonwealth Finance Authority and trails grants, Volunteer Corps and other grants.
Mirror Staff Writer Cati Keith is at 814-946-7535.