Mountains to Sea Trail Draws Concern from Orange County Citizens

Many community members in Orange County brought concern to the last OWASA Board meeting regarding the proposed route for the Mountains to Sea Trail.

The trail could possibly go through OWASA property and some community member’s backyards.

The Mountains to Sea Trail is 1150 miles long beginning in the Great Smokey Mountains and ending in Jockey’s Ridge State Park on the Outer Banks. The trail runs through 37 counties and 41 towns where you will hike through wildlife and historical sites.

As of right now, 470 miles of the trail is still on road ways, but it is in the process of converting to off-road pathways. The portion of the trail through southwestern Orange County going over the Cane Creek Reservoir is what has brought concern to the community.

John Silva created a petition against the proposed area.

“When this project was first brought up three years ago, there was active resistance from members of the Cane Creek Watershed communities, and Mount Mitchell, Thunder Mountain, Apple Mill and Teer Roads. There are many reasons for this opposition, but I think one of the most prominent reasons to consider is OWASA is given the responsibility of protecting this water shed,” Silva said. “That water is provided to Chapel Hill, Carrboro, the University of North Carolina, the hospital, the children’s hospital, the cancer center, the many schools in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro area, the businesses and the residents in that area.”

Other concerns that came from the community and the board included fire safety on the trail and proximity to the neighboring houses. Community member Scott Zimmerman supports the trail.

“North Carolina is a beautiful state. From the coast to the mountains, we have a lot to offer that is unique to the United States. And the trail tries to hit those beautiful places,” Zimmerman said. “We have some of the most beautiful places here in this county, and you are the owners of a part of that. It’s a beautiful piece of property, and [it’s a] shame that it could only be enjoyed by those who live adjacent to it.”

The Friends of the Mountains to Sea Trail have partnered with the Orange County Department of Agriculture throughout this process. Department director David Stancil said the first step in their process is to listen to the community.

“We’ve heard from many people today about different ideas, comments and concerns. Then eventually get to the point where we can map a route or routes. It may be that there is no one route, and there may be places where there will be multiple routes that need to be identified. And then complete a plan and move on to construction,” Stancil said.

Stancil said they want to interact with the public on this plan.

“This process is really designed to try and engage and solicit community input. The county does not have any plans to take any land for the Mountains to Sea Trail. The process that’s envisioned is to work with landowners along the route and to identify a series of negotiations that may take many years,” Stancil said.

OWASA has not stated whether they are for or against the sea trail, but they did say they would like to provide specific conditions to the trail as it may pertain to their property.

OWASA board members did not vote on specific conditions that the trail will have to abide by. They have chosen to further discuss the conditions they would like to put into place and plan to bring them to the community at their next meeting on August 25.