Carvins Cove Trail Plan - Roanoke

Carvins Cove Natural Reserve
2010 Trail Management Plan
report titled Recommendations for Improving Sustainability and Connectivity of the
Carvins Cove Trail System provided excellent information and recommendations for
eight trails. Many of those recommendations have been implemented with volunteers
working alongside professional trail builders to construct sustainable alignments,
rolling grade dips, hardened crossings, and climbing turns.
The Parks and Recreation Department has continued to work with volunteers to
address users’ needs and to improve the sustainability of the trail network. Working
through the Parks and Greenways Planner, volunteers, currently organized by
Pathfinders for Greenways, are committed to assisting the Department with trail
maintenance and construction at the Cove.
1.3 Management Restrictions and Easements
1.3.1 Appalachian National Scenic Trail
Portions of the Cove lands (Figure 2) are subject to special management restrictions. In
1998 the City granted an easement to the National Park Service to protect the
Appalachian National Scenic Trail (AT). The AT runs around the ridge above the Cove
for fifteen miles. The easement requires protection of a 500-foot corridor on either
side of the Trail. Within that easement, foot travel only is permitted; hunting is
prohibited; no mechanized or motorized equipment or vehicles are allowed except in
emergencies; no toxic chemicals are allowed; and no camping is allowed except at the
existing shelter and designated Lamberts Meadow camping area. The Appalachian Trail
is managed as a partnership among landowners, federal agencies, and volunteers. This
section of the AT is under Park Service jurisdiction and is maintained by the Roanoke
Appalachian Trail Club. There is a policy on side and connecting trails which would
have to be followed to make any new trail connections to the AT.
1.3.2 Natural Heritage Areas
In 2008 the Parks and Recreation Department worked through the Virginia Division of
Natural Heritage (DNH) to complete a biological inventory and assessment of the Cove.
The report recommends protecting three areas by: 1) restricting new trails and
removing illegal trails in an area that supports a globally rare Central Appalachian Xeric
Chestnut Oak – Virginia Pine Woodland community; 2) consulting with DNH prior to
changes in another area that encompasses Sawmill Branch Trail, portions of the AT, the
Blue-Line Trail for the AT, and several trails made by all terrain vehicles (ATVs); and 3)
consulting with DNH prior to changes in an area on Brushy Mountain that encompasses
portions of Brushy Mountain, Buck, Trough, Hi-Dee-Ho, Gauntlet, Hemlock Tunnel,
and Jacob’s Drop Trails. Wildfire is encouraged in the latter two areas.
1.3.3 Conservation Easements
In 2008 and 2009 the City granted conservation easements to the Virginia Outdoors
Foundation and Western Virginia Land Trust. Together these easements encompass the
City’s 11,363 acres above the 1200-foot contour. The easements’ purposes are to
protect the land for watershed preservation, outdoor recreation, scenic open space,
natural habitat, biological diversity, and forestal use. The easements allow new trails
and amenities, but restrict the size and placement of other buildings. They allow public
recreation activities and trails, but require approval for new trail construction in the
Natural Heritage areas and recommend banning ATVs within the easement areas.
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