Big, Wild, and ConneCted

Part 2: From the Central Appalachians to the Catskill Mountains

John DavisWilDlAnDs netWork

Washington | Covelo | london

© 2013 Wildlands network

All rights reserved under international and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. no part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher: island Press, Suite 650, 2000 M Street, nW, Washington, dC 20036

iSlAnd PReSS is a trademark of island Press/the Center for Resource economics.

Cover design by Maureen gatelyCover image by trevor Angel: John davis pedals past the White House grounds as he passes through Washington, dC, on the second leg of trekeast.

Keywords: island Press, corridor, connectivity, trekeast, Wildlands network, eastern Wildway, eastern Conservation Corridor, adventure, outdoor recreation, hiking, kayaking, biking, conservation biology, ecological restoration, conservation, conservation groups, ecology of fear, trophic cascades, rewilding, predator, cougar, bobcat, whitetail deer, red wolf, gray wolf, Flora Preserve, Fayette Alliance, Red River gorge, Kentucky natural lands trust, Appalachians, great Smoky Mountains, Highlands nature Sanctuary, Arc of Appalachia, Appalachian Forest School, Wayne national Forest, West Virginia, ohio, Pennsylvania, new York, Monongahela national Forest, Allegheny Mountains, Central Appalachians, Friends of Blackwater, Wild earth, national Parks Conservation Association, Keeping track, Cougar Rewilding Foundation, Clearwater Conservancy, northeast Wilderness trust, Shawangunk Mountains, Catskill Mountains, Adirondack Mountains, Adirondack Park, lake Champlain

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Contents

Acknowledgments and Dedication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix

introduction. still Moving After All These Miles: into the

Central Appalachian Mountains and Foothills . . . . . . 1

Chapter 5. securing an Appalachian Arc: Wildlands

Philanthropy on the edge of Appalachia . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Chapter 6. A Forest Hungry for Cougars: West Virginia

Highlands and larger Central Appalachians . . . . . .18

Chapter 7. roadblocks to recovery: transportation and energy

Development Fragmenting Penn’s Woods . . . . . . . . .36

Chapter 8. Wild Playgrounds: new York’s shawangunks

and Catskills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52

About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66

About Wildlands Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67

About Island Press . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68

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Acknowledgements and dedication

there are too many people and places, creatures and groups, for me to properly thank for inspiring, informing, and aiding trekeast and others of my adventures. Here i thank a few of the friends, family members, and colleagues who have gone out of their way to help. of course, none of these good people should be held accountable for anything i say or write, but to all the following, plus people mentioned in the chapters but not here, i give special thanks.

My amazingly understanding family, including my parents, Robert and Mary davis (about whom more later); my beautiful wife denise Wilson-davis, who has taken a man nearly dysfunctional in civilization and made him half presentable half the time, and her handsome son Justin, who has had in me much less of a stepdad than he deserves; Uncles Frank, george, dick, and Bill, for the mentoring that uncles are uniquely equipped to provide; Aunts Joan, ethlyn, etta, and Sally, for the wisdom that aunts are uniquely able to offer; my sister Carol and nephews Sammy and Matthew, and cousins Connie, Mark, noelle, Sarah, John, and elizabeth, for accept-ing me, even though i was always a bit old-fashioned; and the beloved four-legged members of our families.

Wildlands network staff and board, especially Margo McKnight, who masterminded trekeast as an outreach campaign; Ron Sutherland, who taught me to find snakes, even while looking for panther tracks; Conrad Reining, who directed me skillfully through the northern Appalachians; lisa lauf and lise Meinke, who coached and coaxed me through the social media mazes; Kenyon Fields, who stands ready to replace me on these treks should i falter; Keith Bowers, Wildlands network president; and Wildlands network cofounder david Johns, whose confusingly simi-lar name has made many readers think i’m smarter than i really am.

Wildlands volunteers, including our great publicist Kelly diedring-Harris, communications coach Susannah Smith, and photographers Phil lacinak and Hannah goodman.

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trekeast business sponsors: Brian trzaskos of Ascent Wellness, Susie trzaskos-Smith and denise Wilson-davis of SCAt! Bars, Mark nassan of leepoff Cycles, Mark englehart of innovative engineering, larry Barns of larry Barns Photography, attorney Reg Bedell, Peter Hornbeck of lost Pond Boats, Susan Bacot-davis of emmet Carter green design, and ingrid newmark of gear for good.

Rewilding institute fellows and board and staff, including dave Foreman, nancy Morton, Susan Morgan, Christianne Hinks, and dave Parsons.

island Press editors, especially Barbara dean, who turned my halting efforts at writing into this book, and has been a wildlands champion for decades.

Conservation biology and natural history teachers, including (in the or-der i was fortunate enough to tag along with them in the field) Reed noss, Michael Soulé, Sue Morse, Bob leverett, Steve trombulak, Peter Warshall, Mike dinunzio, Brian Miller, John terborgh, Jerry Jenkins, larry Master, evelyn greene, Mike Kudish, Charlie Canham, and Joan Maloof.

Fellow ramblers, who include most of the above plus gary Ran-dorf, who taught me to find lofty views to understand the land; Ja-son Kahn, who is an anchor of safety on journeys where i otherwise might drift away; ski shop buddies John duncan and Bart Howe; eri-ka edgley, who gracefully made the transition from assistant to boss in some of my Adirondack conservation work; Brian and Katherine Houseal, diane and Peter Fish, Julie Ball, Kathy Kelly, tyler Frakes, Sheri Amsel, elizabeth lee, Stu Brody, doug Munro, and other Ad-irondack friends; Brad Meiklejohn, who is my guide whenever i’m lucky enough to reach Alaska, and his parents Jim and Meg, who know new Hampshire’s White Mountains better than most people know their own yards; Roger Merchant, who gave me and other young mis-fits wild and wholesome directions for our rebelliousness decades ago; and Kevin Raines, who paints landscapes so beautifully i can return to them from afar.

Conservation benefactors, especially george davis and Susan Bacot-davis, who contributed generously to and joined the trek itself and helped me with the subsequent writing thereof; david and Margie Reuther, whose generosity with good causes along the Adirondack Coast is legendary, and

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who helped me conceptualize this book; lynne Butler, lifelong friend and conspirator; Jerry Jenkins, so generous and wise once again; tom duca and Catherine Seidenberg, fellow paddlers, who periodically sneak gifts into my belongings; Cheri Phillips and Peter Welling, who sustain me with fare and friendship; tom and Hillary Stransky and Michelle Cassidy, whose close friendships with denise are a great support to me when i’m afield.

Friends around home in Split Rock Wildway, especially Jamie Phillips, whose generosity is saving the wildlife corridor i’d only have dreamed of; Rod Maciver, the inspiring artist behind Heron dance; Bonnie Ma-cleod, primary caregiver, since i started trekking months at a time, of our beloved cat taiga; my neighbors Jigs and Joanne gardener, who taught me that friendships can grow even where politics are opposite; Kathleen Fitzgerald, who has moved from fisher corridors in new York and Ver-mont to elephant corridors in Africa; Chris Maron and other directors of Champlain Area trails; and many good friends at the northeast Wil-derness trust, Adirondack Council, Adirondack nature Conservancy and land trust, Adirondack Explorer, Adirondack Communities and Conser-vation Program of Wildlife Conservation Society, Adirondack Wild, and Protect the Adirondacks.

Friends also from other groups with which i’ve worked, including ReStoRe: the north Woods, Wild Farm Alliance, Heron dance, Foun-dation for deep ecology, and eddy Foundation.

Wildlands philanthropy champions doug and Kris tompkins, for whom i worked in the 1990s and from whom i’ve been learning for sev-eral decades; and Annie Faulkner and Bob King, close friends and leading land-savers in my original home state.

i want to repeat my extra thanks for denise Wilson-davis and george davis (no close relation, though i’d be proud to claim him as family) and Barbara dean and her island Press team, especially erin Johnson. When i left for trekWest in January 2013, i essentially left a rough manuscript and a few crude suggestions on how i thought it might be finished. they did nearly all the finishing and refining work to make the manuscript a book series. Upon george fell the especially heavy task of deciding on and rounding up graphics for the whole series; and thankfully, george has agreed to continue serving these wildways treks as transmedia editor. denise had to do most of the manuscript revision i would have done if

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accessible; and Barbara steered the whole process along with her usual grace and wisdom.

Finally, i wish to single out for thanks and gratitude the five people who have for the longest times kept me healthy and honest. to them es-pecially, as well as to the wild creatures and places we all love, i dedicate these books.

My parents, Robert and Mary davis, raised me to respect and love the natural world, to enjoy playing outside, and to serve others. their uncon-ditional love and support gave me the courage to explore.

My Aunt Joan Byrd fostered my interest in animals and nature with strategic gifts of natural history books and with walks in the woods. She taught me to welcome wolves back home.

My lifelong friend and conspirator tom Butler has kept me on a trail true yet safe, when otherwise i might have stumbled onto darker paths. tom has had to rescue me more times than i dare admit.

My mentor and adopted uncle dave Foreman taught me how to put earth first (!), in actions along with words, and built much of the intellec-tual foundation on which i now try to stand and speak for self-willed land and free-roaming creatures.

Any merit my wildways rambling has stems from these guideposts in my life.

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introduction

still Moving After All These Miles: into the Central Appalachian Mountains and Foothills

After three thousand miles or so, trekeast got tough. Hiking days were necessarily long and heavy. Paddling opportunities were few, given my northward route. Bicycling was so hot when on asphalt that

(Map by Ron Sutherland)

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i broke out in heat rashes. Although for communications purposes Wildlands network friends

had organized my trek into six legs, with trail stops and outreach efforts distinct to each, for me emotionally and physically the trip divided more naturally into three parts: south, central, and north. this central portion of trekeast would be in many respects the most demanding, since i had few close friends living between Kentucky and new York, knew few con-servation groups, was unfamiliar with the terrain, and got into the worst heat of the summer. Similarly, Wildlands network has less of a base of support in mid-Atlantic and central Appalachian states than in the South-east and northeast. in future decades as i reflect back on my long trek through the east, i suspect i’ll remember summer in the central states as the long, hot, and lonely stretch, despite many inspiring visits and uplift-ing moments. if some day decades hence, i tell trek stories to grandnieces and nephews, i’ll admit to them that riding into Pennsylvania’s mined and fracked lands amidst an unnaturally brutal heat wave nearly defeated me.

Still, an eastern Wildway must include the central Appalachian and mid-Atlantic states, and so i persevered in my explorations. As in the

The author relaxes along the C&O Canal during one of the most challenging phases of his Eastern trek. (Photo courtesy of Kate Graves)

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Southeast Coastal Plain, i found greater wildness than i’d expected—though not yet enough—and came away heartened that eventually, if we do our conservation work well, panthers will be able to recolonize the central states then continue north. or perhaps, like the heroic young male cougar hit by a car last year in Connecticut, they’ll travel east from the dakotas to the Adirondacks then continue south, but in the future they’ll make the journey successfully.

Which brings me to an important lateral lesson of trekeast: Wild-ways need to run in all directions, not just south-north. Wildlife corridors are often easiest to secure along mountain ranges and are most impor-tant to restore along rivers and coasts, but wildlife dispersal can be a bit like osmosis and should not be restricted to narrow ways or few direc-tions. the future eastern Wildway i’ve been exploring and promoting runs primarily south–north, but with many east–west (and winding and oblique) connections through the Southeast Coastal Plain and elsewhere from mountains to sea. Moreover, while the greatest chance for cougar recolonization of much of the east may be northward from Florida, there remain critical, but tenuous, ecological paths east from texas along the gulf of Mexico Coast to the Florida Panhandle, east from the ozarks to the southern Appalachians, and east from the dakotas to the Adiron-dacks and northern Appalachians. these longitudinal habitat connections are less robust and secure than latitudinal connections along the Appala-chian, Rocky, and Pacific Coast Mountain Ranges, hence the Wildlands network’s and Rewilding institute’s and other conservation groups’ fo-cus on continental wildways along the great cordilleras. in the long term, however, genetic flow between mountain ranges as well as along them will be crucial to species health.

Moreover, the wildest-way in the continent is the boreal, which is broadest in longitudinal length, comprising much of northern Canada and Alaska, and which should be recognized as one of the world’s high-est conservation priorities, along with saving Siberia’s equally great bo-real forest—for biodiversity conservation and climate stabilization. So, even as we strive to make it possible for panthers and bison in Florida and red wolves and elk in north Carolina to reclaim old habitat northward through the eastern Wildway, we should also strive to restore natural connections east–west wherever possible. Cougars in texas, the ozarks,

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and the dakotas could recolonize areas eastward if they are protected and their habitats kept intact.

May the quadrupedal powers return soon, from whatever direction, for the forests of the central Appalachians are suffering terribly from the loss of top carnivores. long having followed rewilding leaders like Fore-man, noss, Soulé, and terborgh, i intellectually understood trophic cas-cades and why ecosystems deteriorate when apex predators are removed, but in the overbrowsed forests of the central Appalachians, my mentors’ teachings really hit home.

Among the lessons i confirmed firsthand in the central states were the importance of private lands conservation, wild cores big enough to se-cure apex predators, and safe wildlife crossings. Wildlands philanthropy as a tool to conserve private lands was brilliantly presented in the Arc of Ap-palachia. the want of cougars and wolves in the West Virginia Highlands was palpable as i walked through scenic but depleted forests, deprived of their wildflowers and saplings by the unnatural abundance of deer. But as i walked a bit farther, part of a possible solution was presented in the form of a proposed High Allegheny national Park. the tragedy of roadkill was crushingly evident on valley roads, and more than once in Pennsylvania i feared i might be added to the tally.

Wild connections through the central Appalachians remain, some still quite strong, and even so crowded a region as the Chesapeake Bay water-shed continues to provide parks and refuges—albeit too small and isolat-ed—for migrating avian and marine life. A hypothetical panther making an incredible journey north from Florida might be able to get through Pennsylvania, but not for much longer, if energy exploitation and con-sumption continue apace.

Get Big, Wild, and Connected: Part 2 wherever eBooks are sold!

Part 2 of Big, Wild, and Connected is available at these retailers: AMAZON | APPLE | BARNES & NOBLE

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eBook | 9781610915076

“John Davis is a traveler of another order. Davis undertakes the discovery of this continent’s great wild places not to prove himself, but to ground-truth the admonition that nature is fraying at the seams. With the soul of a poet, and in the tone of a close friend, Davis defines a collective imperative: heal nature now. You will see why and how when you read his work.”—Mary Ellen Hannibal, author of The Spine of the Continent

“We have an Appalachian Trail for hikers, a Blue Ridge Parkway for drivers, and an interstate highway system for commerce, so why not an Eastern Conservation Corridor for wildlife? If you like big ideas and

especially those that call for restoring missing predators like cougar and wolves, then you will thoroughly enjoy this journey with John Davis as he seeks out the remaining wild places from Kentucky to New York in part 2 of the three-part Big, Wild, and Connected trek.”—David Govatski, author of Forests for the People