what color painting of the U.S. Forest Service v. Cowpasture River Preservation Association
U.S. Forest Service vs Cowpasture title
Illustration by Art Lien
Illustration by Art Lien
On February 24, 2020 the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in United States Forest Service, et al. v. Cowpasture River Preservation Association. The focus of the litigation is the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, a natural gas pipeline that would bring fracked natural gas from West Virginia into Virginia and North Carolina. While much of the news coverage around the case has centered on potential injury to the A.T., due to the hard work of Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC), we do not believe either the A.T. or its viewshed will be significantly impacted by the construction of the pipeline. The real threat posed by the litigation is to the Cooperative Management System, sketched out in 1925, enabled in 1968 by the National Trails System Act, and painstakingly negotiated by the ATC, A.T. maintaining clubs, and the federal and state governments over the past 100 years.

The A.T. is a unit of the National Park Service, meaning that it is as much a national park as Glacier or Yosemite. It is, however, a “linear park,” not a “square park,” because it was designed to pass through other federal, state, and private lands. The beauty and intent of the National Trails System Act is that, by enabling national trails to traverse other federal units, it would enhance their recreational value without diminishing or confusing their management responsibilities or authorities. In the 52 years since the Trails Act became law, the participants in the system have successfully adhered to this idea, without encountering significant internal or external conflict.

“Cowpasture” has unexpectedly called into question the division of responsibilities and authorities held by the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service, and, by extension, all the day-to-day managers and maintainers of the A.T. In the case, on one side, non-maintaining environmental organizations argue that three statutes, including the Trails Act, interlock to transfer all authority over the Trail in the George Washington National Forest to the National Park Service; on the other side, the U.S. government says if the Act had been meant to do that, it would explicitly say so. The ATC has submitted a brief to the Supreme Court imploring it to keep the Cooperative Management System in place as it existed before the litigation started. When the case is decided later this year, the ATC will explain what the decision says and how the Cooperative Management System will be impacted.

Art Lien has been going where cameras cannot since 1977. His main beat is sketching the U.S. Supreme Court for NBC News and SCOTUSblog. He also posts to his personal blog at: courtartist.com
On February 24, 2020 the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in United States Forest Service, et al. v. Cowpasture River Preservation Association. The focus of the litigation is the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, a natural gas pipeline that would bring fracked natural gas from West Virginia into Virginia and North Carolina. While much of the news coverage around the case has centered on potential injury to the A.T., due to the hard work of Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC), we do not believe either the A.T. or its viewshed will be significantly impacted by the construction of the pipeline. The real threat posed by the litigation is to the Cooperative Management System, sketched out in 1925, enabled in 1968 by the National Trails System Act, and painstakingly negotiated by the ATC, A.T. maintaining clubs, and the federal and state governments over the past 100 years.

The A.T. is a unit of the National Park Service, meaning that it is as much a national park as Glacier or Yosemite. It is, however, a “linear park,” not a “square park,” because it was designed to pass through other federal, state, and private lands. The beauty and intent of the National Trails System Act is that, by enabling national trails to traverse other federal units, it would enhance their recreational value without diminishing or confusing their management responsibilities or authorities. In the 52 years since the Trails Act became law, the participants in the system have successfully adhered to this idea, without encountering significant internal or external conflict.

“Cowpasture” has unexpectedly called into question the division of responsibilities and authorities held by the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service, and, by extension, all the day-to-day managers and maintainers of the A.T. In the case, on one side, non-maintaining environmental organizations argue that three statutes, including the Trails Act, interlock to transfer all authority over the Trail in the George Washington National Forest to the National Park Service; on the other side, the U.S. government says if the Act had been meant to do that, it would explicitly say so. The ATC has submitted a brief to the Supreme Court imploring it to keep the Cooperative Management System in place as it existed before the litigation started. When the case is decided later this year, the ATC will explain what the decision says and how the Cooperative Management System will be impacted.

Art Lien has been going where cameras cannot since 1977. His main beat is sketching the U.S. Supreme Court for NBC News and SCOTUSblog. He also posts to his personal blog at: courtartist.com
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