Western Maryland Rail Trail - Wikipedia says that the Western Maryland Rail Trail isn't using certain abandoned railroad tunnels because there are endangered bats living in them.
I think we should build several new tunnels that bats can live in, with a goal of getting the bats off the endangered species list, and perhaps once that is accomplished, we could move the bats out of the abandoned railroad tunnels and extend the rail trail.
While riding bicycles along the adjacent canal towpath is legal, there are reports that the towpath is sometimes muddy, at places like Hiking and Biking - Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service) 5 days of mud - Review of C&O Canal Towpath, Maryland, United States - TripAdvisor Watch out for rain and then mud - Review of C&O Canal Towpath, Maryland, United States - TripAdvisor
https://john-s-allen.com/blog/?p=4065 claims ``the National Park Service has stated that it must remain unpaved, as it is to retain its historical attributes as a canal towpath.''
I think the Great American Rail Trail Great American Rail-Trail | IMAGINE WHAT’S POSSIBLE WITH A TRAIL THAT CONNECTS THE COUNTRY | Rails-to-Trails Conservancy should find a paved alternative to the canal towpath, and it seems like if the bats can be given a new home, using the tunnels to extend the Western Maryland Rail Trail would provide a good route for the Great American Rail Trail.
I think we should build several new tunnels that bats can live in, with a goal of getting the bats off the endangered species list, and perhaps once that is accomplished, we could move the bats out of the abandoned railroad tunnels and extend the rail trail.
While riding bicycles along the adjacent canal towpath is legal, there are reports that the towpath is sometimes muddy, at places like Hiking and Biking - Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service) 5 days of mud - Review of C&O Canal Towpath, Maryland, United States - TripAdvisor Watch out for rain and then mud - Review of C&O Canal Towpath, Maryland, United States - TripAdvisor
https://john-s-allen.com/blog/?p=4065 claims ``the National Park Service has stated that it must remain unpaved, as it is to retain its historical attributes as a canal towpath.''
I think the Great American Rail Trail Great American Rail-Trail | IMAGINE WHAT’S POSSIBLE WITH A TRAIL THAT CONNECTS THE COUNTRY | Rails-to-Trails Conservancy should find a paved alternative to the canal towpath, and it seems like if the bats can be given a new home, using the tunnels to extend the Western Maryland Rail Trail would provide a good route for the Great American Rail Trail.
