{"id":57033,"date":"2023-02-27T16:00:41","date_gmt":"2023-02-27T21:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/?p=57033"},"modified":"2023-02-27T15:55:23","modified_gmt":"2023-02-27T20:55:23","slug":"conservation-preservation-and-enhancement-planned-for-pisgahs-beloved-butter-gap-trail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/outdoors\/conservation-preservation-and-enhancement-planned-for-pisgahs-beloved-butter-gap-trail\/","title":{"rendered":"Conservation: Preservation and Enhancement Planned for Pisgah\u2019s Beloved Butter Gap Trail"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_57035\" style=\"width: 1210px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-57035\" class=\"size-full wp-image-57035\" src=\"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Conservation_-Butter-Gap-Trail-Upper-Black-Mountain-Trail-in-the-Pisgah-Ranger-District.-Photo-by-Pisgah-Paparazzi.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"643\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Conservation_-Butter-Gap-Trail-Upper-Black-Mountain-Trail-in-the-Pisgah-Ranger-District.-Photo-by-Pisgah-Paparazzi.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Conservation_-Butter-Gap-Trail-Upper-Black-Mountain-Trail-in-the-Pisgah-Ranger-District.-Photo-by-Pisgah-Paparazzi-300x161.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Conservation_-Butter-Gap-Trail-Upper-Black-Mountain-Trail-in-the-Pisgah-Ranger-District.-Photo-by-Pisgah-Paparazzi-1024x549.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Conservation_-Butter-Gap-Trail-Upper-Black-Mountain-Trail-in-the-Pisgah-Ranger-District.-Photo-by-Pisgah-Paparazzi-768x412.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Conservation_-Butter-Gap-Trail-Upper-Black-Mountain-Trail-in-the-Pisgah-Ranger-District.-Photo-by-Pisgah-Paparazzi-810x434.jpg 810w, https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Conservation_-Butter-Gap-Trail-Upper-Black-Mountain-Trail-in-the-Pisgah-Ranger-District.-Photo-by-Pisgah-Paparazzi-1140x611.jpg 1140w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-57035\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pisgah Area SORBA volunteers. Upper Black Mountain Trail in the Pisgah Ranger District. Photo by Pisgah Paparazzi<\/p><\/div>\n<p>By Emma Castleberry<\/p>\n<p>Butter Gap Trail, a multi-use recreational trail located in the Pisgah Ranger District near Brevard, was initially constructed as a logging trail to remove timber from the area. When the Forest Service began managing the land, the trail was repurposed and is now classified as a legacy trail. \u201cWhile these trails can be appealing to mountain bikers, as they are often steep and technical, the trails themselves were never designed to support their extreme use today,\u201d says Natalie Narburgh, executive director of Pisgah Area SORBA (Southern Off-Road Bicycle Association). \u201cIncreased users coupled with our more extreme weather events cause a rapid degradation of these types of trails.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_57036\" style=\"width: 470px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-57036\" class=\"wp-image-57036\" src=\"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Conservation_-Butter-Gap-Trail_3-Pisgah-area-SORBA-volunteers.-Upper-Black-Mountain-Trail-in-the-Pisgah-Ranger-District.-Photo-by-Pisgah-Paparazzi.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"460\" height=\"386\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Conservation_-Butter-Gap-Trail_3-Pisgah-area-SORBA-volunteers.-Upper-Black-Mountain-Trail-in-the-Pisgah-Ranger-District.-Photo-by-Pisgah-Paparazzi.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Conservation_-Butter-Gap-Trail_3-Pisgah-area-SORBA-volunteers.-Upper-Black-Mountain-Trail-in-the-Pisgah-Ranger-District.-Photo-by-Pisgah-Paparazzi-300x252.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Conservation_-Butter-Gap-Trail_3-Pisgah-area-SORBA-volunteers.-Upper-Black-Mountain-Trail-in-the-Pisgah-Ranger-District.-Photo-by-Pisgah-Paparazzi-1024x858.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Conservation_-Butter-Gap-Trail_3-Pisgah-area-SORBA-volunteers.-Upper-Black-Mountain-Trail-in-the-Pisgah-Ranger-District.-Photo-by-Pisgah-Paparazzi-768x644.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Conservation_-Butter-Gap-Trail_3-Pisgah-area-SORBA-volunteers.-Upper-Black-Mountain-Trail-in-the-Pisgah-Ranger-District.-Photo-by-Pisgah-Paparazzi-810x679.jpg 810w, https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Conservation_-Butter-Gap-Trail_3-Pisgah-area-SORBA-volunteers.-Upper-Black-Mountain-Trail-in-the-Pisgah-Ranger-District.-Photo-by-Pisgah-Paparazzi-1140x956.jpg 1140w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 460px) 100vw, 460px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-57036\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pisgah Area SORBA volunteer. Upper Black Mountain Trail in the Pisgah Ranger District. Photo by Pisgah Paparazzi<\/p><\/div>\n<p>In 2013, the US Forest Service (USFS) identified Butter Gap Trail as unsustainable after conducting several trail assessments in the area. \u201cUSFS and other land managers consider the sustainability of a trail based on three sub-categories of sustainability: ecological, social and economic,\u201d says Jeff Maitz, a trail specialist for the Pisgah Conservancy who works closely with USFS employees in the Pisgah District Ranger Station. \u201cSustainability is achieved at the junction where recreation resources are socially relevant and supported, ecologically resilient and economically viable.\u201d Butter Gap Trail has degraded to the point that it presents a threat to the surrounding watershed and environment, meaning it no longer meets the sustainability standard of ecological resilience. \u201cUltimately,\u201d says Narburgh, \u201ca sustainable trail is designed to minimize the volume and velocity of water located on the trail. This water is what causes a trail\u2019s demise, and these old logging paths were not created with recreational sustainability in mind.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In collaboration with the Pisgah Conservancy and USFS, Pisgah Area SORBA is leading the Butter Gap Trail Project in an effort to realign the trail and make it environmentally sustainable, while also improving the user experience. The project will include decommissioning more than a mile of degraded trail; adding five miles of new trail; and performing heavy maintenance on two miles of the existing trail to ensure it can withstand extreme weather. Another feature of the project will change a section of Cat Gap trail, making it available to hikers only and creating an alternative route for mountain bikers. This will not only reduce trail user conflict, but also establish year-round trail access for mountain bikers (current biking access is limited to six months out of the year). \u201cWe hope our alignment additions and user changes will allow for more access to this area,\u201d says Narburgh. \u201cButter Gap itself is wild and beautiful. You feel truly immersed in the forest when you\u2019re back there. Not to mention, the trail itself parallels Grogan Creek as it descends downhill. There\u2019s even a spot towards the bottom where you can catch a view of Grogan Creek Falls. It\u2019s quintessential WNC.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_57037\" style=\"width: 1210px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-57037\" class=\"wp-image-57037 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Conservation_-Butter-Gap-Trail_4-Pisgah-area-SORBA-volunteer.-Upper-Black-Mountain-Trail-in-the-Pisgah-Ranger-District.-Photo-by-Pisgah-Paparazzi.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"627\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Conservation_-Butter-Gap-Trail_4-Pisgah-area-SORBA-volunteer.-Upper-Black-Mountain-Trail-in-the-Pisgah-Ranger-District.-Photo-by-Pisgah-Paparazzi.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Conservation_-Butter-Gap-Trail_4-Pisgah-area-SORBA-volunteer.-Upper-Black-Mountain-Trail-in-the-Pisgah-Ranger-District.-Photo-by-Pisgah-Paparazzi-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Conservation_-Butter-Gap-Trail_4-Pisgah-area-SORBA-volunteer.-Upper-Black-Mountain-Trail-in-the-Pisgah-Ranger-District.-Photo-by-Pisgah-Paparazzi-1024x535.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Conservation_-Butter-Gap-Trail_4-Pisgah-area-SORBA-volunteer.-Upper-Black-Mountain-Trail-in-the-Pisgah-Ranger-District.-Photo-by-Pisgah-Paparazzi-768x401.jpg 768w, https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Conservation_-Butter-Gap-Trail_4-Pisgah-area-SORBA-volunteer.-Upper-Black-Mountain-Trail-in-the-Pisgah-Ranger-District.-Photo-by-Pisgah-Paparazzi-810x423.jpg 810w, https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Conservation_-Butter-Gap-Trail_4-Pisgah-area-SORBA-volunteer.-Upper-Black-Mountain-Trail-in-the-Pisgah-Ranger-District.-Photo-by-Pisgah-Paparazzi-1140x596.jpg 1140w, https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Conservation_-Butter-Gap-Trail_4-Pisgah-area-SORBA-volunteer.-Upper-Black-Mountain-Trail-in-the-Pisgah-Ranger-District.-Photo-by-Pisgah-Paparazzi-375x195.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-57037\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Pisgah Area SORBA volunteer. Upper Black Mountain Trail in the Pisgah Ranger District. Photo by Pisgah Paparazzi<\/p><\/div>\n<p>With an expected completion date of December 2023, the project will cost between $275,000 and $350,000. A state Recreational Trails Program grant awarded to Pisgah Area SORBA in 2018 will cover $100,000 of that cost. The Transylvania County Tourism Development Authority (TCTDA) has also committed $45,000. \u201cWe\u2019re using occupancy tax dollars collected from visitors to our area to protect and improve the public lands in our county so that they will be here for generations to come,\u201d says Aaron Baker, TCTDA board member. \u201cThe Butter Gap Trail improvement project is really the improvement of an entire trail system and the land and waters around it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Those interested in supporting the project can contribute volunteer hours or donate to Pisgah Area SORBA. \u201cOur organization relies on both our community\u2019s financial support and our volunteers\u2019 time to accomplish projects such as this,\u201d says Narburgh. \u201cWe have a lot of gratitude for our community and look forward to welcoming new supporters.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>For more information, visit <a href=\"http:\/\/PisgahAreaSORBA.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">PisgahAreaSORBA.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Butter Gap Trail, a multi-use recreational trail located in the Pisgah Ranger District near Brevard, was initially constructed as a logging trail to remove timber from the area. When the Forest Service began managing the land, the trail was repurposed and is now classified as a legacy trail.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":57035,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[105,62],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-57033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-conservation","category-outdoors"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Conservation: Preservation and Enhancement Planned for Pisgah\u2019s Beloved Butter Gap Trail - The Laurel of Asheville<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Butter Gap Trail, a multi-use recreational trail located in the Pisgah Ranger District near Brevard, was initially constructed as a logging trail to remove timber from the area. When the Forest Service began managing the land, the trail was repurposed and is now classified as a legacy trail.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/outdoors\/conservation-preservation-and-enhancement-planned-for-pisgahs-beloved-butter-gap-trail\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Conservation: Preservation and Enhancement Planned for Pisgah\u2019s Beloved Butter Gap Trail - The Laurel of Asheville\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Butter Gap Trail, a multi-use recreational trail located in the Pisgah Ranger District near Brevard, was initially constructed as a logging trail to remove timber from the area. When the Forest Service began managing the land, the trail was repurposed and is now classified as a legacy trail.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/outdoors\/conservation-preservation-and-enhancement-planned-for-pisgahs-beloved-butter-gap-trail\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Laurel of Asheville\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/thelaurelofasheville\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-02-27T21:00:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Conservation_-Butter-Gap-Trail-Upper-Black-Mountain-Trail-in-the-Pisgah-Ranger-District.-Photo-by-Pisgah-Paparazzi.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"643\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Amy Pryor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@AshevilleLaurel\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@AshevilleLaurel\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Amy Pryor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/outdoors\\\/conservation-preservation-and-enhancement-planned-for-pisgahs-beloved-butter-gap-trail\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/outdoors\\\/conservation-preservation-and-enhancement-planned-for-pisgahs-beloved-butter-gap-trail\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Amy Pryor\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13d76582350fe4093b37d2b69174af00\"},\"headline\":\"Conservation: Preservation and Enhancement Planned for Pisgah\u2019s Beloved Butter Gap Trail\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-02-27T21:00:41+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/outdoors\\\/conservation-preservation-and-enhancement-planned-for-pisgahs-beloved-butter-gap-trail\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":708,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/outdoors\\\/conservation-preservation-and-enhancement-planned-for-pisgahs-beloved-butter-gap-trail\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/02\\\/Conservation_-Butter-Gap-Trail-Upper-Black-Mountain-Trail-in-the-Pisgah-Ranger-District.-Photo-by-Pisgah-Paparazzi.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Conservation\",\"Outdoors\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/outdoors\\\/conservation-preservation-and-enhancement-planned-for-pisgahs-beloved-butter-gap-trail\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/outdoors\\\/conservation-preservation-and-enhancement-planned-for-pisgahs-beloved-butter-gap-trail\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/outdoors\\\/conservation-preservation-and-enhancement-planned-for-pisgahs-beloved-butter-gap-trail\\\/\",\"name\":\"Conservation: Preservation and Enhancement Planned for Pisgah\u2019s Beloved Butter Gap Trail - The Laurel of Asheville\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/outdoors\\\/conservation-preservation-and-enhancement-planned-for-pisgahs-beloved-butter-gap-trail\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/outdoors\\\/conservation-preservation-and-enhancement-planned-for-pisgahs-beloved-butter-gap-trail\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/02\\\/Conservation_-Butter-Gap-Trail-Upper-Black-Mountain-Trail-in-the-Pisgah-Ranger-District.-Photo-by-Pisgah-Paparazzi.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-02-27T21:00:41+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/thelaurelofasheville.com\\\/updatestage\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13d76582350fe4093b37d2b69174af00\"},\"description\":\"Butter Gap Trail, a multi-use recreational trail located in the Pisgah Ranger District near Brevard, was initially constructed as a logging trail to remove timber from the area. 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