What is an easement? 

   - Property owners convey their rights to a government entity, organization, or another individual for creation, maintenance, or use the trail on their property without losing ownership and enjoyment of land. It spells out things such as location or section of the Appalachian Trail, hours of trail, or activties that are allowed or prohibited. 

   - Nonpossessory interest: Limited public recreational activity to a narrower right-of-way, with the landowner still owning and controlling their private land under minimal government and club restriction

Mittlefehldt, Sarah. “The People’s Path: Conflict and Cooperation in the Acquisition of the Appalachian Trail.” Environmental History 15, no. 4 (October 1, 2010): 643–69. https://doi.org/10.1093/envhis/emq087.

Trail Easements : WeConservePA Library

   - An easement was beneficial since conservation was not at the expense of economic production

  - Promotes land use that also preserves the aesthetic of a trail. 

   Cumberland Valley, Pennsylvania was a hotspot of issues regarding property rights that came up in light of Trails Act's new amendment in 1978, which allocated more federal oversight/funding in conjunction to pre-existing community oversight. 

    Encroachment concerns with easements arose among farmers, a set of landowners along the Appalachian Trail in 1978. Cumberland Valley was seen as a scenic part of the trail, thus bureaucrats had interest in buying a piece of farmland for $90 million in efforts to conserve it for hikers. However, farmers did not lose ownership of their land parcel because farming is a form of economic production.