The "Needles" section of the Potomac and the Shenandoah "Staircase" are two of the most popular Class II-III summer runs runs for Mid-States paddlers. This narrow valley also contains several major railroad and highway crossings along with the historic town of Harper's Ferry. Beginning in the summer of 2010 paddlers began to see many of the best put-ins and take-outs around Harpers Ferry bought up, or blocked or severely restricted by The National Park Service and local law enforcement. That has made other access areas overcrowded and impacted local residents. Harpers Ferry is becoming a bigger magnet for tourists, fishermen, hikers, bicyclists, tubers and rafters in addition to paddlers. We’re glad to share the fun, but we want our interests to be balanced with other users when decisions are made.
Eleven paddlers and leaders of the Mason Dixon and Monocacy clubs, and Harpers Ferry Outdoor Festival, Inc. had a very productive meeting a few weeks ago with Rebecca Harriett, the superintendant of Harpers Ferry National Historic Park, and Kevin Brandt, the superintendent of C&O Canal National Historic Park. We asked for the meeting to begin building a relationship with the park leadership so that paddlers can be “in the room” when decisions are made.
One of the challenges at Harpers Ferry is that jurisdictional authority is split many ways. There are two national parks (Harpers Ferry and C&O Canal), three states, plus county and town governments. However, in initial phone conversations and at last night’s meeting we have been impressed that Superintendant Harriett makes it her business to keep tabs and exercise input on a very wide range of activity by the other jurisdictions. We take this as a positive signal that working closely with Harpers Ferry park will help even when issues technically might fall under one of the other jurisdictions.
We received commitments to look into better utilization of the public road between Bakerton, now a private put-in, and Dam 3 (Needles run); and improved access at the upper 340 bridge by possibly allowing paddlers to unload, then park at the nearby visitor center and catch a shuttle bus back to the put-in (Shenandoah bridge-to-bridge run). There seems like some possibility of allowing playboaters to put-in at the upper bridge, then take out at the confluence and walk back; the park’s policy has been that river users walking through town erodes the character of the historic town. Finally, we discussed an additional put-in location on the Maryland side of Needles, upriver from Lock 34, although it does not appear to be usable in its current condition. We also discussed further collaboration between paddling organizations and the parks to educate the public and reduce littering.
We have started an open forum on the Mason Dixon message board so paddlers can “sound off” on issues that impact Harpers Ferry river access. Please check it out and make your voice heard. There is a simple registration step but the board is open to members and non-members. Let us know what you think is the most important issue, or just write a note about what makes Harpers Ferry special to you. Maybe you know about a river access situation elsewhere that was successfully resolved. Whether you paddle the waters near Harpers Ferry frequently or only occasionally, your input is welcome and will help us keep up the momentum for solutions.
http://www.masondixoncanoeclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1270
Thanks!
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