The Old Dominion Appalachian Trail Club (ODATC) is an organization of individuals and trail-related organizations who meet to recreate in the outdoors in various ways as well as act as stewards of a portion of the Appalachian Trail and the public lands it runs through. Our recreational endeavors focus on hiking in Virginia but includes biking, paddling and touring as well. While the majority of our events occur in Virginia our only true limits are what members wish to limit themselves to.
NEWS FLASH: Annual ODATC Club Night on May 8. Don't Miss it! See Events Calendar for details.
New Website Feature: Water availability on ODATC Section of AT. Click on "Stay Informed" or Drop Down Bar on right. Look for ODATC Water Board.
Upcoming events
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THE ODATC EXPERIENCE - CURRENT ISSUES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Majors, Chisholm and Bondurant: A dispatch from the path of the Mountain Valley Pipeline The Following article was printed in the Roanoke Times on March 14, 2018 By Lynda Majors, Russell Chisholm and Roberta Bondurant The photo above shows the path that workers for the Mountain Valley Pipeline have cut across Brush Mountain in Montgomery County. Courtesy of Lynda Majors The writers serve on the Executive Committee of Protect Our Water, Heritage Rights, a coalition of nonprofits from Virginia opposing the Mountain Valley Pipeline. Gov. Ralph Northam and Secretary of Natural Resources Matt Strickler: The abuses of federal eminent domain for private pipeline profit coupled with “environmental mitigation” schemes set frightening precedent for our commonwealth and nation. Since the Mountain Valley Pipeline appeared in 2014, Virginia state and federal courts have avoided decisions against the gas industry, including the question of “public need,” rationalizing it as administratively determined by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Public Need Former FERC Chiefs Norman Bay and Cheryl LaFleur highlighted in their respective dissents on pipelines including MVP that in fact, no federal agency has undertaken a true “programmatic” needs assessment that considers infrastructure, gas supply, demand and alternatives to the proposed project. FERC and aligned agencies refused such a study for the Appalachian region, although they’ve used them in other regions for 15-20 years. With Roanoke Gas claiming a mere .5 percent interest in MVP gas, mounting evidence indicates it’s destined for LNG export facilities. Read More |
| ODATCers Hike Tennessee by Lisa Bagby In 2017, four of our own ODATC members, took off for Tennessee to experience the Appalachian Trail as it meanders through the beautiful mountains of Tennessee. Read of their adventure and experience the beauty, vicariously, of this majestic region. Read More. |