Appalachian State University students and local organizations are working to get approval from landowners for a bike trail on the New River in Todd.

The Sustainable Development Community Outreach (SDCO), formerly known as the Sustainable Development Outreach, is working with the Todd Community Preservation Organization (TCPO), the Todd Ruritan Club, Ashe and Watauga County Parks and Recreation and the Tourism Development Association to build the trail. The organization has also partnered with Appalachian's Sustainable Development Department.

"The goal of this project is to provide a safe venue for families to go and enjoy the scenery of the New River, as well as provide some money for the local economy," said Willard Watson, a senior sustainable development major and SDCO intern.

The project would provide a 30-mile biking and walking trail, winding from Green Valley Elementary School to the old Fleetwood Elementary School.

"There's already a park along the way," Watson said. "We're planning on incorporating a community picnic shelter so people can rest and eat lunch as well. The good thing is that it's not very steep and it isn't very rigorous, because the road it's going next to is an old railway bed."

Supporters say the new trail would provide a safer environment for both bikers and drivers.

"If anyone has ever been over in Todd next to the New River, they know it's a beautiful place to go tubing and walking along the street and go bike riding," Watson said. "The problem is that the road is only one lane wide in some places. It's a really small road and that causes people to get hit by drivers or run off the road."

Currently, the project is still in the early stages of development.

"We haven't been working on it that long," SDCO Assistant Director Tommy Walsh said. "We're just starting to get some things together. It can be a great project for both Watauga and Ashe county."

The TCPO and the Ruritan Club are currently communicating with landowners for permission to build the trail.

"Right now we are in the process of contacting all the landowners there because, how the land laws work, if you have property on the other side of the river, you own that part of the river," Watson said.

If all the landowners give consent, organizers will begin fundraising and encouraging volunteers to assist in the building of the trail, Walsh said.

Anyone interested in volunteering with this project over the summer can contact Watson at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Story: CATHERINE HAITHCOCK, News Reporter