For more than 30 years hikers, cyclists and other recreational users have enjoyed a 14.5km network of forested trails in Lake Crabtree County Park, Wake County, North Carolina, USA. The trails are located on land managed by Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority (RDUAA) and leased to Wake County Parks and Recreation which manages and maintains the trails in partnership with Triangle Off-Road Cyclists (TORC), a non-profit organisation. Concerns that RDUAA might consider developing the land were heightened in 2014 when RDUAA commissioned a report on revenue generating possibilities for 809 hectares of land, including the park, which it manages but cannot utilise for aeronautical purposes. In June 2016 a 25-year land-use concept plan for RDUAA’s surrounding property was unveiled and park users were disappointed to see an office park and luxury hotels on land occupied by the trails. Dozens joined a rally opposing the plan and cyclists protested outside the airport CEO’s speech to the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Raleigh-Durham Airport published a Request For Information (RFI)  Lake Crabtree Park Development, for potential developers interested in leasing and developing a portion of its real estate, in July 2024. The RFI includes a map (above) showing the property in Lake County Park available for lease. The goals are stated as follows:

The Authority seeks to:
a. Create a unique and innovative entertainment destination which will be
appealing to the greater Triangle Region and may include community
assets such as food and beverage, retail, hospitality / boutique hotel,
recreational facilities, etc.
b. Develop in a manner consistent and appropriate with the natural
surroundings of the site
c. Ensure recreational users are considered in the development
d. Increase non-aeronautical revenue to the Authority

In January 2025 the possible threat to the Lake Crabtree County Park trails became imminent as notes were published for a meeting of the RDUAA Board to hear public comments on a proposal to lease 55 hectares (136 acres) within the park for commercial development, with one of the main goals being ‘to increase non-aeronautical revenue to the Authority’. TORC emphasised government responsibility for the airport lands, pointing out that RDUAA is governed by a Board comprising members from Wake County, Durham County and the cities of Raleigh and Durham. The map, shown above, reveals that most of the trails in the park are within the proposed development area.

RDUAA stated intentions to ‘develop in a manner consistent and appropriate with the natural surroundings of the site’, compatibility with established park uses and consideration of recreational users in the plans. TORC spokesperson Dave Anderson questioned these statements, saying, ‘We’re going to take three-quarters of the forest and develop something there. It’s not known that that’s going to be…but that kind of development is going to just fundamentally change what it is right now. It’s incredibly effective right now as forested outdoor recreation.” Public documents described plans for ‘a unique and innovative entertainment destination’ that might contain hotels, restaurants, shopping and recreational facilities. Anderson and other TORC leaders said there were already many similar mixed-use commercial centres nearby.

The 29^th January 2025 RDUAA public comment session on potential development of Lake Crabtree County Park was packed with people with more lined up outside. Hundreds of people attended the meeting which lasted for over two hours as more than 100 had signed up to give public comment. Many of the speakers emphasised that the trails are unique to the area. RDUAA Board Members said the authority recognised the park as a community asset which the authority would not diminish, but park users at the meeting were sceptical and called for the trails to be maintained and enhanced. Researcher Natalie Lew said, “This is the heart of the community because this has been planned since the 50’s and then RDUA wants to just swoop in and take it away.” Jennifer Shetler of the TUFF Run Club group of trail and long-distance runners, read out a poem reading in part, “We do not need another store. We have restaurants and shops galore. Why trade the trails for steel and glass. These forests must be left to last.”

The Umstead Coalition, working to preserve Umstead State Park which is located immediately north of Crabtree Lake County Park and also contains many forested hiking and cycling trails, launched a letter writing campaign: Protect Lake Crabtree County Park – Demand Transparency and Inclusion of the Public with Non-Aeronautic Lands Under RDU Airport Authority. A template letter recommended rejection of the current proposals, negotiation of lease renewal, consideration of a full master plan for all lands not used for aeronautical purposes and for Wake County to purchase the lands. By 12^th February more than 18,000 letters had been sent.

For more information about the campaign to preserve Lake Crabtree County Park’s forested hiking and biking trails, including references for all source material, see the case study on EJAtlas, the world’s largest, most comprehensive online database of social conflict around environmental issues – Entertainment Complex Development in Lake Crabtree County Park, NC, USA