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She said the trail is a beautiful escape to a peaceful, rural environment — but easily accessible from her suburban neighborhood.

"I see deer, and there's lots of friendly people, too," she said. "I love it."

So far, 32 miles of the 47-mile trail are completed, and the Montour Trail Council hopes to fill in the blanks within a few years.

But a budget crunch in Harrisburg — expected to approach $1 billion by the end of the fiscal year — is leading to cuts in state programs that help fund trail development. Gov. Mark Schweiker has frozen almost $150 million in state funds, including $50 million in Growing Greener funds for this fiscal year, and has proposed freezing another $50 million for next year.

While the deferral of funds for Growing Greener — a program introduced in 1999 to distribute $650 million over five years to grass-roots environmental projects — might hurt trail development, proposed changes to the Keystone Fund are of much greater concern to trail groups.

The Keystone Fund began in 1993 with almost unanimous support among legislators as a permanent source of dedicated funds for nature preserves, wildlife habitats and public recreation projects and facilities.

The Keystone Fund gets its assets from a 15 percent allocation from the state's realty transfer tax revenues.

If accepted, Schweiker's budget proposal would reduce that portion to 7.5 percent for two years and divert the other half to the state's general fund.

The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources distributes Growing Greener and Keystone funds to trail groups throughout the state — $400,000 and $1.5 million, respectively, this year.

The decision on halving the Keystone funding and freezing some of next year's Growing Greener money will be made in the budget approval process, which must be completed by June 30.

Department spokeswoman Gretchen Leslie said it is too soon to say how the proposed cuts would affect funding for trails, although programs other than trails will be harder hit by the cuts.

But trail supporters are leery.

Andrew Loza, executive director of the Pennsylvania Land Trust Association, said the Keystone Fund has awarded almost $7 million for about 500 miles in trails since 1993.

Loza said cuts in state programs would be amplified because the state grants are used as matching funds to secure federal money.

"The trail organizations around the state are typically shoestring organizations. They maximize and leverage every dollar," he said.

Linda McKenna Boxx, president of the Allegheny Trail Alliance, a coalition of seven trail organizations, said the Keystone Fund is "absolutely critical." Without Keystone, small communities would not be able to come up with matching funds for federal grants, she said.

"Trail building will come to a screeching halt," she said.

Dennis Pfeiffer, vice president of the Montour Trail Council, said Keystone grants have been vital to the development of the trail.

"It is an important funding source for us," he said. "(Cutting the program) would really put a damper on efforts like we're trying to do."

Schweiker spokesman Steve Aaron said the governor is trying to deal with mounting shortfalls without raising taxes, laying off workers or making drastic cuts to state programs.

Loza criticized the proposed Keystone cut as shortsighted.

"The Keystone Fund was established very consciously to be a dedicated source of funding for recreation, parks and conservation programs at all times — good economic times and bad economic times," he said. "If the governor and Legislature would amend this act, that whole principle goes out the window."

But not everyone is anxious to be next to a trail.

Attorney W.C. Smith represents a half dozen clients in Butler and Armstrong counties who don't want former railroad rights of way on their properties used as trails. He said the issue is basically one of property rights, since railroads that formerly used the land were granted easements for that purpose only.

"They object to people stealing their land," he said. "They want their privacy. They don't want a trail running through their yard. They don't want to be disturbed."

"(Trails) create a means of access that wasn't there before," Smith said. "There's been an awful lot of increase in theft and property where these have gone through" and numerous instances of violent crimes on trails, he said.

"The enthusiasm of the trail people, so they can use the trail for their personal use, has made them disregard the rights of property," Smith said.

Bob McKinley of the Allegheny Trail Alliance said fears that trails bring crime are unfounded.

"Almost every time (a trail is proposed), there are people who are concerned about change. They fear crime," he said. "It just doesn't happen. It's a safe place to be."

Bruce Barron of the Montour Trail Council said several local police departments have started bike patrols of the trail, and even people who initially object to the trail usually come to see its value.

Gina Brownfield, whose Bethel Park home abuts the Montour Trail, said some neighbors worry that the trail could increase crime, but most consider it a great asset.

She said she and her three sons use the trail almost every day, and crime is not a big concern.

"I talk to people in this neighborhood, and when I tell them where we live on this road, they think we're lucky to be so close," Brownfield said.

Peters Township Manager Mike Sylvestri said worries about crime were common when the Arrowhead Trail through the township was begun 15 years ago.

"Since it started developing, people realized that it policed it self. We've had a few incidents, but nothing major," he said.

Trail groups have successfully fought many anti-trail law suits partly because they have "railbanking" agreements with the railroad companies that own the right-of-way.

These agreements, as defined by the National Trails System Act of 1983, allow trail groups to use the corridor until a railroad might need it again for rail service. Because the railbanked corridor is not considered abandoned, it can be sold, leased or donated to a trail group without the land reverting to adjacent property owners.

Railbanking is quite common. The Youghiogheny River Trail, for example, is 100 percent railbanked.

McKinley said that despite some objectors, local trail groups are moving forward, and continued funding for the projects is important to quality of life and economic growth.

"I think we (in Pennsylvania) have more projects on the ground and going than any other state in the country. Western Pennsylvania has always been the hotbed," he said. "We've done such a great thing with trails. We provide so much recreation for so little dollars."

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