Index of Conservation Issues:

Great Smoky Mountains National Park
National Forests, Roadless Areas
Energy Policy
Air Quality
DuPont State Forest
Gorges State Park

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

1.     North Shore Road:
        This old threat to the Park has arisen again, a proposed road along the north shore of Lake Fontana.  Former Congressman Taylor got $16 million appropriated in 2000 for the start of the environmental study process necessary under the National Environmental Policy Act.  In 2002 a new citizens group  formed in Swain County calling for a cash settlement in lieu of a road.  In February 2006 the Park Service issued its Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS).  See a summary of the DEIS,  and some history.   The Park Service has finally issued its Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) recommending the payment to Swain County to satisfy the old obligations and reimburse them for the old road flooded by the Lake.  Congressman Heath Shuler, elected in 2006 and reelected in 2008, is pressing hard to bring the needed negotiations to a close and finally obtain, by congressional appropriations, the settlement money for Swain County.

2.       Cades Cove Management Plan
        The Park is concerned about the tremendous traffic jams and congestion in Cades Cove and is working on a new management plan to improve the situation.  Sierra Club  favors some form of mass transit, shuttle bus system or the like.

3.        Elkmont "Historic" Site in Tennessee
        Formerly a lumber camp when the Park was established, the old buildings, including a hotel, were leased to certain individuals, mostly from Knoxville, until just a few years ago.  These people are attached to their summer places and have gotten the site put on the National Historic Register.  The Park General Management Plan calls for razing and restoring the area to its native state.  Restoration of the buildings would be very expensive.  Sierra Club favors tearing down the decrepit structures and restoring the land.
        A Draft Environmental Impact Statement was issued in early 2006, with the Preferred Alternative being the retention of a number of buildings as historical objects, and renovation of one to serve as a visitor center and interpretive display.

National Forests
        Sierra Club's, (along with many other environmental organizations), vision for our national forests is that they should be fully functioning forest ecosystems characteristic of the great forests that existed prior to European settlement, not tree farms or Disneyland recreation/amusement areas.  Any activity in the national forests, extractive, recreational, or commercial, should be subordinate to this vision.
        The forests provide "free ecosystem services" on which our market economy places, inaccurately, no monetary value:  cheap clean water, oxygen, air filtration (dust and pollutants), soil formation, and habitat for an enormous diversity of living organisms, many of which we know practically nothing but which are irreplaceable pieces of the web of life that sustains us.  Perhaps more important to those of us who love the forests, these are places that renew our souls and give us the spiritual lift that comes from feeling a connection with creation, or with beauty, or wildness, however one might express the idea.

Realizing the forest vision requires efforts in a number of directions, some of which are:
(Click on links for more details on issues.)

          fire and the national forests

reforming the US Forest Service and the laws that govern their activities,
    The Bush II Administration is intent on undoing the gains of the past twelve years, using the avenue of Rules changes, which do not require Congressional approval.  Current (Jan. 5, 2005) changes in the NFMA Rules weaken protection for Threatened, Endangered and Sensitive species, but even more importantly, limit citizen involvement, in general making it easier to log.  The latest changes call for elimination of the need for an Environmental Impact Statement when redoing the Land and Resource Management Plans (LRMP).  This would make the LRMP almost entirely independent of public input in guiding Forest Service activities on a national forest.  For a detailed analysis by Wildlaw see http://www.wildlaw.org/NFMA-Regs-White-Paper.htm  Other detailed analysis of rule changes:  http://www.americanlands.org/documents/1105739275_NFMA_FINALREGS.pdf

In early 2007 a federal judge overturned the proposed Bush rules, but the decision was appealed 4/9/07 to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

           Roadless Areas,

ROADLESS AREAS RULE GUTTED BY BUSH/NOW REINSTATED BY A FEDERAL JUDGE

One of the most popular conservation policies in American history was
dealt a crippling blow on Dec. 22, 2005 with the Bush administration's decision to
abandon the landmark Roadless Area Conservation Rule. The Bush
administration has proposed a convoluted process that will leave
America's last wild forests open to destructive commercial logging and
road building. This controversial decision forces Governors to petition
the Department of Agriculture to protect their wild, roadless National
Forests.  North Carolina's governor Easley has submitted the required petition.
Details still need to be worked out.

Already, 440,000 miles of roads are carved into America's National
Forests. The popular Roadless Rule helped protect our remaining
wild forests and the clean water, wildlife habitat and outstanding
backcountry recreation opportunities from more taxpayer-subsidized
commercial logging. The Roadless Rule was developed over three years of
public hearings and scientific analysis. To date more than 2 million
Americans have commented on the original rule, with 95 percent
supporting the strongest wild forests protections.

This policy change is the Bush administration's latest effort to reduce
or eliminate decades of National Forest protection and increase spending
to benefit timber companies.

The latest in this saga is a new court ruling in fall 2006 which essentially reinstated
the Clinton Rule, thus throwing confusion into the state petition process.  

Roadless Area Conservation Rule Background

The Roadless Rule, designed to protect 58.5 million acres of roadless
wild forests in 39 states, was the result of the most extensive public
comment process in history, spanning three years and 600 public
meetings. During the rulemaking, the Clinton administration received a
record-breaking one million public comments in support of protecting
wild forests. By January 2004, the Forest Service has received more than
2.5 million comments from the American people, 95 percent of which favor
the strongest protections for these wild forests. From the day President
Bush entered the White House, his administration's intentions have been
clear: blocking the Roadless Rule was one of the new administration's
first decisions, followed shortly by refusal to defend the rule in
court, and finally on December 22, 2005, the issuance of the new Rule.

For more information visit www.sierraclub.org/forests or
www.sierraclub.org/ecoregions/sahe

            protecting existing Old Growth forest, and allowing more forest to become old growth,

            protecting rare and endangered species,

            designating more Wilderness Areas

            designating more National Wild and Scenic Rivers
                       (Mills River, Nolichucky River,  Snowbird Creek)

            eliminating air pollution now killing forests, especially the high elevation spruce/fir forests,

           ending commercial logging on public lands,

           educating the public and Congress on the real values of national forests.

National Energy Policy:

RIP VAN WINKLE IN REVERSE

Why do we get this odd feeling that the clock has been turned back 30 years?  Whatever happened to the first Earth Day?  And have we forgotten the Arab oil embargo of the '70's?  Or the Persian Gulf War?  We are a nation with 5% of the world's population, using 25% of its natural resources.  If there were ever a time in history when a complete change in national energy policy was essential, this is it.  Not only are environmental issues involved (think Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Rocky Mountain front coalbed methane hydrofracturing, global climate change), but also our national security (think of our military involvement in the Middle East, the economic disruptions due to oil cost increases, and the frantic seeking for food and water supplies by people suffering major changes in rainfall and crop-growing conditions due to climate change).

The quote below cannot be topped for arrogance and ignorance.

Here is another, more recent quote from a new Bush appointee,
 

"The biggest challenge is going to be how to best utilize taxpayer dollars to the benefit of industry, in my  opinion." Mike Smith, Assistant Secretary for fossil fuels,  US Department of Energy, speaking to the  Independent Oil and Gas Association of West Virginia,  as reported by the Charleston Gazette on Jan. 31, 2002.

and here we have been thinking all these years that taxpayer dollars were for the benefit of taxpayers!  The fact that a high government appointee would say this so openly indicates not only that the Bush Administration is heavily tilted toward business, but believes that this is completely right and proper.

More on energy

Air Quality in North Carolina:

    Increasingly, Western North Carolina is experiencing poor air quality, even in the mountains.  While much of the pollution drifts in with the prevailing winds from the Ohio Valley, much of it is generated locally by our own power plants and automobiles and trucks.  Unhealthy ozone days are on the increase.   While North Carolina recently has strengthened its clean air laws, the EPA is now proposing new rules that would exempt plants previously grandfathered from compliance with the Clean Air Act.  More, including links to webcam views of Shining Rock Wilderness, Mt. Mitchell, and the Great Smokies.

     The State's newest State Forest with its major waterfalls and big lake is rapidly becoming a major attraction to locals and visitors alike.  A master plan for recreation is now being developed.  The alternatives so far developed may be seen on the DuPont Forest website, www.Dupontforest.com.
    Trail and signage work, as well as fund-raising are being carried out by The Friends of DuPont State Forest and a large group of volunteers.   More.

    Park development work is ongoing, with a road system expected to be open in winter of 2008.  A Visitor Center and family camping area will come later.

More information.

More Conservation, NC Sierra Club Chapter Main Page

back to Pisgah Outings Page

back to Pisgah Main Page