Groups agree on recommendation for forest plan
A collection of environmental and recreation-oriented groups has come out with a recommendation for two new recreations areas to be included the U.S. Forest Service forest management plan that’s currently being developed for the Pisgah and Nantahala national forests.
“It is an honor for us to endorse this memorandum of understanding, which supports the creation of special places and highlights the importance of the enjoyment of public lands both in front country and backcountry,” said Tom Thomas, president of Back Country Horsemen of North Carolina and member of the Conservation and Recreation Coalition for the Nantahala-Pisgah National Forests.
The proposal includes:
• A 116,000-acre Pisgah National Recreation Area covering the mountains west of the Blue Ridge Parkway from Brevard up north to Big Creek. Popular spots included in this proposed recreation area include Mount Pisgah, Looking Glass Falls, Shining Rock Wilderness Area and Graveyard Fields. National Recreation Areas are protected from resource extraction but allow a variety of recreation opportunities.
• A 57,000-acre Grandfather National Recreation Area beginning west of the Linville Gorge Wilderness Area and ending just south of the Grandfather Mountain State Park.
• Wilderness designation for 110,000 acres, which would allow non-motorized recreation but prevent use by mountain bikers and ATV drivers, as well as some management techniques such as logging and prescribed fire.
Signatories of the proposal are applauding it as a rare coming-together for more than 30 outdoor groups representing diverse interests.
The proposal for a National Recreation Area is being criticized by some stakeholders in the forest planning process, however. Wilderness purists on one end of the spectrum don’t support the horse trading that went on with the mountain bike community, and feel too much access to mountain bikers was sacrificed in the compromise. On the other end of the spectrum, the hunting community and timber interests don’t support any national forest designation — wilderness or national recreation area — that would limit forest management practices.
The recommendation is online at www.ncmountaintreasures.org/conservation-and-recreation-memorandum-of-understanding. Send comments to the Forest Service by Dec. 15 at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or mail to the United States Forest Service Supervisor’s Office, 160 Zillicoa St, Suite A, Asheville, N.C. 28801.
