Amid Pisgah logging plans post-Helene, Forest Service shuts out public
In early April, a U.S. Forest Service office in East Tennessee’s Cherokee National Forest issued a memo inviting the public to weigh in on its recovery operations in the wake of Tropical Storm Helene. The storm had felled trees across tens of thousands of acres of the forest, the agency said, and those trees posed the risk of fueling wildfires.
Wildfire season is here. Helene and DOGE could make it worse.
Limited resources and tricky topography already pose challenges. Now those problems have been exacerbated.
When Chris and Sara Evensen bought their home off Elk Mountain Scenic Highway in 2018, they felt like they’d hit the natural beauty jackpot: a nice home on two acres, ensconced in a gorgeous hardwood forest.