Conclusions and Recommendations The areas highlighted on this website have been identified as wild places that merit protection by the Forest Service. Some of these areas should eventually be designated by Congress as wilderness areas or as extensions to existing wilderness. Others may be suitable for inclusion in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Still others may be best managed administratively as scenic areas or in management areas which give reasonable assurance of long-term protection. To become involved, write to the Forest Supervisor and ask to receive information about the plan. Involvement in the forest planning process is encouraged not only for private citizens but for business groups, local governments, conservation organizations, state agencies and others who care about how the national forests are managed and how that management affects the quality of life in the Southern Appalachians. For areas that are open to logging, citizens can ask the Forest Service to inform them of any proposed activities that would change the natural character of the area. It is extremely important that interested people take advantage of public comment opportunities to make their concerns known. In certain cases, individual citizens of groups may decide to bring administrative appeals to protest proposed timber sales and roads in these wildlands. If these efforts fail, as a very last resort, citizens can go to federal court to halt projects. Because of the great public value of wildlands and the possible irreversible damage from road building and intensive logging, the Forest Service should carefully study and consider any proposals to develop wild areas. In recent years, courts have held that the Forest Service must prepare Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) with full public involvement before approving timber sales and roads in roadless areas. Indeed, in recently issued rules under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Forest Service recognizes and requires that an EIS is needed for "proposals that would substantially alter the undeveloped character of an inventoried roadless area of 5,000 acres or more." (Forest Service Handbook 1909.15, Section 20.6(3).) On the Nantahala National Forest, the Forest Service has already completed on EIS (1990) for a timber sale in the Cheoah Bald area. There are many reasons to protect these wild areas in the Nantahala-Pisgah. It has been mentioned that protecting these areas will enhance biological diversity, watershed protection and opportunities for backcountry recreation. It will also perpetuate habitats for many species of native plants and animals and provide types of high-quality recreation that are in short supply on private lands. And, since several of the areas link together to form natural wildlife corridors and sizeable blocks of contiguous forest, their combined protection will reduce forest fragmentation. Many of these wildlands are connected and can be grouped into clusters. The long-term viability of some regionally rare species may be dependent of having large blocks of older forest habitat. Forest interior songbirds, some small mammals, and several types of wildflowers need old forest conditions. Salamanders and other creatures adapted to the forest floor also thrive in undisturbed woodlands. The linking of wild areas may also be important for the successful migration and healthy genetic transfer of native species, which can enhance adaptability and improve chances for survival over the long term. Some of these areas have been impacted to various degrees by logging and road building. However, if they are allowed to recover, they will eventually acquire more old-growth qualities. In some instances, even recently logged lands should be protected now so that they can, at a point in the future, obtain old growth characteristics and contribute to the overall ecological integrity of the wild area. By safeguarding the natural beauty and recreational opportunities of thes land, the Forest Service will enhance the attractiveness of the Nantahala-Pisgah forests. These popular public lands serve as a magnet for the region's growing tourist industry and help draw businesses and individuals seeking a quality living environment. Wild areas and the natural environment are important to the region's future. The Forest Service itself noted: "The economy of the area is changing from agriculture and primary industry to one which is more service-related. Many newcomers to the area are retirees. There is less employment in wood product industries than in the past and more employment in government, service, and retail trade sectors of the economy, especially those related to tourism." Caring for the Ecosystem These wildlands, totaling about 323,000 acres, cover approximately 32 percent of the million-acre Nantahala and Pisgah national forests. About 198,000 acres (61%) of these 323,000 acres are already out of the suitable timber base under the Forest Service's draft plan. So this proposal will involve new protection for roughly 125,000 acres, or 12.5 percent of the Nantahala and Pisgah national forests. Consisting of steep and remote lands, often at high elevations and on erosive soils, most of the acreage in these areas is either not physically or economically suitable for timber management. Indeed, the costs to the federal government of managing these lands for timber, including the expense of logging road construction, often exceed the revenues received by the U.S. Treasury from sales on these lands. There are other national forest lands, rather than these wildlands, that are better suited to timber management- those lands that are roaded, more productive, less important ecologically and have less potential for old-growth wildlife habitat, backcountry recreation and wilderness. Therefore, there would continue to be an opportunity for a sustainable and environmentally-sound timber program on the Nantahala and Pisgah national forests. Moreover, Forest Service reports show that only 10 percent of the timber removed annually in the Southern Appalachian region comes from national forests. The bottom-line is that the protection of these wildlands would have a very minor effect on timber supply and little, if any, impact on timber-related jobs. Decisions we make today can have long-term effets n the economic climate and livability of the Southern Appalachians. The quality of life in the region is dependent on how we care for this ecosystem. Protecting these thirty-five areas is an important step in the right direction.

Home   ::   Why Protect Wild Areas?   ::   Our Ecosystem   ::   Threats to the Landscape Comments & Suggestions   ::   Old Growth Forests   ::   Links & Information   ::   How You Can Help Introduction   ::   Acknowledgements   ::   About This Project   ::   Wildland Profiles Nantahala National Forest Conservation Areas Blue Ridge Escarpment Highlands Area   ::   Nantahala Mountains   ::   Unicoi Mountains Pisgah National Forest Conservation Areas Black Mountains   ::   Highlands of Roan/Unaka Mountains Linville/Grandfather Mountain   ::   Balsam Mountains   ::   Bald Mountains