Old Growth Timber Sale Proposed Just Outside Blowing Rock, NC

This news release was just sent out by our good friends at Wild South. If you live near Boone and Blowing Rock then READ THIS!

Proposed Cutting and Selling of National Forest, Use of Chemical Poisons, and Daylighting Roads Adjacent to Blowing Rock, N.C.

On June 30, 2006, the U.S. Forest Service released an environmental assessment that calls for the cutting and selling of hundreds of acres of the Pisgah National Forest along Thunderhole Creek and Big Ridge which lie adjacent to the town of Blowing Rock. The area is used by many local residents for hiking, camping, jogging and other outdoor activities.

The Forest Service document identifies the proposal as the Globe Project and locates it eleven miles northwest of Lenoir, North Carolina. “This appears to be intentional,” said Lamar Marshall, editor and publisher of Wild South magazine. “The Forest Service knows that the people of Blowing Rock don’t want to see their National Forest cut down, poisoned and sold to timber companies. They want the Forest left alone in its natural condition. Hikers and joggers don’t want to be in an area where hundreds of acres have been poisoned with triclopyr.”

Triclopyr is a chlorinated hydrocarbon that replaced the banned 2,4,5-T, the deadly ingredient used in Agent Orange. It was originally developed for woody plant control along rights-of-way and on industrial sites. It is also used in forest site preparation. Triclopyr is of low to moderate acute toxicity in mammals. Somewhat persistent, residues can persist in the soil for several years. The Forest Service proposes to use Garlon 3A, a formulation that can cause permanent impairment of vision and other negative impacts to humans.

The primary features of the Globe Project include:
231 acres of two-aged shelterwood cuts that will remove These cuts will remove 80% of the basal area or more.
Build 1.1 miles of roads to harvest trees
Re-open 1.2 miles of old logging roads
Herbicide 231 acres with Garlon 3A which is a triclopyr formulation
Clearcut 2 miles of Frankum Road (Forest Service Road 188) in order to “daylight it.” The cut will be 15 feet wide on each side of the road.
Clearcut 2.4 miles of Thunderhole Road (Forest Service Road 4071 to “daylight” it
Gate off Thunderhole Road just before China Creek
Create log landings and skid roads
Designate 311 acres of old growth
Herbicide invasive alien plants to prevent them from spreading into the new cut-over areas

The environmental assessment states that the Forest Service adequately noticed the public but received only eight comments. The purpose of the action is to produce semi clearcut areas which it describes as “early successional habitat” for wildlife, particularly turkey. Opponents of the proposal contend that there is plenty of cleared land on private property surrounding the public property. Forest users also argue that there are plenty of wild turkey already and that cutting hundreds of acres of National Forest is not justified.

Before the Forest Service can make a final decision on a project that involves ground-disturbing activities such as timber sales, road-building, sanitation thinning, herbiciding invasive aliens, or daylighting roadsides, they are required by law to notify the public and allow them to submit written or oral comments expressing their concerns. The agency then must address the public concerns.

Next, the law requires the Forest Service to consider a “range of alternatives” from which they choose a “preferred alternative.” One alternative is called the “no action” alternative where nothing is done. The Forest Service has already rejected this alternative for the Globe area on the grounds that it wasn’t compatible with their North Carolina Forest Plan.

“The people of Blowing Rock deserve to have a public hearing with the Forest Service present to answer questions about this issue before they make a final decision,” Marshall said. “Blowing Rock is noted for its incredible views of the places the Forest Service wants to ruin by cutting the trees down. Tourism and recreation are not compatible with industrial forestry practices. This has to be stopped.”

What you can do:
Exercise your right to participate in the decision-making process that manages your National Forests.

Contact Joy Malone, District Ranger for the Grandfather District, Pisgah National Forest
Tell her the citizens of Blowing Rock were not sufficiently notified of the Globe Project. Tell her that Blowing Rock is ten miles closer to this project than Lenoir. Why was Blowing Rock left out? Insist that the Forest Service make a public presentation in Blowing Rock before the August 10th deadline or that they extend the deadline for the comment period. The citizens of Blowing Rock have a right to submit their comments.

Joy Malone, District Ranger, Grandfather District, Pisgah National Forest
109 E. Lawing Dr, Nebo, NC 28761-9827

About Matt Wasson

As Appalachian Voices' Director of Programs, Matt has worked on all aspects of the "coal cycle" — from mining, transportation and combustion to the disposal of power plant waste — and is a nationally recognized authority on mountaintop removal coal mining and coal economics. Matt has testified before Congress and appears frequently on expert panels.