The Appalachian Voice
Regulation Rundown
Maureen Halsema Public lands fall under a variety of different designations and regulations—enough to make anyone’s head spin. Here’s the rundown on public lands. National Parks vs. National Forests National parks and national forests are both federally managed, but national parks are managed by park rangers from the National Park Service, a unit of the…
Read MoreAppalachian Trail: “A Great Trail from Maine to Georgia!”
Story by Stephen Otis If you were to somehow locate a New York Evening Post, circa 1922, you would read this same headline. Penned by Raymond H. Torrey at the behest of William Welch, director of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, the article dared to imagine, as Benton MacKaye had one year prior, a grand…
Read MoreChasing Copenhagen
By Bill Kovarik So this is the speed of light. We laugh as the solar-powered boat glides silently down the Spree River through the heart of Berlin, Germany. As monumental buildings drift past, our captain, Arno Paulus, points out a series of 64-year-old bullet holes in the stone walls alongside the river. It’s a sobering…
Read MoreDwellbox: Building Blocks for Sustainable Homes
By Jamie Goodman When you drive by the tiny red house on Hill Street near downtown Boone, it looks like any other college-student dwelling— a small, square, structure with an apartment perched atop a one car garage. Upon closer inspection, however—perhaps a casual rap of your knuckles against the siding—you will discover that the structure…
Read MoreDolly Parton: Conserving American Icons
By Joe Tennis “In my Tennesse mountain home, life’s as peaceful as a baby’s sight…crickets sing in fields nearby,” sings Dolly Parton. Parton has come back to her Tennessee mountain home to help celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Parton, 63, who grew up in the foothills…
Read MoreGrandfather Mountain Goes Green…er
Story by Julie Johnson From the famous mile-high bridge, Grandfather Mountain’s 3,300 acres spread across the landscape, their leafy canopy blanketing a wealth of biodiversity nestled in ridges and valleys. In addition to preserving this exceptional landscape, Grandfather Mountain, Inc., is committed to greening all of its man made attractions. From the solar-powered fudge shop…
Read MoreGreat Smoggy Mountains?
Coal-fired Power Threatens to Further Deplete Air Quality Story by Sarah Vig In almost all respects, Great Smoky Mountains (GSM) National Park’s list of attributes reads like a conservationist’s wish list: largest old-growth forest east of the Mississippi, largest spruce fir pine forest, among the most biodiverse ecosystems in North America, most visited national park…
Read MoreThe True Value of State Parks
By Maureen Halsema Today there are over 6,600 state parks covering 14 million acres across the nation. Each year, these parks draw millions of visitors across Appalachia. Tennessee State Parks alone average 25 million annual visitors. North Carolina has about 13.4 million visitors; West Virginia attracts about 7.5 million visitors each year; and Virginia brings…
Read MoreNeighbors Play Role in Parkway’s Prospects
Story by Sarah Vig The Blue Ridge Parkway may be America’s longest national park, measuring out at an impressive 469 miles in length, but it is also its narrowest—the average width of the park’s right-of-way is only 400 feet on either side. In contrast, the viewshed extends more than one mile on either side, more…
Read MoreCelebrating our National Treasures
By Maureen Halsema A distinctive blue mist settles over the Great Smoky Mountains, winding roads criss-cross the rolling hills of southern Appalachia offering unmatched views from the Blue Ridge Parkway, and visions of autumn colors from Shenandoah’s Skyline Drive take visitors’ breath away. Each of these Appalachian parks will be celebrating its 75th anniversary this…
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