Hooked on saving North Carolina forest
Stewartia in Fires Creek, North Carolina. Photo by Hugh Irwin.
A decade or so ago a friend suggested to me that instead of my normal spring backpack into my favorite north Georgia trout fishing hole that I instead try the Fires Creek watershed in Clay County, North Carolina. I had seen the mountains that make up this magnificent watershed for years as I drove to various spots along the nearby Appalachian Trail for hiking, but knew little about access to the area, or developed trails. I took his word on it, borrowed a map, caught some great fish, and have been hooked on this wild roadless area ever since.
What I soon learned was that the Fires Creek watershed is within the largest inventoried roadless area in the state of North Carolina. Its 13,000 acres, known as the Tusquitee Roadless Area, was once part of a larger 17,000 acre roadless area, but was carved down to its current size by two decades of Forest Service road building and logging. Tusquitee, which in Cherokee means “land where the water dogs laughed,” is located in the Nantahala Mountains in the far southwestern corner of the state, and is a core part of a larger conservation area totaling over 100,000 acres.
The rich cultural and natural landscape of the surrounding area includes 15,000 acres of adjacent National Forest land, the Southern Nantahala Wilderness, the Boteler Peak, Cheoah Bald, and Wesser Bald roadless areas, and other important wildlands. It is in the heart of ancient Cherokee country, and to this day the region remains replete with Cherokee place names and cultural heritage sites.
One of my favorite trails in the area is the 26 mile long Fires Creek Rim Trail, which traverses the unusual horseshoe shaped bowl of mountains, crossing over Tusquitee Bald, which lies at 5,240 feet. It is part of an extensive trail system that is heavily used by hunters, fishers, backpackers, and horseback riders, and which highlights the area’s important recreational values.
Almost all of western North Carolina’s national forests were logged at the turn of the last century, but 4,000 acres of verified old growth forest have been surveyed in the Tusquitee Roadless area. The area is currently managed as a bear sanctuary and as a North Carolina State Heritage Area, and is an important conservation area for neotropical migratory songbirds.
Threats abound with surrounding development on private lands, as well as potential road building and logging projects. With only 178,000 acres of inventoried roadless areas in the 1.1 million acres that make up North Carolina’s Nantahala-Pisgah National Forest, and only 78,000 acres of designated Wilderness, the permanent protection of areas such as Tusquitee is critical. Further highlighting the need for protection is the 2007 Forest Service report, National Forests on the Edge, which ranked the Nantahala-Pisgah fourth in the nation for threats from development on adjacent private land.
photos:
Stewartia in Fires Creek, North Carolina. Photo by Hugh Irwin.
Fires Creek. Photo by Hugh Irwin.
About Brent Martin
Brent Martin has spent most of his adult life working in forest and farmland conservation in the mountains of north Georgia and western North Carolina. Most of this time was spent with Georgia Forestwatch and the Land Trust for the Little... More about Brent Martin
Legacy Comments
Fires Creek
The private landowners at Fires Creek Rim have the right to develop their property. I hear many talk about the Fires Creek Rim Trail and how beautiful it is. It is indeed a beautiful area, however many convieniently leave out the fact that the Fires Creek Trail runs on that private inholding. Why isn't an effort underway to buy the developer out? If the land is priceless as you say it is, then buy the developer out. He is in the business of making money so buy him out. You want someone to give up something that you are not willing to pay for. That is hypocrisy.
Fires creek
The developers at Fires Creek are pushing ahead with plans to develop their property. That is fine with me. The environmentalists are trying to prevent action on a private piece of land which is disturbing. If they are so disturbed about disturbing the natural environement then they should tear down their own homes and move into an apartment complex in the inner city. I doubt they would want to do that, but they sure want others to give up something. This, as JR pointed out, is pure hypocrisy. The developer will sell the Fires Creek property, no doubt, so why isn't Wild South or any of the other radical environmental groups trying to raise money to buy it? The answer rests with the fact that is really does not have anything to do with the property but about controlling the actions of others. Liberals love to do this, and I suspect the condition manifests itself in some abnormal gene that has been allowed to proginate freely with the advent of the nanny state, welfare, and big brother. I hope that developer wins because a win on his part means a win for all of us.
If you ever need a photographer
I would like to help out. If you ever need a photographer, I would be more than willing to help.
Jamie Starling
www.starlingphotography.net
is there a petition for this
is there a petition for this
Simply put: What will we do
Simply put: What will we do after all forests have been destroyed?
Methyl Iodide spill
Ravaging the environment chemical spills and cover-ups need to stop:
CEO testified that there had been no problems transporting this chemical, that was a lie. This chemical can NOT be transported safely !
http://scorecard.org/chemical-profiles/summary.tcl?edf_substance_id=74-88-4
(I know this is not your state but I need help to research what the effects of these spills have had on the environment.)
States with Reported Total Environmental Releases
Ranked by (select your ranking criteria)
Rank State Name Pounds Spilled
1. SOUTH CAROLINA 50,424
2. TENNESSEE 17,979
3. TEXAS 9,135
4. OKLAHOMA 1,500
5. GEORGIA 340
6. OHIO 255
7. INDIANA 20
8. ARKANSAS 1
Human Health Hazards
Hazard Rankings
Chemical Use Profile
Rank Chemicals by Reported Environmental Releases in the United States
Regulatory Coverage
Basic Testing to Identify Chemical Hazards
Information Needed for Safety Assessment
Human Health Hazards
Health Hazard Reference(s)
Recognized: Carcinogen P65
Suspected: Kidney Toxicant EPA-HEN
Neurotoxicant DAN EPA-HEN EPA-SARA HAZMAP
Respiratory Toxicant EPA-HEN
Skin or Sense Organ Toxicant EPA-HEN HAZMAP
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Hazard Rankings
More hazardous than most chemicals in 7 out of 9 ranking systems.
Ranked as one of the most hazardous compounds (worst 10%) to ecosystems and human health.
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Chemical Use Profile
No data on industrial or consumer use in Scorecard.
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Rank Chemicals by Reported Environmental Releases in the United States
For a list of the geographic areas, facilities, or industrial sectors which report the largest releases or transfers of this chemical to the Toxics Release Inventory, select what you want:
Rank States
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Regulatory Coverage
On at least 6 federal regulatory lists.
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Basic Testing to Identify Chemical Hazards
Information on whether basic tests to identify chemical hazards have been conducted on this chemical is not available in US EPA's 1998 hazard data availability study.
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Information Needed for Safety Assessment
Lacks at least some of the data required for safety assessment.
See risk assessment data for this chemical from U.S. EPA or Scorecard.
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Links
Additional information about this chemical may be available elsewhere in Scorecard.
Other web sites specific to this chemical:
CalEPA Air Resources Board Toxic Air Contaminant Summary
EPA Health Effects Notebook for Hazardous Air Pollutants
EPA Integrated Risk Information System Report
IPCS International Chemical Safety Card
International Toxicity Estimates for Risk (ITER) from Toxicology Excellence for Risk Assessment
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards
New Jersey Fact Sheet
New Jersey Hoja Informativa sobre Substancias Peligrosas
If none of these sources meet your needs, you can try searching some other chemical database Web sites.
Who and what can we do? I'd
Who and what can we do? I'd like to help but how? If write here it will liste to somebody, don't think so. It has to be another and peacefull way but we have to find people who arent rich and prud !!! I dont need to hide my name I'm to old and ill so what can they do to me.............