The mountains of the Southern Blue Ridge are among the oldest in the world. The telltale signs are all around: worn and weathered granite, the bedrock of a range that was once taller than the Himalayas; the ancient New River, the oldest in North America; high-elevation stands of spruce and fir, open heaths and grassy balds—tundra relics from the Ice Ages. And with the slow drip of time in these dark hollows and green coves of eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina, an astounding variety of life took hold.

Its mixed-hardwood and conifer forests—the most diverse in the temperate world—harbor hundreds of species, from salamanders to carnivorous pitcher plants, found nowhere else on the planet. One is never far from the sound of running water here, and the silvery runs of waterfalls give way to streams and rivers and their rich abundance of rare fish, mussels and crayfish.

Anchored by the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Cherokee and Nantahala-Pisgah national forests, the Southern Blue Ridge remains the most heavily forested part of the Southeast, a region that has experienced widespread forest conversion to industrial tree farms, agriculture and development. At 3.7 million acres, these wildlands are the largest concentration of public lands in the eastern United States. But suburban sprawl, second-home development, timber harvests and a rapidly warming climate are chipping away at this stronghold of Appalachian wilderness.

The Wilderness Society has been at work in the Southern Blue Ridge for decades. Through our publication North Carolina’s Mountain Treasures (1992; updated 2010), which describes seven pristine wild areas in need of increased protective designations, we have built widespread public support for conservation and laid the foundation for several successful wilderness campaigns. But although we helped protect 178,000 acres of roadless areas in 2009 with the reinstatement of the federal “Roadless Rule,” almost 300,000 acres of high-priority conservation lands remain at risk.

Southeast Region Campaigns

The Wilderness Society is taking a multifaceted approach to secure protection of roadless lands and ecologically important areas in the Cherokee and Nantahala-Pisgah National Forests. Pristine forests spread across these regions are becoming increasingly threatened by suburban development and climate change. As the effects of climate change become evident, the protection of these forests is even more critical – as they will provide wildlife with the space needed to migrate and adapt to a warming environment, and serve as huge carbon sinks that sequester greenhouse gases. The Wilderness Society is working at the landscape level –with regional and grassroots organizations as well as advocating for federal legislation regarding this region - to protect high quality public and private lands, which provide a wide range of ecosystem benefits to local communities.

The national forests of the Southern Appalachians are beloved by state residents and within a day’s drive of 1/3 of the nation’s population, who together utilize the forests in many ways, including hunting, fishing and recreation. The popularity of forest destinations has led to adjacent development with the potential for fragmentation. Between 1990 and 2000, the southeast region experienced the highest rate of increase in urban land compared to any other region in the United States. Forest fragmentation and sustainability are among the highest risks of urbanization aside from deforestation. Of the fifteen most threatened watersheds in the nation, nine of them are located in the Southeast – mostly due to this aforementioned increase in development. The Wilderness Society works with local residents towards strategic and intentional development, utilizing the striking landscape that has attracted visitors from near and far for centuries.

Read more about our campaigns in:

• Cherokee National Forest
• Nantahala-Pisgah National Forest
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park