Events Roundup

We had an incredible small group of volunteers join us this month for our annual wildflower walk and garlic mustard pull! Four volunteers worked with Resilient Forests Director Josh Kelly to pull 89 pounds of invasive garlic mustard, then hiked two miles back to the parking area with their very full trash bags. Thank you to these amazing volunteers!

Get Involved

Ongoing: Sign up to document landslides on public lands in Western NC. We have already had over 50 people sign up – thank you! Check out our documentation progress here. Having trouble using the app? Fill out this form.

Wednesday, May 28th: Join us TOMORROW for Conservation Conversations in Asheville! We’ll be at RAD Brewing from 5:30-7pm, hearing from organizations working to recover the places we love following Helene. MountainTrue will be joined by Asheville Greenworks, Hemlock Restoration Initiative, and Carolina Mountain Club. RSVP here!

Friday, May 30th: Join MountainTrue and Carolina Mountain Club for a day of trail maintenance near Asheville! The work location will be decided closer to the date, and we’ll communicate that to you the week of the workday. Sign up here!

Saturday, June 21st: Come on out for MountainTrue’s annual BioBlitz! Help MountainTrue document biodiversity at Hickory Nut Gap Farm near Asheville. Volunteer with us in the afternoon, then celebrate a job well done at the evening barn dance! Sign up here!

Federal Policy Updates Affecting Public Lands & Forests

House passes budget bill including “pay to pollute” provisions, removes public lands transfers: The House passed a megabill late on 5/21, advancing it to the Senate. While a previous version of the bill included language allowing for sales of public lands to states, this language was removed from the version that passed. Another provision in the bill allows companies to pay a fee to expedite environmental permitting processes for projects, essentially a “pay to pollute” scheme. The bill still includes major funding cuts for the National Park Service.

Trump Administration proposes eliminating habitat protections in Endangered Species Act: A proposed rule threatens to substantially weaken the Endangered Species Act by eliminating habitat protections for threatened and endangered species. The rule seeks to rescind the regulatory definition of “harm” under the ESA, which currently prevents habitat destruction for endangered species. Stripping the definition of harm to leave out habitat destruction would open the floodgates to developers, loggers, miners, oil and gas drillers, and others to destroy endangered species habitat, driving species to extinction in the process.

Contact Your Legislators

Please consider reaching out to your legislators and urging them to (1) remove NPS funding reductions and NEPA changes from the “big, beautiful bill,” and (2) oppose changes to the ESA. Follow this link to submit a letter to your Senators and Representative. Your home address will determine which elected officials your message is sent to. 

Events Roundup

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our volunteer workdays this past month! We had a great time partnering with Carolina Mountain Club and Friends of Hominy Creek Greenway on trail maintenance and invasive plant removal. Folks showed up and showed out, completing some excellent work on the Mountains to Sea Trail even with wildfire smoke in the air. Our invasive plant removal work along Hominy Creek Greenway was also a huge success, with 25 participants cutting and removing invasive plants and applying herbicide to ensure our native species can flourish in that area.

Get Involved

Ongoing – Landslide Documentation Project: Sign up to document landslides on public lands in Western NC! We have already had 49 people sign up and multiple data entries input already – thank you to everyone who is helping with this project! Sign up here! If you’re having any trouble using the Survey123 app or would like additional assistance, please fill out this survey.

Saturday, May 3 – Wildflower Walk and Garlic Mustard Pull: Join MountainTrue as we enjoy spring wildflowers and pull invasive garlic mustard on the Appalachian Trail near Max Patch. Read more and sign up here!

Friday, May 9 – Nature Yoga: In partnership with Highlands-Cashier Land Trust, join MountainTrue for a rejuvenating experience of nature yoga and forest bathing in Highlands, NC. Read more and sign up here!

Wednesday, May 28 – Conservation Conversations: Come meet some of the organizations in your community working to recover and conserve the places we love and share at Conservation Conversations. We’ll be at RAD Brewing and joined by Asheville Greenworks, Hemlock Restoration Initiative, and Carolina Mountain Club. Confirm your attendance here!

Friday, May 30 – Trail Workday: Join MountainTrue and Carolina Mountain Club for a day of trail maintenance near Asheville! The work location will be decided closer to the date, and we’ll communicate that to you the week of the workday. Sign up here!

Saturday, June 21 – BioBlitz: Help MountainTrue document biodiversity at Hickory Nut Gap Farm near Asheville. Volunteer with us in the afternoon, then celebrate a job well done at the evening barn dance! Sign up here!

In the News

After more than a decade of public engagement, partnerships, and planning, the U.S. Forest Service had the opportunity to get it right. Instead, on March 20, 2023, they finalized a Forest Management Plan for the Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests that takes us backward — threatening some of the most beloved and biologically diverse landscapes in Western North Carolina. That’s why MountainTrue is taking legal action. We’re joining with our partners to sue the Forest Service over its deeply flawed Forest Plan — a plan that undermines public trust, sacrifices rare species habitat and existing old-growth forests, and sets a dangerous precedent for forest management across the Southern Appalachians. Read more.

Records show flaws in data used to back logging in Pisgah, Nantahala: Resilient Forests Director Josh Kelly is quoted in this piece from the Asheville Watchdog. The 2023 Management Plan for the Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests increases logging six times over the previous plan. The models used to justify the expansion fail to account for natural disturbances like storms and wildfires, and are based on what the forests looked like prior to European colonization. Environmental groups like MountainTrue worry over where logging will occur, rather than how much – with particular concern over the potential for logging in rare old-growth areas. Hiking through an area of Brushy Mountain logged last summer, Josh Kelly encountered a felled tree aged 171 years old: “My emotional response is, gosh, I hope someone does something to honor this really exceptional, venerable tree,” he said. “I hope it was worth it. And my anger is, I’m pretty sure it wasn’t.”

Volunteer Spotlight

MountainTrue volunteer Andy Widenhouse has been hard at work documenting landslides for our landslide survey citizen science project! Andy has paid particular attention to the impacts of Hurricane Helene on Brook Trout streams, creating a map that shows how degradation of these streams has reduced Brook Trout populations post-Helene. Thanks for all your hard work, Andy!

Federal Policy Updates Affecting Public Lands & Forests

Advisory Committee on Reconciliation in Place Names Eliminated by Trump Administration: The ACRPN was terminated in early March. Established by previous Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland, the ACRPN existed to identify and replace derogatory place names. During her tenure, Secretary Haaland replaced 650 place names containing a slur for Indigenous women with names chosen by local communities and Tribal Nations. The ACRPN identified an additional 1500 derogatory place names.

National forests face the hatchet as Trump administration boosts logging: On April 3rd, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins released a memo designating an emergency situation on National Forest lands. The designation inappropriately rolls back environmental protections and encourages logging on an additional 60% of forest lands. The move comes in response to an Executive Order signed last month.

Trump considering plan to change how the country fights wildfires: The Trump Administration is considering creating a new federal agency focused on extinguishing fires quickly after they start. State and federal officials worry that this plan could erode safety standards and place too much emphasis on simply putting out fires, rather than focusing holistically on land management that reduces wildfire risk.

Events Roundup

Thanks to everyone who joined us in February for Conservation Conversations! We had a great night at Ecusta Brewing in Brevard, NC. Hemlock Restoration Initiative, Conserving Carolina, Trout Unlimited (Pisgah Chapter), and Pisgah Area SORBA joined MountainTrue to discuss their current work and opportunities for attendees to get involved. We hope to see even more folks at our upcoming Conservation Conversation in Asheville at RAD Brewing, May 28!

Get Involved

Ongoing: Help MountainTrue document damage to forest roads and trails by signing up to participate in landslide surveys. Go for a hike, take your phone, and submit data if you see a landslide. Sign up here!

Friday, March 28: Join MountainTrue and Carolina Mountain Club for a Trail Workday near Asheville. Read more and sign up here!

Saturday, April 5: Join MountainTrue and Friends of Hominy Creek Greenway for a day of removing non-native invasive plants along the Greenway. Read more and sign up here!

Saturday, May 3: Join MountainTrue as we enjoy spring wildflowers and pull invasive garlic mustard on the Appalachian Trail near Max Patch. Read more and sign up here!

Save the Date

Wednesday, May 28: Join MountainTrue and other land stewardship-focused organizations for Conservation Conversations in Asheville at RAD Brewing! Sip and socialize, then learn how you can get involved in the important work these organizations do. 

Saturday, June 21: BioBlitz! Help MountainTrue document biodiversity at Hickory Nut Gap Farm near Asheville. Volunteer with us in the afternoon, then celebrate a job well done at the evening barn dance!

Take Action

Save the UNCA Woods! MountainTrue is working with a local alliance of dedicated volunteers to protect the University of North Carolina Asheville’s urban forest. The 45-acre forest in the heart of downtown Asheville provides a scenic respite from everyday life by offering outdoor recreation opportunities. The woods also act as a carbon sink, heat mitigation tool, and wildlife habitat. Although the woods are ecologically important and beloved by many, they are now under threat of development. MountainTrue believes UNCA should prioritize building on their already cleared lots (totaling about 20 acres) before they consider destroying one of the city’s few intact urban forests. Please join us in asking UNCA to protect the forest and better collaborate with those who appreciate the forest for its many values.

In the News

MountainTrue’s Resilient Forests Director, Josh Kelly, recently shared his perspective in the Asheville Citizen Times on how proposed cuts to federal workers could harm the national parks and forests in Western North Carolina. In his op-ed, Kelly argues that the loss of federal employees would jeopardize vital conservation efforts and the health of these treasured landscapes.

Federal Policy Updates Affecting Public Lands & Forests

Federal judges order Trump Administration to reinstate thousands of fired workers (March 13): A federal judge has ordered the immediate rehiring of fired probationary workers from the Defense, Treasury, Energy, Interior, Agriculture, and Veterans Affairs departments. The judge called the firings an unlawful sham, saying that the agencies did not follow proper protocol for firing employees. However, as the judge noted in his decision, agencies do still have the authority to implement reductions in force. The Trump Administration called for all agencies to submit reduction in force plans last month, and the White House will soon be reviewing those plans. Forest Service employees in Western North Carolina who were fired and then rehired may still be laid off through the reduction in force plan.

EPA looks to roll back significant climate protections (March 12): EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin says he is looking to reconsider the endangerment finding, the principle that global warming poses a danger to human health and welfare. The endangerment finding, established in 2009, is the basis for limiting greenhouse gas emissions from many different sectors. Disproving the finding would pave the way for broadly dismantling greenhouse gas pollution regulations. Other EPA rules that may be reconsidered include those regulating wastewater, reducing haze in national parks, limiting CO2 emissions from power plants, and reducing methane emissions by the oil and gas industry.

Trump Administration seeks to increase logging in national forests and on public lands (March 4): President Trump signed executive actions directing agencies to increase logging on public lands and reduce timber imports from Canada and other countries. He also directed agencies to look into ways to bypass endangered species and other wildlife protections to increase timber production. Trump’s orders cite wildfire risk as a reason for ramping up U.S. timber production, but other groups point out that hotter average temperatures and dry conditions in forests create more risk for wildfires.

Public land at the University of North Carolina Asheville (UNCA) is under threat of being developed. Please contact the Chancellor, Dr. Kimberly van Noort, Board of Trustees Chair Roger Aiken, and the rest of the Board of Trustees, and urge them to halt this development and save the woods!

UNCA’s 45-acre urban forest is a cherished resource for students and community members in the heart of Asheville. The woods offer an escape from busy city life and provide habitat for a variety of wildlife species. Unfortunately, in early January, the university began the process of assessing the woods for potential development. Excavators cleared wide paths through the forest, with boring and drilling work beginning a few weeks later. The university failed to issue advance notice of these activities to their students and the surrounding community. Read more and sign the petition to Save the UNCA Woods here!

We want UNCA to thrive, but not at the cost of free and easily accessible outdoor recreation and wildlife habitat. What’s more, UNCA has other options for expansion. The former Health Adventure Property on Broadway has been cleared and ready for building for over a decade, yet remains fallow. Please contact Chancellor van Noort, Chairman Aiken, and the Board of Trustees and urge them to halt all development of the UNCA Urban Forest, and instead consider already cleared land for construction projects.