US Park Service proposes nearly 3,000 acres of salvage logging in NC: attend the Public Meetings and demand protections for the forest!
There are open houses this week in Asheville and Boone where the public can learn more about the proposed salvage logging. Please attend, and ask the Parkway to:
May 6 (5–7 p.m.) — Blue Ridge Parkway Visitor Center, milepost 384, 195 Hemphill Knob Road, Asheville, NC
May 7 (5–7 p.m.) — Caldwell Community College, Watauga Campus, at the Watauga Student Commons, 460 Community College Drive, Boone, NC
More info:
Helene blew down vast swaths of forest on its march across the southeast. The scale of the blowdown in the Southern Appalachians is without precedent in the historical record, yet storm damage in forests is not only normal, it is necessary. It is shocking and heartwrenching to see a forest you love blown down, but forests have and will recover from storms. In developed areas, removal of down debris is wise, but in our natural areas, dead and down trees provide habitat for a myriad of birds, mammals, salamanders, and insects while the abundant sunlight quickly grows the next generation of trees. Despite downed trees providing excellent habitat for numerous wildlife and enriching the soil, the National Park Service is proposing to remove nearly 3,000 acres of trees along the Blue Ridge Parkway. They are calling this “fuel reduction,” but the methods will be indistinguishable from salvage logging. Some of the areas subject to fuel reduction will be the entire section of Parkway between the French Broad River and Elk Mountain Road in Buncombe County, and Moses H. Cone Park near Boone.
There are valid concerns about fire danger due to downed trees. Those concerns are especially salient within 100’ of homes, according to wildfire experts at US Forest Service and Cal Fire. While removing downed wood near homes is well supported, the idea that downed trees deep in the mountains still cause a risk is based more on emotion than fact. There is a strong desire to do something, or anything, following a natural disaster to speed recovery. And the National Park Service and the US Forest Service have literally billions of dollars of FEMA money to spend. Much of that money will be spent well, but some of it is already being wasted doing expensive and unnecessary salvage logging. For example, in Mitchell County, the US Forest Service is paying helicopter logging crews to remove downed trees from steep slopes near the Appalachian Trail. The fact that helicopter logging is needed should tell you all you need to know about how remote those sites are. Again, remote storm damage does not threaten humans. Nor does it threaten the forest. In fact, The Nature Conservancy, the US Forest Service, and the ecological community in general agree that our forests need more fire, not less. Furthermore, while wildfires can be scary, there are very few examples of a “bad” fire in the Appalachians from an ecological standpoint, and most of those, like the famous fire at Graveyard Fields, occurred after logging.
Some of the work to remove fuels on the Parkway may be necessary where people have built their houses within 100’ of the park boundary. Some work to remove downed wood near the road itself will create a defensible fire break. Any work that involves heavy equipment that is farther than 100’ from the Parkway or 100’ from houses will be taxpayer-subsidized make-work. If wasted money was all that was at stake, that would be one thing, but some of our region’s natural treasures are also in the crosshairs. For example, the stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway between Craven Gap and Elk Mountain Road is well known as a biodiversity hotspot and has been recognized as the Bull Gap/High Swan Natural Area since the late 1970’s. Over a dozen rare plant species and North Carolina’s largest population of Cerulean Warbler call this area home. Heavy equipment will damage plant populations, drive out nesting songbirds, and compact the rich soil that supports the entire ecosystem. Any fuel reduction in this area, and dozens of other sensitive spots along the Parkway, should be done with the utmost care to minimize disturbance to natural habitats.
