Murphy – A petition bearing more than 4,400
signatures opposed to developing public lands in Cherokee County was submitted to commissioners in response to an earlier petition signed by just five people.
In 2025, at the behest of then-board chairman Dan Eichenbaum, the board of commissioners submitted a “petition for redress of grievances” to the federal government over a variety of issues, but one of them – a call to sell off U.S. Forest Service land for private development – resulted in a fire storm.
The ensuing petition said, in part:
“Petition of the People of Cherokee County opposing the County Commissioners’ petition to develop Public Lands around Hiwassee Lake
“We, the undersigned citizens of Cherokee County, North Carolina, stand together to protect our National Forests and lakes from private commercial development. These public lands have provided a way of life for our residents, are part of our mountain heritage and important for future generations. Our natural lands and clean waters are the pride of our county – vital to our health, recreation, and economy.”
As of Monday, that petition had 4,412 signatures.
In January, Commissioner Ben Adams brought the issue back before the board and the board voted to rescind its petition, substituting it with a more narrowly defined call for creation of a state park using federal land.
Several people appeared at the board’s February issue to continue driving home the point. As local resident Katherine Taaffe said, there is no proof the board actually rescinded its petition.
“Murphy has been home to my family for over four decades. I care very much about this community – the people and animals who live in it, and the natural environment we are all so lucky to share,” she said.
“I am here tonight to represent the like-minded residents of Cherokee County who signed the petition to protect and preserve the public lands around Hiwassee Lake. Included are signatures from some of the very families whose land was acquired when the lake was built. The people who signed do not want it given to the county only to be sold to rich developers. They want it to stay with the people.”
She thanked the board for its unanimous vote in January to rescind the Petition for Redress of Grievance it sent to the federal government in 2025.
“Since there was no attempt to get input from county residents on such
an impactful decision, that was absolutely the right thing to do,” she said. “None of the shifting explanations offered by members of
the board about why they signed the petition are acceptable to the more than 4,200 hard-working men and women who reside in this county and enthusiastically signed and shared our petition.
“To my knowledge, there has never been an issue that so strongly united the people of Cherokee County, regardless of political affiliation, socioeconomic status, or cultural background. As you are representatives of these very people, I am grateful that you took notice and corrected course.”
However, she pointed out, a letter of rescission has not been produced. What circulated following the January meeting was a draft letter “that vaguely addresses a state park but does not withdraw the 2025 petition and does not even specify Hanging Dog Campground as the location for a state park,” she said.
“The way you have it worded it could be any land around the lake, not just the campground. Because you breached the trust of our community last year, we are here tonight to insist that you follow through with your resolution of last month, produce and publicly share the letter of rescission, and provide proof it was submitted to the appropriate federal agency.
“Furthermore, we ask, as the spirit of our petition embodies, that you pass a separate resolution declaring that Cherokee County and its board of commissioners supports keeping our public lands in public hands going forward. Decisions of this magnitude that affect shared resources should have a built-in public comment opportunity, at the very least,” she said.
“I will close with this: We live in a representative democracy and you are our duly elected representatives. We have given you some independence to make decisions, but ultimately we expect you to be open and transparent with the what, when, why, and how of your decisions. Please do better next time.
Taaffe submitted a printout of the petition with the names and addresses of the signatories for the official public record. Because she appeared during the public comment period of the board meeting, commissioners did not respond.
Details: View the petition at tinyurl.com/2tae7r7v.