Murphy – Cherokee County commissioners doubled down on the “petition for redress of grievances” during their July 29 meeting, defending calls for unleashed logging and selling off Hiwassee Lake shorefront property as a way to bolster the local economy.
The petition, signed by all five members of the board in April, was directed at the federal government over federally owned land, forest management and wilderness designations the commissioners say are harming Cherokee County’s economy. The meeting agenda did not include anything about the petition, but numerous people attended, including some who spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting.
Other parts have drawn significant opposition, including the U.S. Forest Service opening up logging, ending wilderness designations and selling off lakeshore property at Hiwassee Lake.
Forest management
Board Chair Dan Eichenbaum, who authored the petition, and Commissioner Ben Adams have defended the proposed lakeshore privatization, with Adams saying nothing has been decided. Meanwhile, Eichenbaum said he has distributed the petition to leaders in Washington.
Eichenbaum added that a luxury hotel on the lakeshore would be a nice addition – a comment that drew disapproval from the audience – and forest land is being mismanaged. He said that was proven by recent wildfires in the Grand Canyon and, closer by, Collett Ridge near Andrews in 2023.
He said clear-cutting would help improve the health of the forests and prevent such wildfires, without citing specific documentation supporting his contention.
Hanging Dog state park
One part of the petition has nearly universal support – having the U.S. Forest Service transfer jurisdiction of the Hanging Dog campground to become a state park. However, District Ranger Brian Browning said during the board’s July 29 meeting that state parks reported the Hanging Dog facility is “not an ideal location.
“One of the biggest challenges is fluctuating lake levels,” he quoted a state parks officials as saying.
Eichenbaum said the U.S. Forest Service is not a friend to Cherokee County. He criticized its forest management practices, road maintenance and fire protection.
Forest management experts have shifted their strategy for controlling woodland fires. For decades, fires were controlled as quickly as possible, but subsequent blazes grew more fierce and forest health fell into decline. Fire management doctrine today is guided by the concept that fire is a natural part of a healthy forest.
In the Collett Ridge fire, firefighters established a perimeter around the blaze and kept watch over flare-ups, but otherwise let the fire do its thing so it would burn off accumulated brush. There were no injuries from the blaze and minimal property damage.
9.6 million board feet
Clear-cutting, although an economical way to harvest timber, is generally regarded as detrimental to the environment and takes decades for the forestland and wildlife to recover.
U.S. Forest Services lands are available for multiple uses and provide recreational opportunities, Browning said. The Tennessee Valley Authority agreed to transfer administration of the lakeshore to the Forest Service “for maximum watershed protection, and if not done, then the TVA can have the land automatically revert back to it.”
Browning also defended the U.S. Forest Service’s record of maintaining forest roads.
Cherokee County has 242 miles of U.S. Forest Service roads, of which 156 miles are closed to vehicle traffic and 40 miles are seasonally opened to protect them during winter weather. He said 46 miles of forest roads are open year-round, with Forest Service personnel maintaining 30 miles per year.
He added that forest land in Cherokee County is being logged, with 801 screws totaling 9.6 million board feet harvested in Cherokee County since 2017. There are two active sales in Cherokee County at this time.