Can’t see the forest for the 50 valentines

  • On behalf of the U.S. Forest Service, public affairs officer Cathy Dowd accepted valentines from Frank Landis, Mary Lightner, Lorraine Bennett, Mary Jo Dent, (seated), Tom Bennett and Callie Moore. Photo by Samantha Sinclair
    On behalf of the U.S. Forest Service, public affairs officer Cathy Dowd accepted valentines from Frank Landis, Mary Lightner, Lorraine Bennett, Mary Jo Dent, (seated), Tom Bennett and Callie Moore. Photo by Samantha Sinclair

    National forest plan open house set for March 19

        Murphy – MountainTrue and forest advocates delivered about 50 valentines to the U.S. Forest Service’s Tusquitee Ranger District on Friday morning.
        “I feel like it’s a really great show of love and support for the Forest Service,” said Cathy Dowd, public affairs officer for the Forest Service, who also had valentines to give in return.
        The group wanted to show their love for forests on the day public review and comment on the draft of the resource management plan for the Nantahala and Pisgah national forests opened. The plan guides the usage and maintenance of the forests for the next 15 years. The forest service worked with tribal, state and county governments along with the public to develop the plan.
        “We tried to present a range of options that advance everyone’s interests,” Dowd said.
        MountainTrue provided supplies for cards and gathered the cards at community meetings. The organization also delivered cards at the forest supervisor’s office in Asheville on Feb. 12 to “bookend” the forest areas, said Callie Moore, western regional director of MountainTrue.
        Moore said local residents should have an interest in what’s in the plan and participate in the process. There are 93,327 acres of national forest in Cherokee County, or about 31 percent of the county’s land. Moore added that the Valley River watershed is on national forest land.
        The Forest Service will host six open houses to provide an overview of the plan throughout the region, including one from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Thursday, March 19, in the Brasstown Community Center. MountainTrue plans to have events to help guide the public on how to provide quality comments on the plan.
        The plan has been in progress for about seven years. The public comment period ends Thursday, May 14. Comments may be submitted online or by writing to Plan Revision Team, National Forests in North Carolina, 160 Zillicoa St., Asheville, NC 28801.
        It is estimated the final plan will be released in late 2021.
        For details, visit www.fs.usda.gov/goto/nfsnc/nprevision.