By Josh Kelly, Guest Columnist
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The Nantahala National Forest’s initial proposal for the Crossover Project in the Snowbird Mountains of Cherokee and Graham counties proposed 1,556 acres of commercial logging. But it’s not the amount of logging that MountainTrue objects to, it’s about where logging will take place.
Since 1994, logging on Nantahala National Forest has occurred at sustainable levels. MountainTrue even supported increasing logging levels in the new forest plan, if those increases were matched by increases in protection for old-growth forests, steep slopes, and backcountry areas. Unfortunately, the new plan is pursuing a big increase in logging, while decreasing protections compared to the 1994 plan.
Our main concerns with the Crossover Project have always been impacts to old-growth forests, rare species, steep slopes and the Ash Cove Backcountry Area. We have always supported the controlled burns (I was encouraged to see the public support for controlled burns expressed by local residents in the Cherokee Scout) and stand improvement work.
Thankfully, former district ranger Andy Gaston and his staff removed about 200 acres of timber harvest in old-growth forest and rare species habitats from the final version of the project. Unfortunately, impacts to steep slopes and road construction in Ash Cove were not improved.
This is especially frustrating because the final project approved 1,312 acres of commercial logging and reducing that total by just over 100 acres while reducing the mileage of road construction could have satisfied our concerns. That would have left a project of about 1,200 acres of commercial logging and lots of beneficial prescribed fire that most people would support.
The Nantahala and Pisgah national forests already have more than 2,200 miles of official roads and thousands more miles of unofficial logging roads. Those roads are often not maintained and cause problems for fish and wildlife.
When they are maintained, it is done at the expense of the U.S. taxpayer. Yet, the Forest Service continues to build roads. There are more than 50 miles of official Forest Service Roads in the Crossover Project Area, and almost twice that many unofficial roads, and yet the project will construct 13.5 more miles of road.
The Forest Service has all the roads it needs to meet its management goals, but continues to go to back-of-beyond places like Ash Cove to get timber. This is not only destructive, but uneconomical. The fuel costs for 6 miles of haul on logging roads to get into Ash Cove will eat up most of the profits from logging in this remote area, but there is more accessible timber to be had. This part of the project doesn’t make sense.
The Crossover Project could still be a pragmatic, efficient and balanced project. It really wouldn’t take that much. MountainTrue is asking the Forest Service to make a few more common-sense changes to make the project better, and we are asking citizens who want common-sense stewardship of national forests to call the Tusquitee District Office at 828-837-5152, and tell the Forest Service (politely) to keep road construction and logging out of Ash Cove.
The writer is Resilient Forests Program Director with MountainTrue in Asheville.