Tennessee: Cherokee National Forest makes top 10 most threatened forest list
Last week the Southern Environmental Law Center released their list of
the top 10 most endangered areas in the south as a result of immediate
and potentially irreparable threats in 2009. On that list, and coming
in at number 10, was the Cherokee National Forest in Northeast
Tennessee.
The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) placed
Cherokee National Forest on the list due to “The U.S. Forest Service
is moving forward with its plans to log several areas of this
remarkable landscape, endangering trout, unbroken wildlife habitat and
rare species.” The SELC states that logging thousands of acres would
significantly impact the forest, wildlife, waters, and recreation.
Additionally, logging operations would be visible from the Appalachian
Trail. The SELC is the largest environmental advocacy organization
dedicated solely to protecting the Southeast.
They perform law and
policy work throughout the six states of Virginia, Tennessee, North
Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama. The Cherokee National
Forest is located in Eastern Tennessee and stretches from Chattanooga
to Bristol along the North Carolina border. It also borders Great
Smoky Mountains National Park in the southwest and northeatern areas
of the park as well. The 640,000-acre forest is the largest tract of
public land in Tennessee. Millions of people every year visit the
national forest to hike, camp, fish, canoe, kayak or view wildlife.
http://hikinginthesmokys.blogspot.com/2009/01/cherokee-national-forest-on-top-10.html
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