Nantahala environmental analysis released; advocates criticize logging and road building
ASHEVILLE – The U.S. Forest Service released a final environmental analysis and draft decision of the Nantahala Mountains Project. This is the first project emanating from the newly revised Nantahala-Pisgah National Forest Land Management Plan.
In a Jan. 3 letter, Nantahala District Ranger Troy Waskey described the project as a “full restoration effort” that would support wildlife, restore native tree species and improve trail access. Waskey wrote that the project would begin with tree and vegetation removal including “carefully designed timber harvests,” which critics say are not so careful.
The project focuses on around 890 acres of Nantahala National Forest, according to the draft decision and finding of no significant impact submitted by Waskey.
The Nantahala National Forest covers more than a half-million acres of rugged, mountainous terrain in the westernmost region of Western North Carolina. It is the largest of North Carolina's four national forests and is open to many uses including timber harvesting, hiking, fishing, hunting, paddling, horseback riding and more.
"After considering the environmental effects described in the final EA, I have determined that the selected alternative will not have significant effects on the quality of the human environment," Waskey wrote.
Sam Evans, attorney with Southern Environmental Law Center, told the Citizen Times Jan. 25 that the project reflects the concerns the organization had with the land management plan. The firm has an Asheville office.
Approved in February 2023 after more than a decade of work, the Pisgah-Nantahala Land Management Plan was a source of controversy. Local conservation advocates like SELC criticized the plan’s allowance for aggressive logging and road building.
The Nantahala Mountain Project turned those concerns into a reality, Evans said. In particular, the project focuses on timber harvest in moist, forested areas, and develops roads without plans for maintenance, he said.
“This is something that is completely at odds with what you think of as ecological integrity for our forests,” Evans said about the timber harvest.
The project proposes little more than three miles of proposed roadwork, providing .28 miles of new road.
USFS spokesperson Jenifer Bunty told the Citizen Times in a Jan. 25 email that roads would be maintained as wildlife openings or fire breaks. She said the roads would also provide visitors access to wildlife. The forest service would decommission, re-contour, stabilize slopes and restore vegetation for temporary roads as necessary.
She said timber harvesting was part of the service's "holistic restoration plan."
"Our focus here is truly restoration. Timber harvests are one of the tools we are using to remove, for example, white pine plantations in the project area so oaks and hickories can grow," Bunty said. "Those oaks and hickories will provide food and shelter for native wildlife and game species for decades to come."
Evans also praised the Forest Service for addressing some of the concerns SELC shared in a September 2022 public comment. He said that the Forest Service removed some plans to log a section of old growth forest.
Evans speculated that removing those parts of the USFS plan to conserve and steward old growth forests on national land, which was announced in December. National forests will need to create or adopt a strategy for old-growth forest conservation and maintenance.
The Nantahala Mountains Project is the combination of two projects that began in 2018 ― Redbird and Turkey Pen. It was introduced to stakeholders in a June 2021 letter from Waskey, which announced the consolidation of those separate projects. Since then, the project has gone through a 30-day public scoping period, which began in November 2021, and a 30-day public comment period that started in August 2022.
On Jan. 3, USFS released the final environmental analysis, which initiated a 45-day objection period. Individuals who previously commented on the project can file an objection. Nine organizations and individuals filed comments about the plan, including the Ruffed Grouse Society & American Woodcock Society, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Fish & Wildlife Conservation Council.
Evans said that SELC has not decided whether it will object to the plan.
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Want to comment?
Plan objections can be submitted electronically by clicking “Comment/Object on Project” on the right side of the Nantahala Mountains Project landing page at fs.usda.gov/project/?project=61088. The deadline is Feb. 17.
Mitchell Black covers Buncombe County and health care for the Citizen Times. Email him at mblack@citizentimes.com or follow him on Twitter @MitchABlack. Please help support local journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Advocates criticize Nantahala project logging and road building
