[kemosabe]

"This is the first health assessment of the park, and it's not good," Kiernan said. "It's worrisome."

There had been no previous systemic, park-wide scientific study to provide a benchmark for future recommendations for the Smokies before Wednesday's report, Kiernan said. The public was forced to rely on conflicting findings of various groups, scientists and organizations when trying to evaluate the park's ecosystem, he said.

Raw data for the report was combined from the National Park Service, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and various state agencies to gather all data that is published or unpublished on parks, Kiernan said.

"This has significant scientific credibility in the United States and is gaining it worldwide," he said. Several areas of concern were noted in the report on the Smokies. Among them are:

? Ground level ozone and acid rain "threaten the health of park visitors, staff, vegetation, soils and streams."

? Air pollution has diminished visibility from an average of 113 miles from prime viewing locations to an average of 25 miles.

? The park has an annual budget shortfall of more than $11 million, and needs another 108 new full-time positions to adequately protect resources.

? Nonnative pests and diseases are killing off Fraser firs, hemlocks, dogwoods, butternuts and beech trees.

Much of the air pollution in the Smokies is from the burning of fossil fuels, particularly those used in power plants, factories and automobiles, officials said.

Conservation association program analyst Jill Stephens and Sandy McLaughlin, a researcher at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee, described the scope of the park's air-pollution problem Wednesday while at the Twin Creeks research station.

At the research station, one of three in the Smokies and Oak Ridge, 35 trees are constantly monitored by devices that check their growth, sap flow and other vital signs every half-hour, they said.

While pollutants affect vegetation throughout the park, trees that grow at higher elevations - such as spruce and firs trees - are hit especially hard, Stephens said. Also, rainfall is up to 10 times as acidic as normal precipitation in the park and fog is often 100 times more acidic, McLaughlin said.

Jim Renfro, a Park Service air-resource specialist, said that some species of plants are showing "visible leaf damage" from the pollution, while others aren't growing as well. He also noted that during the past 15 years the park has had more than 300 "bad-air days," meaning ozone levels were high enough to threaten public health.

"That's way too many," he said. "There shouldn't be any in a national park."

Experts expect the Smokies to be designated a "non-attainment" area Thursday when the EPA releases its list of areas that haven't met federal clean-air standards meant to protect public health.

Officials of the parks conservation group also are opposed to the proposed North Shore Road project, also known as the "Road to Nowhere," in Swain County, N.C. The road was started in the early 1960s, but work ended because of cost and environmental problems.

The issue appeared again in 2000 when North Carolina Rep. Charles Taylor and Sen. Jesse Helms tacked a new $16 million appropriation for the road onto a transportation bill. The conservation group contends completing the road would be costly and also inflict serious environmental damage to the park.

[wingman1]

Bump

[The KG9 Kid]

Out here in the west, the ravaging beetles enabled by the drought over the last several years are likely to kill every single pine tree in the Sierras. When they die, the trees will explode into flames when fire hits them.

It has nothing to do with man's use of water, and cannot be solved by logging out the deadwood. It's just nature.

The other species of trees are not vulnerable to the beetles. In several hundred years, the only mountain trees we'll have are Oaks and Firs.

[Seeking the truth]

and a proposed road on the north shore of Fontana Lake in North Carolina are combining to endanger the park's future

Gotta love the veracity of environazi...The park is beginning to die even though the road in only in the proposal stage!

It's the seriousness of the proposal that is causing the park to die (paraphrasing Tip O'Neill).

[laredo44]

and a proposed road on the north shore of Fontana Lake in North Carolina are combining to endanger the park's future

A road? A friggin road is gonna kill that park? Listening to a Chicken Little is of no value.

[FreedomCalls]

How did the "Smoky" Mountains get their name?

This is old news.

This is the key graf: ...a proposed road on the north shore of Fontana Lake...

The anti-development loonies are using the old excuse of "smoky" skies in the "Smoky" Mountins to prevent a road from being built.

[avg_freeper]

""This has significant scientific credibility in the United States and is gaining it worldwide," "

Pleeeeeaase Believe us! Why, other people believe us!

"The park has an annual budget shortfall of more than $11 million, and needs another 108 new full-time positions to adequately protect resources."

I think I just found the source of their most dire emergency. I guess they need the government to take more of my money so they can wrap it around the trees as a protective barrier.

[DannyTN]

"There had been no previous systemic, park-wide scientific study to provide a benchmark for future recommendations for the Smokies before Wednesday's report, "

If there was no prior benchmark, how can they say the park is changing at all? Maybe it's getting better.

I'm all for supporting the park, but this sounds like junk science to me.

[okie01]

There is a word for this kind of reporting.

It starts with "H" and it ends with "T"...and there are seven letters in between.

[RiVer19]

This is such utter crap just to get more funding. They have been saying this about the Smoky Mtns since I was a kid going up there in the early 70's. I remember hearing the park rangers stories back then and I have been many, many times since and it's always been the same. I see no difference. Other than some dogwood trees have been dieing and that is happening all over the southeast because of some fungus or something. It's not just at the park. So, BS on this. It's just a call for more funding for the park and old, old story they try.

[catpuppy]

Ground level ozone and acid rain "threaten the health of park visitors, staff, vegetation, soils and streams."

This is George Bush's fault! Under Bill Clinton, ozone and acid rain disappeared (along with an intern and various other public servants).

[muawiyah]

The Blue Ridge portion of the exact same Appalachian range of concern in the Carolinas was virtually denuded by the demand for wood for steam locomotives century before last.

It was pretty much replanted in the 30s.

No doubt some parts get better. Some parts get worse. Other parts get "fixed".

[xzins]

This is your area, my friend. Al Gore wanted the rest of Swain County; This article above is from Gatlinburg, Tenn. and is another example of OBSTRUCTION by Tennessee to the Deal Gap Road to Bryson City. This road would make Bryson and Cherokee MAJOR tourist areas to rival Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg.

Gore tried for years to absorb Swain County into the Park to prevent this from happening. Supposedly altruistic about the environment, Gore was NEVER critical of development on the Tennessee side of the mountains. (Anyone going through Pigeon Forge knows that!)

		Regional News • 10/17/01 ‘Road to Nowhere’ still faces uncertain future By Don Hendershot In 1943, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park swallowed up the remaining 44,000 acres of Swain County between its border and the north shore of Fontana Lake. The lake itself had flooded over 10,000 acres of Swain County, including the bustling communities of Proctor, Bushnell, Japan, Hazel Creek and others. “Swain County lost half of its population and half of its jobs to the lake and the park,” said David Monteith, a county commissioner and a member of the North Shore Road Association. Monteith, like many Swain residents, has strong personal ties to the north shore of Fontana Lake. His family owned a grocery store and lived near Forney Creek. “They took the most precious part of Swain County — most of the level land. If we still had that 4,400 acres it would be very productive to our county,” said Linda Hogue, president of the North Shore Road Association. As a way to ease anger in Swain County, the U.S. Department of Interior signed a contract in 1943 that promised to build a road through the newly acquired park lands from a point near Fontana Dam to a point near Bryson City — as soon as Congress appropriated the money. The parties to that contractual agreement were the DOI, Swain County, the state of North Carolina and the Tennessee Valley Authority. Many believed then — and now — that the road would be a boon and help offset the lost of county revenue caused by the creation of the GSMNP. In an August 1943 edition the Bryson City Times, it was reported that “The National Park Service says that as soon as money is made available after the war it will build a modern highway along the shores of Fontana Lake connecting Bryson City with the TVA access highway at Fontana Dam, making it a through highway to Deal’s Gap 50 miles west of here. Anyone with the smallest amount of imagination can visualize what a road of this kind will mean to Bryson City ... When this highway is built by the Park Service, the developments inaugurated, and we feel confidently they will be soon after the war, then there is nothing that can keep Bryson City from becoming the tourist center of Eastern America ....” The enthusiasm was unwarranted. North Carolina didn’t fulfilled its road construction agreement until 1959 when it built nearly three miles of road from Bryson City to the park’s boundary. It wasn’t until 1963 that the Park Service began to fulfill its promise to construct a park road. Between 1963 and 1971, the Park Service completed about six miles of road. That road, which included a bridge across Noland’s Creek, terminated abruptly after a 1,200-foot tunnel. The Park Service halted construction on the road when it encountered anakeesta rock formations. Anakeesta is an extremely acid rock and when exposed to the elements leaches acids and heavy metals which threaten aquatic life. The Road to Nowhere, as it quickly came to be known, has languished in a politically charged bureaucratic limbo for the last 30 years. Different groups, individuals, politicians and park officials have — in fits and starts throughout the years — offered alternatives and tried to resolve the North Shore Road dilemma, to no avail. The issue appeared to have faded into the background during the 1990s. Suddenly and seemingly from nowhere, however, during the 2000 election campaign, Sen. Jesse Helms, (R-N.C.) and Rep. Charles Taylor (R-N.C.) came up with a $16 million dollar appropriation for construction of the North Shore Road. While neither Swain County commissioners nor GSMNP officials had any knowledge of the appropriation, Hogue said, “some of us knew. Trying to get money appropriated can be controversial. Sometimes the fewer people who know, the better.” The $16 million — plus a visit by Taylor — has rekindled efforts to have the Park Service complete the North Shore Road. “Our county commissioners, in good faith, signed the 1943 agreement calling for a road from Bryson City to Deal’s Gap to make up for lost revenue,” Hogue said. “If America’s word is so important, the federal government should keep its word to Swain County. We should not be treated as second-class citizens.” But some Swain County residents believe that hurt feelings over a broken promise are clouding people’s judgment. Leonard Winchester is technology coordinator for Swain County Schools. Winchester believes the county should seek a financial settlement to the 1943 agreement. “I’m not casting stones at anyone, but it’s impossible for me not to consider what could be done if this 16 million (dollars) ... for the road were invested for the future of Swain County. Much much more than any Road to Nowhere will ever do in a hundred years .... With money we can give our kids a better education, better skills for better jobs, better technology,” Winchester said. The idea for a compromise to the 1943 agreement has taken root in the newly formed Citizens for the Economic Future of Swain County. This group is a coalition of county residents and area environmentalist who have been meeting to try and formulate some kind of consensus agreement that would satisfy all parties. Bob McCollum is chairman of the North Carolina Parks, Parkway and Forests Development Council. He has sat in on a few meetings with the newly formed group. Although McCollum lives in Macon County, his father roamed the streets of Proctor as a boy. “Much has changed over the 58 years since the 1943 agreement. There is a greater public awareness today,” McCollum said. “Swain is among the highest counties in the state with regards to unemployment. The industrial base is not diversified, and it has very little land base for taxes,” McCollum said. He said the group has used a formula based on a 1981 proposal for a financial settlement of the 1943 agreement to calculate a proposed settlement figure. He said the amount would be between $39 and $42 million. According to McCollum, interest generated from a settlement of that size would generate a steady, annual $2 to $3 million dollars to the county’s coffers. “The trickle of income generated from a ‘park road’ would not equal that,” he said. Cemetery access is not a part of the 1943 agreement. Hogue and Monteith believe the 1943 agreement is valid and binding and a North Shore Road should be built regardless of cemetery access. But cemetery access is important to the public, and the Park Service has worked to provide public visitation. Shuttles are scheduled across the lake and Park Service personnel provide transportation to cemeteries on specific dates. Local Bryson City businessman Jerry McKinney, a member of Citizens for the Economic Future of Swain County, believes cemetery access and proper respect for the sacrifices of the communities along the north shore are important. McKinney said his group would work to include a state of the art museum depicting the life and times of the displaced Swain County residents as well as better cemetery access. “The North Shore Road would be a duplication of N.C. 28 (which runs around the south shore of the lake to Deal’s Gap) and have dubious economic benefits,” said Roger Turner of the Western North Carolina Alliance. “WNCA would certainly endorse a monetary settlement plus a museum.” GSMNP spokesman Bob Miller said the $16 million already appropriated would be a small step toward the estimated $150 million project. According to Miller, the $150 million figure was “based on the cost of constructing the Cherohala Skyway, in Graham County.” Monteith believes the Park Service estimate is unfounded. “If the Park Service were to use existing road beds, including part of old N.C. 288, they would only have to build a few miles of new road,” Monteith said. “Part of the problem is that there is no detailed proposal except the 1943 agreement. We are bound by law to base our environmental impact studies on the two-lane dustless road proposed by that agreement. We have to abide by NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) regulations. If proponents could agree on an alternative proposal, we would consider it,” Miller said. On Oct. 17, Helms and Taylor will be meeting with new Park Service Director Fran Mainella. The North Shore Road is sure to be discussed. “Rep. Taylor is committed to proceeding in a manner that best fulfills the long-standing government promise to provide the road, causes minimal environmental disturbance and is cost effective,” said Will Haynie, Taylor’s press secretary. On Oct. 29, the issue will be discussed again when the Citizens for the Economic Future of Swain County meet with county commissioners to discuss the 1943 agreement.   Back to Top Home © Copyright 2001, The Smoky Mountain News.

http://aam.wcu.edu/grant/

That road to nowhere was a promise to the people of Swain County who were cut off by the Lake and the Park during WWII.

This unit is about a promise made by the Federal Government in the 1943 Agreement to the citizens of Swain County. A promise made and never kept. The people of The North Shore area of Fontana Lake were forced to leave their homes because a dam was needed to produce hydroelectric power. This resulted in the removal of 1,311 families, of these 600 families were permanent residents of the area before the construction of the dam began. The TVA felt little need to help relocate the 711 families who were transients. There were 163 families removed from the land given to the national park. Alcoa, an aluminum plant in Tennessee, needed the electricity to produce products for the war effort of World War II; thus the building of the Fontana Dam. The removal took place in Swain County from an area, The North Shore, that was covered by the Fontana Lake. The citizens of Swain County were promised in the "43 Agreement" by the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Tennessee Valley Authority a road with a dustless surface, not less than twenty feet in width, that would connect Bryson City to Deals Gap, Tennessee. The road was the exchange to the people for the land taken on the North Shore and Highway 288 that was submerged due to the construction of the Fontana Dam. The proposed road would have provided access to the twenty-two cemeteries on the north shore of Fontana Lake. Fifty eight years later the citizens of Swain County have only A Road to Nowhere. To date, only six miles of the proposed road has been completed. The road ends at a 1,200 foot tunnel with a hiking trail at the end of the tunnel. On October 22, 1991, Senator Jesse Helms read into the Congressional Record that the preservationist worked to halt the road construction because "extreme cuts and fills and unstable conditions would cause environmental damage." Senator Helms has long fought for the people of Swain County for the completion of the road. In 2001 Congressman Charles Taylor appropriated for Swain County sixteen million dollars for more road construction. Environmental groups still pursue the blocking of any road being built. They would like a one time cash settlement for Swain County. Some people in Swain County feel a road into Tennessee as the government promised would boost Swain County's economy like highway 441 from Cherokee into Gatlinburg did for Tennessee, thereby giving the county a much needed tax base to work from every year.

[Flux Capacitor]

----Our Forrests----

[Sorcerer3]

Funny how the environazis continue to use scare tactics to spew their 'HorseshiT' despite when facts contradict their rhetoric. According to the US EPA, since 1970 the US Gross Domestic Product increased 161%, the number of vehicle miles traveled in the US increased 149%, energy consumption in the US increased 42%, the US population increased 39% BUT, and I mean B U T ... the aggregate emissions of the six principle pollutants (nitrogen oxide, ozone, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, and lead) actually DECREASED by 21%. AIN'T that something?

LOL!!! Also, about the ozone problem... Check this out. There is a study about Houston, TX smog that shows how ozone created during the day is actually destroyed by the absense of sunlight at night. SMOG IS DESTROYED AT NIGHT!!!!! This pollution shit is a red herring by the leftist ENVIRONAZIS designed to deceive people into giving them more money and more control. It's obvious since they cannot spew their enviro-armageddon without having their hands out for more funding in the same paragraphs.

Check out my sources for the EPA on pollution and the Houston smog study.

http://www.epa.gov/oar/aqtrnd01/sixpoll.html

http://www.epa.gov/oar/aqtrnd01/sixpoll.html

[Sorcerer3]

Funny how the environazis continue to use scare tactics to spew their 'HorseshiT' despite when facts contradict their rhetoric. According to the US EPA, since 1970 the US Gross Domestic Product increased 161%, the number of vehicle miles traveled in the US increased 149%, energy consumption in the US increased 42%, the US population increased 39% BUT, and I mean B U T ... the aggregate emissions of the six principle pollutants (nitrogen oxide, ozone, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, and lead) actually DECREASED by 21%. AIN'T that something?

LOL!!! Also, about the ozone problem... Check this out. There is a study about Houston, TX smog that shows how ozone created during the day is actually destroyed by the absense of sunlight at night. SMOG IS DESTROYED AT NIGHT!!!!! This pollution shit is a red herring by the leftist ENVIRONAZIS designed to deceive people into giving them more money and more control. It's obvious since they cannot spew their enviro-armageddon without having their hands out for more funding in the same paragraphs.

Check out my sources for the EPA on pollution and the Houston smog study.

http://www.epa.gov/oar/aqtrnd01/sixpoll.html

http://knowledge.fhwa.dot.gov/cops/italladdsup.nsf/0/b225cebb147e67f785256e75005e42db?OpenDocument

[pointsal]

The only solution is to ban humans from the whole state.

[Thommas]

First study?

Then why do I remember an almost theme for theme article from the '70's? Acid rain, pollution, destruction from roads - these issues about the Smokies are raised periodically. Those poor liberals really need fresh material.

[concerned about politics]

Much of the damage could be slowed or prevented if certain steps are taken..............increasing the park's budget.

(Ching ching $$$$$$)

[FixitGuy]

I GOT it.....

Too many cigarette smokers in Gatlinburg!

[PistolPaknMama]

Thought you might ping the SC Freepers!