Friends of Big Ivy, just beyond Barnardsville, have posted their concerns about a U.S. Forest Service Plan to cut timber in the Pisgah Forest. The plan opens most of the Big Ivy portion of Pisgah Forest to logging, an area with many hiking, biking and horse trails.
From the Friends of Big Ivy site:
The Forest Service proposes to designate most of Big Ivy as 1 or 2a. Friends of Big Ivy advocates changing those designations to 2C, 4C, 5, and 6.
What exactly does that mean? Here is a brief layman’s explanation of those designations.
An area designated as 1 is managed mainly for commercial timber production. Roads are built to access the timber, and trees are cut and actively managed every few years.
A 2a designation is managed very similar to 1, though the purpose of its designation is different.
Trees are still cut and harvested on a regular basis, but its purpose is not just financial but also to benefit deer hunting, species habitat, or some other use.
However, 2C is considered unsuitable for timber production. Instead, it emphasizes management of the forest for scenery and wildlife.
4C has a similar management prescription.
5 is an even stronger protection, with emphasis on primitive recreation.
And 6 is a recommended wilderness study area, which is open to all hiking, backpacking, camping, angling, horseback riding, and hunting, but excludes motor vehicles, logging, and any other extractive use. The Craggy Mountain Wilderness Study Area was designated decades ago and still awaits Congressional approval.
Based on the current and future biological and cultural values of Big Ivy, Friends of Big Ivy recommends that the 1 and 2a designations be replaced by 2C and 4C designations, and when appropriate, with 5 and 6 designations too.
The Forest Service is accepting comments at this time regarding its plan. Comments can be emailed to ncplanrevision@fs.fed.us
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