Here’s the message from the Western North Carolina Alliance’s email newsletter:
Dear friends and supporters of WNCA,
The Nantahala-Pisgah National Forest needs your voice in the current plan revision process to speak up for roadless area protections, old-growth forest protection, wildlife habitat, recreation opportunities, scenery, water quality and economic benefits of the Nantahala-Pisgah.
There are more than 1.1 million acres of land in the Nantahala-Pisgah and it is the second most visited National Forest. It also contains the highest mountains in eastern North America, and is a global hotspot for temperate biodiversity.
In 1992, 7,000 acres were clearcut in Nantahala-Pisgah National Forest; in 2012 there was no clearcutting.
Action by the Western North Carolina Alliance led to revision of the 1987 Nantahala-Pisgah Land and Resource Management Plan in 1994, leading to the forest we know and love today.
Nantahala-Pisgah National Forest is revising its management plan again, beginning in 2013, with a final decision by 2016. WNCA is working to continue and improve on the gains made in the 1994 Forest Plan Amendment.
Nantahala-Pisgah National Forest is critical to the future of our region and our nation and your efforts can help protect these lands for the next two decades.
Please write letters to the editor, the Forest Service and to your elected officials stating your support for ecological management of the forest. Get your friends and neighbors involved, too, and come to public meetings as they occur.
The next public session will be
9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Oct. 5 at the N.C. Arboretum in Asheville.Comments or questions about the Plan revision or process can be emailed to:
NCplanrevision@fs.fed.us
Hard copies of comments can be mailed to:
National Forests in North Carolina
Nantahala-Pisgah Plan Revision
160 Zillicoa St. Suite A, Asheville, NC 28801If you have questions or want to get involved in WNCA’s work to protect the Nantahala-Pisgah, please contact me, WNCA Public Lands Field Biologist Josh Kelly, at (828) 258-8737, ext. 205 or via email at Josh@WNCA.org.
Thank you for joining us to ensure the future of our beautiful and irreplaceable National Forests!
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