Environmentalists worry that public lands in Western North Carolina, already devastated by a tropical storm and wildfires, are about to suffer a human-made disaster — adverse federal policies from the Trump administration.
Several environmental leaders held a forum at The Mule at Devil’s Foot Beverage on April 9 to talk about it. The event, Support Our Public Lands, included short presentations by representatives of more than half a dozen organizations.
A crowd of about 150 people attended the forum, which organizers say was designed to educate community members about nonprofits that focus on public resources, land and wildlife, especially given recent federal policies that could pose long-term challenges.
“The Trump administration’s actions have fueled an atmosphere of hostility toward the very concept of public lands,” said Ben Prater, Southeast program director of Defenders of Wildlife. “Federal workers are our guardians of these lands. They’ve been left powerless to stop the reckless agenda, and their ability to protect that land and the wildlife we love is now stifled with political pressure and chronic shortages of resources.”
Speakers expressed particular concern about the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s decision to roll back environmental protections around logging projects in more than half of U.S. national forests, including Pisgah and Nantahala, under an emergency designation that cites dangers from wildfires. The administration’s plans to sell some public lands also raised alarms.
“When we think about our forest loss from Hurricane Helene, when we think about the fires that just happened, do we need more forest loss in Pisgah and Nantahala?” said Liz Hillard, senior wildlife biologist for the Wildlands Network. “We don’t. This affects us specifically here in Western North Carolina.”
Asheville High School student River Harlan, a youth leader with I Heart Pisgah, said the Pisgah and Nantahala forests are the backbone of the regional economy. I Heart Pisgah is a coalition of more than 100 organizations and businesses working to protect the forests.
“National forests are especially important to young people like me,” Harlan said. “They protect our drinking water, clean air, scenery, economy and climate. Forests are our future. We don’t want them clear-cut, mined, drilled and sold. We want them permanently protected. National forests are worth far more standing than cut down.”
Getting involved
Despite the bleak picture, speakers implored attendees not to lose hope.
“Some of the best advice that I ever got was, ‘Cynicism kills,'” said the event’s organizer, Jeff Hunter, Southern Appalachian director of the National Parks Conservation Association. “Do not be cynical. Each one of you has a sphere of influence. You have friends, you have colleagues, you have coworkers. Please share this information with people. Ask them to get involved together.”
Hunter and others encouraged people to volunteer and to serve on boards of environmental nonprofits as well as contact elected officials, including U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards and U.S. Sens. Thom Tillis and Ted Budd, all Republicans.
“It shouldn’t be a partisan issue. We can’t let it be,” said Jill Gottesman, Southeastern states director for the Wilderness Society. “What we can do is make sure our elected officials know that North Carolina has a critical and important outdoors legacy, and not only do we need our federal land management agency staff, but these agencies can better manage these places than states or private corporations can. They’re not for sale.”
Hunter said people should remain calm when reaching out to elected officials.
“If you get angry, if you shout, that’s really not an effective way to convince your legislator to see things your way,” he said. “Just passionately let your representative know why these issues are important to you and be specific: ‘Hey, my family likes to go and have a picnic on Max Patch on the Appalachian Trail.’ Conservation is about storytelling, and you can all be storytellers. Speak your truth.”
Renee Fortner, director of programs at RiverLink, said she is encouraged that so many people are fired up about protecting the environment in Western North Carolina.
“If there is a silver lining to the natural and political disasters that we are living through, it’s the incredible collaborative work that’s happening to help rebuild our communities and restore our waterways,” she said. “And it’s just really inspiring for me to see all of you out here tonight and all the amazing organizations doing good work.”
A second event is planned for Knoxville, Tenn., but no date has been set, Hunter said.
Nice piece but more than a bit naive… “It shouldn’t be a partisan issue. We can’t let it be,” Just as Asheville/WNC will never see another dollar of relief funds for Helene from the federal government …our MAGA representatives and legislators up in Washington DC will do absolutely nothing to protect our national forest here in WNC from the tsunami that is about to consume them by way of logging the remaining mature high elevation hardwood oak forests that are going to be cut en masse in the Pisgah and Nantahala forests. And when their decimation is completed, they’re gone forever as a practical matter …along with the watershed protection, wildlife protection, and biodiversity protection only they can provide. Welcome to MAGA… sigh.
Our public lands are not for sale, and we’re not going to wreck them with overzealous extraction like mining, logging, and road building. These lands produce the water we drink, and they are the core of a recreation economy worth billions in WNC. They’re loved by millions of residents and visitors alike, and all this love does require some management — parking areas, bathrooms, emergency services and more are essential to preserving their value as an economic engine. Plain as day, friends!!