The Current National Crisis
Hey fishy family, we have a national crisis on our hands and we wanted to inform you about it if you were unaware. I’ll focus on areas that are specifically in western NC, but make no mistake, this goes for the entire country. The USDA is planning to rescind the “Roadless Rule” which has protected the most intact National Forest lands since 2001. This is a huge hit to the Old Growth forests within the Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests, which are home to some of the most biologically diverse temperate rainforest regions on Earth. Forests that have never been touched by human machinery. The argument is that by rescission, access to these “unmanaged” areas will put forest management in the hands of local officials and mitigate wildfires. One of our biggest concerns is that private interests might receive grants or permits to conduct logging, mining, fracking, etc. These areas are literally close to home for us and our neighbors. The maps show regions at risk in the Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests that were pulled directly from the USDA site. The National Forest Service already has “Realty Specialists” that also control the issuance of Special Use Permits for guide and tour operators and also decide which sections of forest are to be sold to private interests or individuals. This is an abomination of a decision. Do your research into this. We, as lovers of pristine wilderness, have to come together on yet another attempt to sacrifice our publicly owned lands. One huge thing that every single American citizen has in common is that we are all public landowners. These places may be managed by the federal government, but they are owned by all of us. This encompasses wilderness areas that harbor some of the most pristine trout streams in the world. The enormity of the biomass here is dizzying. The small Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest is home to more species of trees than all the species in the United Kingdom. It’s in the crosshairs. Graveyard Ridge and the Middle Prong Wilderness is also under the microscope. Check the maps and see what is at risk. PLEASE! Voice your opinion on the USDA public comment section via the link in the comments. Check the article by Ben Prater with defenders.org, also in the comments. We need this to NOT be rescinded if we’re to have anything left.
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