Drafts of the Nantahala and Pisgah forest plan and environmental impact statement (EIS) are now available. A formal 90-day public review and comment period is scheduled to begin on February 14,2020.

The proposed plan is built on significant public engagement and the best available science to guide forest management for the next 15 years. It recognizes the multiple uses of national forests including recreation, timber, water, wilderness, and wildlife habitat. The draft EIS considers the economic, environmental, and social impacts of forest management activities.

“We heard from a wide range of people and groups who use, depend on, and appreciate the forests as we developed the plan,” said Allen Nicholas, Forest Supervisor of the National Forests in North Carolina. “We’re sharing this proposed plan so the public can review it and provide additional information before the plan is finalized.”

The proposed plan describes how the Forest Service will increase forest restoration, generate more jobs and economic development in local communities, and promote sustainable use of the national forests. The draft EIS presents four alternative approaches to managing the forests that offer different ways to make progress towards multiple goals and be sensitive to special places.

“These drafts are significantly different from the early plan materials we shared in 2017 because we’ve incorporated public feedback received since then,” said Michelle Aldridge, team lead for the forest plan revision. “Using public input, we’ve re-written parts of the plan, changed management area boundaries, and added a new chapter about places and uses on each part of the forest. We built alternatives based upon what we heard were shared values to offer win-win solutions and minimize polarization,” Aldridge said.

The drafts are available online at www.fs.usda.gov/goto/nfsnc/nprevision. The formal comment period ends May 14, 2020. Public comments are most helpful when they include detailed information about specific places and uses of the forest.

Public meetings will be held at the dates and locations below for participants to talk with planning team members. Additional public meetings are being scheduled across the forests. Check our website for updated information.

March 10, 5:30-8:30pm at the Foothills Conference Center, 2128 S. Sterling St., Morganton, NC.
March 16, 5:30-8:30pm at the Rogow Family Community Room, Brevard Library, 212 S Gaston St, Brevard, NC.
March 19, 5:30-8:30pm at the Brasstown Community Center, 255 Settawig Rd, Brasstown, NC.
March 24, 5:30-8:30pm at First Presbyterian Church’s Tartan Hall, 26 Church Street, Franklin NC.

Your property includes cascading waterfalls, ancient forests, and the highest mountains in the East. You can go anywhere you like on your property. You can hike hundreds of miles of trails and paddle, fish, and swim in its pristine streams.

You share ownership equally with every other American, and you pay your staff—the U.S. Forest Service—to manage the property. They maintain the trails and enforce the rules that you make.

Every 20 years, you write a plan that describes how your estate should be managed. You get together with the other owners to hash it out, and your staff writes it all down. This plan is the most important document of your property. It spells out the rules for your property and decides how your property taxes are spent.

The Pisgah-Nantahala National Forest is the third-most-visited national forest in the country. Its popularity has skyrocketed by 136 percent in the past two decades. Over 6.8 million people visited the forest last year, and most of them came to hike, camp, and enjoy its scenic wonders.

The Forest Service recently released a preliminary draft of their forest plan, which will guide the next twenty years of forest decisions. It’s already mired in bitter controversy.

Find out why here…