With the budget battles looming in Congress and with politicians posturing for the 2012 presidential race, adding acreage to the Cherokee National Forest might not be an attention grabber - but it is important to Tennessee.
Thankfully, it also is important to the state's two U.S. senators, Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker, who are asking Congress to declare almost 20,000 acres as wilderness areas within the forest that hugs the state's eastern border from Copperhill to Mountain City.
Alexander and Corker, both Republicans, recently refiled legislation that would increase the amount of federally designated wilderness in the Cherokee to about 86,000 acres. If the legislation wins approval, wilderness areas in the forest will expand for the first time in 25 years.
At a total of 650,000 acres, the Cherokee National Forest is the largest public land tract in Tennessee, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Alexander, whose home is in Blount County, said he grew up hiking in the East Tennessee mountains. "I know that if we conserve these wilderness areas and preserve these landscapes, we'll give the next generations the same opportunity," he said in a statement when filing the legislation.
Alexander and Corker tried last year to expand the wilderness areas in the forest, but the proposal failed to get a hearing. The bill's prospects look better this year because it will be assigned to a different committee, said Jim Jefferies, a spokesman for Alexander.
In 2010, the bill was assigned to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. This year the bill will go before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, of which Corker is a member. Here's hoping for a better outcome.
The legislation will create one new wilderness area and expand the boundaries of five existing wilderness areas. In all, 19,556 acres on the Cherokee's northern and southern ends would receive the wilderness designation.
The U.S. Forest Service recommended the areas for wilderness status in a 2004 comprehensive forest plan. The legislation would have no effect on privately owned lands and would not alter public access.
The Cherokee National Forest has 600 miles of trails, including 150 miles of the Appalachian Trail; miles of cold-water streams; seven whitewater rivers and three lakes. The forest also is the habitat for 43 species of mammals, more than 150 species of fish, 55 species of amphibians and 262 species of birds, according to the USDA. It is popular with tourists fleeing the fast-paced life of the workaday world.
As Alexander noted, the Tennessee Wilderness Act of 2011 is a significant step to protecting the state's natural heritage. That is important to Tennesseans who appreciate the scenic beauty of the state as well as to tourists. Congress should never be too busy or distracted to ensure that kind of heritage is protected and preserved.
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2011/jun/19/more-wildnerness-good-for-cherokee/
