The Cherokee National Forest is located in Eastern Tennessee and stretches from Chattanooga to Bristol along the North Carolina border. The 640,000-acre forest is the largest tract of public land in Tennessee. Cherokee National Forest lies in the heart of the Southern Appalachian mountain range, one of the world's most ecologically diverse areas. These mountains are home to more than 20,000 species of plants and animals. Each year millions of people visit Cherokee National Forest. It is a place of scenic beauty that provides opportunities for anyone interested in nature and history.
National forests are lands of many uses. The original purpose for their creation was to protect water quality and provide a continuous supply of timber. Today the national forest mission includes outdoor recreation, wildlife and fish habitat, water quality, minerals, wood products, and wilderness management.
Congress began establishing wilderness areas in the Cherokee National Forest in 1975, with additional wilderness areas being established by the Tennessee Wilderness Acts of 1984 and 1986. There are currently 11 designated wildernesses covering 66,600 acres in Cherokee National Forest.
On June 9, 2010 Tennessee Senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker introduced the Tennessee Wilderness Act of 2010 that would designate seven areas totaling 19,556 acres as wilderness in the Cherokee National Forest. These areas have been in Forest Service ownership for many years and were recommended as Wilderness Study Areas in the Cherokee National Forest's 2004 Land and Resource Management Plan. No new lands will need to be secured. They have been managed as wilderness since the plan took effect.
The seven areas include parcels in Carter, Johnson, Monroe, Polk, Unicoi, Washington Counties. The recommended areas include six additions to five existing wilderness areas: Big Frog, Big Laurel, Joyce Kilmer/Slickrock, Little Frog, and Sampson Mountain. The seventh area would be designated as Upper Bald River Wilderness, adjacent to the Bald River Gorge Wilderness.
Many of the areas protected under the Tennessee Wilderness Act of 2010 rival the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in terms of their scenic beauty and recreational opportunity. The Upper Bald River Wilderness will protect water quality in almost all of the headwaters of the Bald River. The Bald River contains a population of native Brook Trout, and flows into the Tellico River, a river famous for whitewater canoeing and kayaking and trout fishing. The addition to Big Laurel Wilderness will permanently protect nearly five miles of the Appalachian Trail corridor.
Wilderness protection for these areas insures that Tennesseans and all Americans will be able to experience authentic nature in it its nearly pure state, with birds, animals, and plants that are able to live freely. It means that today and in the future, we can avail ourselves of the beauty of the area in the noise of nature rather than that of civilization. Wilderness designation will ensure that these areas will always be available for hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, picnicking, bird watching, and horseback riding (on designated trails).
There has been much work to secure the introduction of legislation over the last five years, through an organization called Tennessee Wild (tnwild.org). Tennessee Wild consists of a coalition of conservation groups and individuals in Tennessee. Led by the Southern Appalachian Forest Coalition, and staffed by Jeff Hunter, Tennessee Wild includes representatives from Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning, the Harvey Broome Group of the Sierra Club, and the Smoky Mountain Hiking Club.
We commend Senator Alexander his leadership and his continued commitment to protecting wilderness in Tennessee. We also thank Senator Corker for co-sponsoring this legislation and Representative Zach Wamp for his support. We encourage every Tennessean to contact Senators Alexander and Corker and Representative Wamp and express your opinion about the Tennessee Wilderness Act of 2010.
On Thursday, July 29 Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning, Sierra Club, and Smoky Mountain Hiking Club are co-hosting a presentation about Hiking in the Cherokee National Forest by Will Skelton. His presentation will describe his favorite areas of the Cherokee National Forest including some of the areas covered by the Tennessee Wilderness Act of 2010. Will played an active role with previous Tennessee Wilderness legislation in 1984 and 1986. He also worked closely with Senator Alexander for the Tennessee Wilderness Act of 2010. Will was editor of the "Cherokee National Forest Hiking Guide", which describes the trails of the Cherokee National Forest. First published in 1992 by the UT Press, it is now in its second edition. Will's presentation will occur on Thursday, July 29 at the Oak Ridge Civic Center at 7:00 PM.
This article was written by Jimmy Groton and Sandra Goss, President and Executive Director, respectively, Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning (a Community Share organization).
