Protecting Panthertown Valley: F

Areas in Panthertown are best suited for Special Interest Area and Backcountry Management Area designations. The areas in Panthertown proposed in the draft Forest Plan as Matrix should instead be managed as Backcountry, while the core of Panthertown should remain as a Special Interest Area.
The Forest Plan should prioritize recreational use in Panthertown. Recreation and conservation should be prioritized over increased timber harvests, with a focus on protecting its trails, clean water, scenic views, rare species, wild places, and old growth.
The Forest Service should manage the Dismal Creek / Dismal Falls / Big Pisgah area on Pisgah National Forest as Backcountry with contiguous area in Panthertown.
The Forest Plan should specify that vegetation and ecosystem management within the Panthertown Special Interest Area should recognize recreation values and be solely for the purpose of restoring and enhancing the ecological integrity and values of the area.
Management of Panthertown should restrict prescribed burning and timber harvesting within 50 feet of system trails, kept outside of popular recreational corridors, and away from Special Interest Areas.
Panthertown Creek, Greenland Creek, and the East Fork of the Tuckasegee River (totaling 8.6 miles) should be reconsidered and found to be eligible for Wild and Scenic River designations to receive the maximum possible protections.
The Forest Service should strengthen water quality protections and ensure that all Outstanding Resource Waters are named and protected in the Forest Plan. Stream protection standards should meet or exceed those currently set for other Southern Appalachian National Forests such as the Chattahoochee, the Cherokee, and the Jefferson.
The Forest Service should protect existing old growth forest areas in Panthertown Valley.
A comprehensive trail inventory should be conducted to determine which trails are most needed by hikers, mountain bikers, horseback riders, climbers, anglers and other trail users. The Forest Service should add those priority trails to the official system, and partner with recreation groups, such as Friends of Panthertown, to ensure that the trails are maintained and made sustainable.

More Issues • Please Read

Protected Areas: F

The plan fails to protect over 101,000 acres of most important conservation and recreation hotspots. More than half of the most popular forest in the country is in highest priority logging designations.

Craggy National Scenic Area: D

The Forest Scenic Area designation for part of Craggy provides key support for the proposed Craggy National Scenic Area, and the final plan included an additional 700 acres. However, the plan places

What’s At Stake

The Pisgah-Nantahala National Forest Plan quadruples logging and reduces protections for the country’s most popular national forest.

We can still protect the most important recreation and conservation areas in the forest.

Sign the petition below supporting more protected areas and the creation of the Craggy National Scenic Area.

Take Action NOW!

Please introduce and support legislation to create the Craggy National Scenic Area — North Carolina’s first-ever National Scenic Area.

The Craggy National Scenic Area will permanently protect 18,000 acres of the most beautiful and biologically diverse forests in the East. Craggy includes ancient forests, waterfalls, pristine trout streams, and iconic trails like the Mountains to Sea Trail, North Carolina’s state trail.

The Craggy National Scenic Area will also permanently protect the panoramic vistas from Craggy Gardens, the most visited and popular destination along the entire Blue Ridge Parkway. We need Congress to create the Craggy National Scenic Area to permanently protect these stunning and spectacular forests, streams, and vistas.

Craggy’s pristine headwaters are home to native trout and part of a protected watershed and municipal drinking water source for the region. Craggy National Scenic Area will be a cornerstone of recreation and tourism less than 15 miles from downtown Asheville. It also will protect one of the largest old-growth forests in the East, home to over 44 rare and endangered species.

Craggy has widespread public and local community support. A record-setting 36,000 comments have flooded the Forest Service in support of the Craggy National Scenic Area. The local Big Ivy community wholeheartedly supports the Craggy National Scenic Area. The City of Asheville has passed two unanimous bipartisan resolutions supporting the Craggy National Scenic Area. Buncombe County has also passed unanimous bipartisan resolutions supporting the Craggy National Scenic Area.

Craggy National Scenic Area will protect and enhance the scenery and recreational opportunities that are vital to our region’s economy.
Georgia has two National Scenic Areas, and Virginia has a National Scenic Area, too. You can help North Carolina create its first-ever National Scenic Area, and there is nowhere more deserving of National Scenic Area status than Craggy.

With your leadership, Craggy can become the first-ever National Scenic Area in North Carolina.

Thank you for considering this opportunity to highlight North Carolina’s world-class scenery and recreational opportunities.

Sincerely,

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