Carolina Public Press Reports Call for Recreation Areas Sparks Tensions in Forest Process

Written by Jack Igelman for Carolina Public Press

Tensions have boiled over within the Stakeholders Forum that has been seeking to build harmony on the Pisgah-Nantahala Forest plan revision after more than 40 organizations signed a memorandum of understanding supporting the creation of two National Recreation Areas in Western North Carolina.

The proposal caught some participants in the process off guard and has led them to question whether they can continue to work collaboratively with those who backed the initiative. The recreation areas proposal was submitted to the Forest Service on the final day of the public comment period regarding potential wilderness and wild and scenic rivers designations.

scene in Pisgah National Forest, Jack Igelman/Carolina Public Press.

One member of the forum, Steve Henson who represented the timber industry’s interests, resigned in protest. “My resignation was prompted by my refusal to work with people that, in my opinion, could not be trusted to move forward in good faith,” said Henson in a statement shared with Carolina Public Press.Jim Gray of Franklin, who represents the Ruffled Grouse Society on the Stakeholders Forum, also expressed concern about how the memorandum deviated from the process. 

“The (Memorandum of Understanding) was a surprise to me and several others on the forum,” Gray told CPP. “We will look at anything, but my position has been to put it on the table at the forum and let’s see the pros and cons.” Finding consensus in a room filled with dozens of people is never easy, particularly when it has to do with managing public land in Western North Carolina. 

The National Forest Foundation has been hosting Stakeholders Forum monthly meetings attended by groups with a foothold in the Pisgah-Nantahala National Forest plan revision that will guide the management of the region’s 1 million acres of national forest over the next two decades. NFF’s summaries of the December and January forum meetings indicate that some members were concerned that the release of the National Recreation Areas proposal and news media coverage that followed led to public confusion around the role of the Stakeholders Forum, the Nantahala-Pisgah Forest Partnership and other collaborative groups that have formed around the forest plan revision. 

At stake is the direction this revision will take. As part of the of the forest plan revision, the Forest Service must conduct a wilderness inventory and evaluation. Based on feedback from the public and the best science available, the Forest Service will make recommendations for lands that could one day be included in the national wilderness system.

Tensions already existed between those who favor a substantial expansion of wilderness areas and who oppose some or all expansion. The memorandum added a new wrinkle...read the rest of the article