(no subject)
http://washdateline.mgnetwork.com/index.cfm?SiteID=wsh&PackageID=46&fuseaction=article.main&ArticleID=8005&GroupID=214
The government bought the Uwharrie National Forest in 1931, known then as the Uwharrie Reservation. In 1961, President Kennedy designated it as a national forest. Geologists believe the Uwharries are the remnants of a chain of volcanoes that were once 20,000 feet tall.
-----------------------------------------
Greensboro News & Record
Saving the country's smallest and youngest national forest
By Jeri Rowe
Staff Writer
TROY
Beyond the faded sign for Curt's Welding Shop whispers a slender creek where wild azaleas bloom in the Uwharrie National Forest.
Yet this tranquil spot screams with emotion for many. The U.S. Forest Service may sell this 105-acre tract south of Troy -- along with 30 other parcels in the Uwharrie -- to help build roads and fund rural schools nationwide.
The Uwharrie plan is part of President Bush's proposal to sell 300,000 acres of national forest land -- the largest proposed federal land sale of its kind in a century. Congress is expected to discuss the plan this spring or summer, and all signs show that Bush's proposal could wither quickly on Capitol Hill.
Still, many worry. They see the spread of concrete across the state, and they don't want to lose any of what's known as North Carolina's Central Park, the pristine spot where North America's oldest mountain chain lies.
They see the entrance of the North Carolina Zoo and wonder what could sprout across the street atop Harvey's Ridge.
They walk the trails twisting through the forest and suspect someone's second home could arise near where they fish, hunt, camp or ride horses.
They describe the forest as our lungs, and in a time of global warming, they stress we need all the trees we can get to generate the oxygen we breathe.
The Uwharrie is not just about trees and streams to the folks in Troy, the seat of Montgomery County, home of 80 percent of the national forest.
It's a part of their psyche. And they don't want it sold -- not even 2,317 acres, or 4 percent of the 50,189-acre forest.
"It's our life," said Mayor Roy Maness, who caught his first fish -- a 4-pound largemouth bass -- in the Uwharrie River. "Think about it from my perspective. I can see us losing what I enjoyed as a young boy if we aren't careful. People love to build on the water, but when you take away the forest and put down houses, you take away what's valuable to us."
All that's left
Pass through Troy, a small town an hour south of Greensboro, and you'll see it most everywhere. Uwharrie Gas. Uwharrie Ridge. Uwharrie Volunteer Fire Department. And tucked beneath the Plexiglas in front of Billy Myrick's cash register, a map of the Uwharrie National Forest.
Myrick runs Myrick's Produce, a small stand with handwritten signs that push strawberries, tomatoes and freshly cooked pork skins. Sit for a while, and you'll hear about a working man's woes in a working-class county where job losses have come all too often.
"There's nothing here," said Myrick, 58, who's had to borrow money to stay open. "We've got no jobs. No textile jobs. And if they do want to come here to North Carolina, they want to go 60 miles up the road.
"And I hear it every day," he said, motioning with his cigarette for emphasis. " 'I can't afford to get there.' And when your unemployment checks and jobs run out, what are you going to do?"
This sparsely populated county, which 27,501 people call home, has seen 2,000 job losses since 2000, mostly in textiles. Foreign competition has sucked away the county's economic lifeblood, leaving a 7.3 percent unemployment rate and at least 15 percent of its population living below the poverty line.
But they still have the Uwharrie, the country's youngest and smallest national forest, situated in North Carolina's most populated region.
Created in 1961, the Uwharrie is the only national forest in the Piedmont, the band of rolling land that stretches from Alabama to New York. A hunter's paradise with a healthy population of white-tailed deer, it has more archaeological sites acre for acre than any other national forest because of its link to local Native American history.
On busy weekends, at least 10,000 people pass through the Eldorado Outpost on N.C. 109 to pick up food, gear, off-road vehicle permits and advice from Marion Owen, the grandmother known as "Nana" who runs the store with her family.
There was a time, not so long ago, when Montgomery County thought the federally owned land took away from its tax base. That mind-set is gone.
The Uwharrie brings in the bulk of the county's nearly $17 million in tourism revenue every year. And in an era of waning American textiles, Montgomery has begun to embrace its relationship with the forest whose name means "to float on water" in an ancient Native American language.
This fall, Montgomery will unveil the first Uwharrie Mountain Festival, a two-day event meant to stoke local pride and generate more income.
The festival fits well with the Uwharrie's persona as a working man's resort. The forest has long been seen as a place where you can pitch a tent alongside Badin Lake, hike the Uwharrie Trail and have a wonderful time.
But over the past 12 years, developers have scooped up available land around Badin Lake and Lake Tillery, creating pricey developments with 18-hole golf courses and homes that run from $500,000 to $1 million. There's even a plan to build condominiums in eight-story buildings beside Lake Tillery.
These high-priced developments have helped diversify the county's tax base and fund services that would've been hurt by the county's job losses.
Yet, talk to the locals and longtime users of the forest, and you get a sense of discontent.
Bush's proposal adds insult to injury.
"Do you think that Mr. Worker Man can buy an acre of the land they are selling you?" said Joe White, a 42-year-old Greensboro father of two and member of the Uwharrie Trail Club. "No, it will be some big developer or corporation with some money. Timber companies will clear-cut and bulldoze it and put in whatever -- multifamily condos, mansions. The gap is getting wider."
White began hiking in the Uwharrie as a kid. And he's seen the changes firsthand -- more people, more developments, more trees coming down.
"It's heartbreaking to watch those big logging machines," White said. "They can grab a 100-year-old oak, and it can come down in 20 seconds. Everybody loses, except the people who get to put their mansion next to the national forest, you know?"
Passion unleashed
On a recent Thursday night at N.C. Central University in Durham, college students, environmentalists and forest officials filled an auditorium to hear about the makeup and management of North Carolina's four national forests.
But talk soon turned to Bush's proposal to sell national forest land, including 9,828 acres in North Carolina -- nearly 9 percent of the state's national forest acreage and more than any other Southeastern state stands to lose.
The three-hour meeting in Durham was much friendlier than the one two months ago in Troy.
Terry Seyden, the North Carolina spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service, came to Troy to talk about revising the Uwharrie's land management with hikers, horseback riders and local residents.
News of Bush's proposal broke that week. Inside a children's center in downtown Troy, a line of locals stretched out the door. The whole night, they hammered Seyden with questions.
For a few days after the announcement, Seyden received 400 e-mails a day. He forwarded them all to Washington.
"It just shows people's passion," he said. "They value public lands."
The threat of a sale is a wake-up call for many who use and rely on the Uwharrie. Montgomery County residents and officials have rallied around the forest. Horseback riders, off-road vehicle enthusiasts and others who often don't agree have come together to oppose the plan and suggest ways to consolidate the forest.
The overwhelming response prompted the U.S. Forest Service to extend the period for public comment another month, until Monday.
One of the many people who have responded is Gin Wall, a horticulturist at the N.C. Zoo.
"That is how you change things in the system," Wall said. "I don't presume my little letter will change anything. I mean, I'm one of how many million in the U.S. But if enough do it, people will pay attention."
The first round
The plaque at Uwharrie Vision, an outlook at the zoo dedicated to the Asheboro conservationist Wes Moser, reads:
From far away he looks down Says this is just the first round There's still much to do You see it's up to you and me
"Keep trying" his voice resounds.
Stand at the top of Uwharrie Vision, and you can see the lazy roll of trees along Harvey's Ridge, the spot across from the zoo that could go up for sale.
But hike it, and you find something else: tiger swallowtail butterflies, groves of mountain laurel, calls of the yellow-billed cuckoo and stands of black gum and chestnut oak.
The traffic on U.S. 220 is barely audible.
"They are still going to have to find the money for the schools, and selling 4 percent of the Uwharrie Forest is a drop in the bucket," Wall said near the top of the ridge. "See what you're losing? There has got to be a better way."
Contact Jeri Rowe at 373-7374 or jrowe@news-record.com
Uwharrie Q&A: Finding a forest point of view
By Jeri Rowe
Staff Writer
Gabe Cumming knows the Uwharrie National Forest firsthand.
He and five other students from UNC-Chapel Hill have spent the past year helping the U.S. Forest Service revise the forest's land-management plan. They've talked to locals, studied satellite photos and trekked through forest.
It's all part of Cumming's research for a doctorate degree in ecology. Here's some of what he found:
Q. How do local residents feel about the Uwharrie and the Forest Service?
A. "There is a strong sense of ownership, and they strongly care about (the forest). Most of them have been there their entire lives, and particularly with the land sale thrown in there, you'll see a lot of local opposition.
"At the same time, I think there is an alienation from the Forest Service land and the Forest Service planning process. We talked to the oldest residents, and they remember when (the forest) had been owned by people in the community. They lived and worked on it, and they feel they have been taken out of the process for several generations."
Q. How do locals feel about the increasing number recreational enthusiasts coming into the forest?
A. "I think there is a real divide. On the one hand, that brings revenue and business to places like the Eldorado Outpost. The convenience stores rely on the recreation enthusiasts to patronize their businesses.
"On the other hand, there is a lot of suspicion, bordering on resentment, because these outsiders aren't a part of the community and don't necessarily respect how people lived in and around the forest for generations."
Q. How has this increased recreational use affected the forest?
A. "The erosion on the OHV (Off-Highway Vehicle) trails is pretty severe. Certainly, it's not the only impact on the forest, but it's one the Forest Service should take into account."
Q. What did you find when it comes to development around the forest?
A. "We looked at the land-use change between 1992 and 2001 in satellite imagery and what we found is a rapid increase in the development around the Badin Lake area and on either side of the Forest Service land.
"You have a complete transformation from rural land to developed land in a 10-year period, and I'm sure that has continued to the present."
Q. Does that create tension?
A. "Montgomery County as a whole is a low-income community … and an economy of a marginalized community harboring some well-to-do newcomers, there will be some tension there.
"I'm not sure how it will work itself out. But I know what we tried to do was respect the voices of the local community, you know? They want to know that their point of view is being heard."
Contact Jeri Rowe at 373-7374 or jrowe@gotriad.com
Uwharrie: What our legislators say
“While I believe investing in education is one of the best ways to secure a bright future for our state, I do not support the administration’s proposal to sell our national forest land. Our national forest land is important to the economic development of North Carolina, which relies heavily on the tourism industry. I would have serious concerns about any attempt in Congress to enact this proposal.”
- U.S. Sen. Richard Burr
“Those familiar with my work on behalf of the Uwharrie National Forest will recall that I have consistently requested federal funding to complete portions of the trail, which is currently fragmented or inaccessible. While I will monitor this proposal very carefully, it is important to note that the House will craft its own budget, to be reconciled with the Senate, and that will set the parameters for next year’s funding of our national parks and forests.”
- U.S. Rep. Howard Coble
“According to a letter from four former Forest Service chiefs, it is a long-established custom to trade parcels of national forest land for other lands that enhance the national forest system. However, 'auctioning off national forest lands, for any purpose beyond enhancement of the national forests, is an unwise precedent.’ ’’
- U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole
“This proposal violates all tenets of good public policy. It disposes of valuable, sometimes priceless public resources, removing them from public access for all time to provide a modest, one-time infusion of funds for the ongoing needs of rural schools. Our rural communities need a stable source of revenue for infrastructure and education. Selling our valuable natural land is not the answer.”
- Gov. Mike Easley