Globe appeal rejected
By Scott Nicholson
nicholson@wataugademocrat.com

While the U.S. Forest Service won its last legal battle over the Globe Forest Management project, opponents plan to pursue other avenues and to press the Forest Service on its pledge to continue discussing the project.

The U.S. Forest Service affirmed Grandfather District Ranger Joy Malone’s decision on the management plan after regional environmental organizations had appealed the plan over concerns that a number of old-growth hardwood trees would be sold for timber harvest. The Southern Environmental Law Center, representing the forest-protection advocacy group Wild South and other groups, filed the administrative appeal in December, the first step before any civil actions ensue.

U.S. Forest Supervisor Marisue Hilliard said in a letter to the appellants, “I am very much aware of the sincere concerns expressed by local governments and other constituents about potential project impacts of the Globe project, particularly the concerns about scenic values in the Blowing Rock area and concerns about old growth.”

Hilliard committed the forest service to continued dialogue with Blowing Rock residents and forest advocates, including extending the discussion to a broader embrace of scenic values, wildfire reduction and stewardship contracts.

The original proposal, made in 2006, would have logged much of a 231-acre area in the Globe basin below Blowing Rock, though some stands of trees would be selectively preserved. Opponents portrayed the management plan as a clear-cutting operation of hardwoods for the benefit of timber-company profits.

The plan was later scaled back to reduce it by 19 acres and give more attention to the project’s scenic impacts to the Blue Ridge Parkway and Blowing Rock. The management plan also includes the use of chemicals to protect against invasive, non-native species and limit threat from wildfire.

Chris Joyell, Wild South spokesman, said the forest service had not acknowledged public opinions on the project.

“The last time I saw any concessions, if you can call them that, was probably the end of 2006, when it was scaled back 19 acres,” he said. “They’re still going into the old-growth portions of the forest. While they’re doing a better job of gathering public input, they’re not reflecting that input.”

The long-term Forest Plan direction for lands around Blowing Rock will be addressed collaboratively during Forest Plan revision, tentatively scheduled for 2010. Hilliard said the forest service planned to implement the actions in stages while also developing its long-term forest plan for the national forests around Blowing Rock.

“If monitoring during the first phases of project implementation demonstrates that scenic impacts are greater than stated in the EA (Environmental Assessment), then the Forest [service] would consider making changes for the remaining phases of the project,” Hilliard said, with the project beginning in 2009 at the earliest.

According to the forest service, the scaled-down project is comprised of 17 small partial harvest units averaging 11 acres in size, distributed across the 11,225-acre project area.

Joyell said the forest service had failed to take into account a proposed scenic designation for the Grandfather Mountain area and said at a minimum the Globe project should avoid the half of the property that might be included in that designation.

“We’re prepared to do whatever it takes to protect the Globe basin and best represent the community’s interests for that area,” Joyell said, adding he hoped the forest service was sincere in its desire to continue discussions. “We hope to gain time and help them understand the importance of this area to the community.”