Featured Photo: Milky Way Over Pathfinder

Featured Photo: Milky Way Over Pathfinder

Saturday, May 26, 2007

Road To Nowhere Put Down

Finally, after years of debate, it appears that the Road to Nowhere on the Southern edge of the Great Smoky Mountains might finally get the axe for good. From the Tennessean we learn of this great news. Apparently,
After 64 years of debate, the National Park Service says the best option for what's been dubbed "the road to nowhere" in the Smokies is not to build it.
We are encouraged with the news that perhaps politicians are finally making a good decision for the environment. The environmental impact study from the park service determined that the preferred option in the case of the Road was to not build it. Swain County North Carolina will receive a monetary settlement in place of the road. Interestingly, the road WAS promised to the people of this area years ago when TVA built a dam and not everyone appreciates the idea of a settlement. In light of this revelation, is the decision the best one? I think so, but I am admittedly biased. At least I will be able to fish Forney, Hazel, Eagle, and all the other creeks without hundreds of tourists watching. The last thing we need in a wilderness area of a National Park is another road. Of course, as we all know, the issue isn't dead until it is dead so keep your fingers crossed...

5 comments:

  1. Hi David from Spain. Congratullations for your blog and also for your photos.

    I add a link in my blog:

    http://lineasconvida.blogspot.com/

    Cheers

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  2. Thanks for the link! I checked your site and you have some great pictures yourself...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks, I am starting to translate some of the post so you can understand it.
    Cheers

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  4. Anonymous1:29 PM

    David,
    This particular issue has bothered me for some time. I was worried someone would build a road through Hazel Creek before I got a chance to fish it as a backcountry stream. If they had decided to build it, I would have been forced to take an emergency trip. I really can't understand how, in this day and age, we're still considering building roads through our few remaining protected wilderness areas. I guess that, like you, I'm biased. It's just that there's so little left...

    Take care,
    Nathan

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  5. Nathan, I am in the same position as you. Hazel (and the other streams) has been on my to-do list for quite a while. I just haven't made myself do it yet. Hopefully the road situation will be put down once and for all so I don't need to worry about getting there in time. A treasure like this should be preserved for future generations.

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