Mountain True: Championing resilient forests, clean waters, and healthy communities, with Josh Kelly

Cullasaja Falls in the Nantahala National Forest

Our public lands are among the most visited in the Southern Blue Ridge. The Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests receive over 10 million visitors annually, and the Blue Ridge Parkway and Great Smoky Mountains National Park are in the top 3 most visited parks in the Country. DuPont State Recreational Forest had its most crowded year ever last year, recording 1.3 million visitors. People love coming here and we can’t blame them. But declining budgets have stressed the U.S. Forest Service and led to closures at campgrounds, picnic areas, trails, & roads. In the last 20 years we’ve lost over 100 miles of trail in WNC. Besides the inability to explore these closed areas, there are also significant ecological implications with abandoned trails and roads.

In this episode I sit down with Josh Kelly, Public Lands Field Biologist with Mountain True, a Nonprofit organization that champions resilient forests, clean waters, and healthy communities. We talk about how a powerful plea to the Chief of the N.C. Forest Service led to a revised & sustainable forest service plan in 1994, and likely saved the Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests from the Forest Plan at the time that called for cutting nearly the entire forest over a 100-year period. Josh shares his thoughts on the long overdue Forest Plan draft revision that was just completed, and how Mountain True hopes their work and influence will be reflected in the final draft. We also briefly discuss other ways Mountain True helps protect the places we share.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Mountain True
Pisgah National Forest
Nantahala National Forest
Dupont State Recreational Forest
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Blue Ridge Parkway
U.S. Forest Service
Southern Off-Road Bicycle Association (SORBA)
Carolina Mountain Club
Western North Carolina Alliance
UNC Asheville

QUICK STATS
–1.8 million acres of public land in WNC
-80% of Public Lands in WNC covered in forest
-5 million acres in the region
-Nantahala National Forest 531,148 acres
-Pisgah National Forest 500,000 acres
-1,031,148 total acres in NNF and PNF
-Only 10% are old growth forest
-2000 species of native plants
-Over 200 series of nesting songbirds
-Over 100 species of native fish
-80 species of reptiles and amphibians