water, mud and ash also buried 15 homes (destroying three) and caused damage to 42 residential properties. The spill also washed out a road, ruptured a major gas line, and destroyed power lines. Though 22 residences were evacuated, nobody was reported to be injured or in need of hospitalization.

It was the largest coal-related slurry spill in United States history, more than three times the size of the Martin County, KY sludge spill of 2000, which released 306 million gallons of liquid coal waste. The Kingston spill released enough sludge to fill 1,660 Olympic-size swimming pools, and the volume released was about 50 times larger than the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill.

The burning of coal concentrates its impurities, including arsenic, lead and mer-cury, among many other potentially toxic contaminants. Environmentalists have long argued that coal ash, which can contaminate groundwater and poison aquatic environ-ments, should be stored in lined landfills. The ash ponds at Kingston were separated from the river only by earthen dikes.

Federal studies show that coal ash may contain dangerous levels of heavy metals and carcinogens. A test of river water near the spill showed elevated levels of lead and thalli-um, which can cause birth defects and nervous and reproductive system disorders. Water sampled several miles downstream from the spill was safe to drink, but its iron and man-ganese content exceeded the secondary drink-ing water standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency, which govern taste and

Experts are already calling it the largest environmental disaster of its kind in the his-tory of the United States.

On December 22, an earthen dike broke at a 40-acre waste retention pond at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Kingston Fossil Plant in Roane County, Tennessee. The results are almost beyond comprehension.

The coal-fired power plant, located in the city of Kingston, uses three ponds to store fly ash, a byproduct of coal combustion, in wet form. Over a billion gallons of coal fly ash slurry (a mixture of fly ash and water) trav-eled downhill before flowing into the nearby Emory and Clinch Rivers, both tributaries of the Tennessee River. A combination of rains and accumulating sludge likely contributed to the disaster.

As many as 400 acres of land were bur-ied in up to six feet of sludge. The wave of

TVA Spill Threatens Tennessee Waterways

Protecting Forests for Lifewww.wildsouth.org (828) 258-2667

Winter 2009

by Chris Joyell, chris@wildsouth.org

The true cost of coal often goes unno-ticed until we witness a catastrophe on the scale of Tennessee’s recent ash pond spill. But coal production extracts a cost sometimes so subtle, you would have to be a freshwater biologist to notice.

The Southeast has long been considered the world’s center of diversity for freshwater mussels, but that status is now in jeopardy.

Mussel populations in the Southern Appalachians (and

around the world) have steadily declined over the past century. One mus-sel, the tan riffleshell, illustrates the global cri-sis of freshwater mussel decline and extinction.

Tan riffleshells require excellent water quality and prefer well-oxygenated, stable shoal or riffle habitat. Unfortunately, water pollution from industry and coal mining and sedimentation from logging have contributed to the mussel’s march towards extinction. Today, the last remaining naturally reproduc-ing population of tan riffleshell mussels can be found in Virginia’s Indian Creek, a small tributary to the Clinch River in Tazwell County, VA.

In 2005, the US Army Corps of Engineers issued a permit to expand a coal mine along Indian Creek. The mine is located directly upstream of populations of three endan-gered mussels, including the tan riffleshell. Despite the proximity of these mussels, the Corps refused to consult with the U.S.

Fish & Wildlife Service, as required by the Endangered Species Act.

After years of legal research and recruit-ing partner organizations, Wild South initi-ated a lawsuit in November to compel the Corps to consult with USFWS. Partners Appalachian Voices and Defenders of Wildlife have joined in the suit, with Defenders pro-viding Wild South with legal representation. We issued a 60-day notice of intent to sue to the Corps, and it appears unlikely that the Corps will voluntarily comply with the ESA.

We will continue to report on our efforts to protect the tan riffleshell’s last stand in future issues of the Wild South Quarterly. You can also find updates on our website: www.wildsouth.org.

Wild South Sues Army Corps to Protect Endangered Mussels

odor but not potential health effects. In 2004, Wild South (formerly the

Southern Appalachian Bodiversity Project) secured protections for 550 river miles in Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Virginia, and Kentucky, as critical habitat for five fed-erally-listed freshwater mussels, including the endangered Cumberland elktoe, oyster mussel, Cumberlandian combshell, purple bean and rough rabbitsfoot mussels. Critical habitat for these mussels was designated in portions of the Clinch River drainage in Hancock County, Tennessee, roughly one hundred miles downstream of the spill.

Although it is unlikely that the spill will have an immediate impact on this critical habitat, Wild South is investigating the long-term downstream impacts this spill may have on the endangered mussel populations.

The largest coal-related slurry spill in United States history buried 400 acres of land.

Wild South Annual Report

STEWARDING OUR NATIONAL FORESTS: Wild South reviews and comments on project proposals put forth by the USFS on behalf of our members and the public at large to ensure that the agency complies with environmental laws, protects ecological func-tions, and acts in the best interest of the public.

Bankhead Canyon MappingThe Bankhead National Forest’s Canyon Prescription

recognizes Alabama’s sandstone canyons as unique eco-systems supporting rare plant communities and deserving of a level of protection exceeded only by the Wilderness Prescription. However, the US Forest Service does not have the time or resources to properly map these canyons — a necessary step before placing them under the Canyon Prescription.

This year Wild South surveyed five Bankhead water-sheds covering almost 13,000 acres, documenting over 800 acres of canyons. We submitted this data to the US Forest Service, providing for permanent protection of their fragile canyon ecosystems.

Grandfather National Scenic AreaFifty years ago, the Globe Forest in Pisgah National

Forest, near Blowing Rock, NC, had old growth groves, pristine streams teeming with native Brook Trout, and well-loved hiking trails. But a series of ill-conceived 1980s forest management projects reduced the number of old growth groves and depleted the Brook Trout population.

For the past three years, Wild South has met with community members to formulate a plan to preserve the remaining native landscape of this special forest. In the process we have galvanized support for protecting the Globe Forest and the surrounding 25,500 of Pisgah National Forest as a National Scenic Area.

This year, we demonstrated, in partnership with Colorado State University’s Economics Department, that a Grandfather National Scenic Area would generate 724 new jobs and bring in an additional $38.4M in annual revenue to the region. This will buttress our advocacy for perma-nently protecting this special area.

We also secured an additional 50 signatures for our business sign-on letter; hosted a GNSA press event which was attended by the Democratic challengers in the 5th and 10th NC districts; hosted six Old Growth hikes in the pro-posed GNSA; and worked with a voluntary film crew based in Boone, NC, to create a short documentary about the GNSA and its path to designation.

PROTECTING WILDLIFE: Wild South strives to main-tain the diversity of species on public and private lands by promoting the protection of native habitats.

Tellico OHV SystemMuddy runoff caused by heavy Off-Road Vehicle

(ORV) usage in the Tellico watershed was devastating one of the last, best strongholds for brook trout, a native spe-cies in decline in North Carolina and Tennessee. Wild South, with partners, protected the Tellico’s brook trout by compelling the temporary shut-down of the worst-offend-

Foundation Support in 2008

Astrov Fund Ben & Jerry’s Foundation Blumenthal Foundation The Conservation Alliance Fund for Wild NatureThe Lovett FoundationNational Forest Foundation Norcross Wildlife Foundation Patagonia Town Creek Foundation Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation

Major Accomplishments in 2008

Roosevelt-Ashe Society Members

AMERICAN CHESTNUT ($25,000+):

Fred & Alice Stanback

TULIP POPLAR ($1,000+):

John & Annie Ager Bruce Berberick Nelson BrookeThomas Dudley Charles W. Gaddy and Lucy Finch GaddyClaude William GaddyThe Kuehlthau Family Travis & Tanya McDowell Randy & Franzi Talley John & Ashley Wilson

DOGWOOD ($500+):

Joel Adams Jeanne Cummings Walter Daniels Mark Kirkpatrick & Debbie Arnold Ned Mudd George & Diana Pickering

Roosevelt-Ashe Society Community Partners

WHITE OAK ($5,000+):

Crest Mountain & M7 Event Solutions EarthFare Jubilee! Community Pisgah Brewing Co. Stellar Media

TULIP POPLAR ($1,000+):

Blackbird Frame & Art Fiore’s Ristorante Toscana First Congregational Church of Christ Food Experience French Broad River Garden Club The Green Sage

DOGWOOD ($500+):

Alabama Environmental CouncilEnglish Images Gardens for Living Jeff Zimmerman Photography Poppin’s Posies

Environmental heroes are often overlooked and rarely lauded for their critical efforts. This year, Wild South launched the inaugural Roosevelt-Ashe Society’s Conservation Awards Series, honoring eight environmental leaders at a Green Tie Gala hosted in Asheville, NC. The honorees were: Outstanding Leader in Conservation (tie): Mike Leonard & Bill Thomas; Outstanding Business in Conservation: John Ager & Family Businesses; Outstanding Youth in Conservation (tie): Courtney Cochran & Chase Pickering; Outstanding Philanthropist in Conservation: Fred Stanback; Committee’s Choice Award: Linda Blue; and Wild South Award of Distinction: Charlotte Lunsford Berry.

We extend a heart-felt thanks to those listed for their 2008 support, enabling Wild South to protect forests for life. Without these major donors — foundations, individuals, and community partners — we would have never achieved the results in this Annual Report.

Special ThanksThank you to Charles Seifried, Darryl Patton, and Dr. Jim Lacefield for leading special hikes in the Bankhead National Forest to educate us in nature photography, botanical medi-cines, and geology, respectively. Your generous and enthusias-tic sharing of your knowledge, expertise and love of our wild places enriches our lives.

We are grateful for these tribute donations received in 2008:• From Ozen and Ann Batum in honor of Steve and Marty Sears• From Mitzi Cartee in honor of Janice Barrett

ing ORV trails in Nantahala National Forest, NC. It will reopen only when the US Forest Service finds a long-term solution to the muddy runoff created by ORV use.

Ceruleans in StecoahIn 2005, the US Forest Service approved a timber sale

in the Stecoah Gap, Nantahala National Forest, NC, an area that the agency said had no viable Cerulean Warbler communities. The Cerulean Warbler is a species that Wild South petitioned as endangered in 2007.

In June, Wild South documented eight Cerulean Warblers in the heart of the Stecoah Gap. We informed the Forest Service of this finding and requested a new analysis of the area, resulting in areas with known Cerulean habitat being dropped from the project.

PRESERVING CULTURAL HERITAGE: Wild South iden-tifies, preserves, and restores culturally significant resources and landscapes on our public lands.

Southeastern Indian Trails Project Wild South is partnering with The Southeastern

Anthropological Institute (SAI) and Mountain Stewards to produce a map of the roads and trails system of the Cherokee Nation prior to 1838. By identifying, mapping, and recording this history, these trails and surrounding land can be recognized and protected as a valuable element of Native American heritage, providing a permanent historical, educational, and eco-logical resource.

This year, we accomplished vast amounts of historical research on Indian Trails in the 82.6 square-mile acre Cherokee Indian

Reservation (Qualla Boundary), uncovering over 700 his-torical maps and surveys and over 400 pages of primary and other rare historical data. Through this research, we identified 55 miles of Southeastern Indian Trails. This project has received endorsements from: Museum of the Cherokee, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Tom Hatley formerly of Western Carolina University, Poarch Creek Indians, US Forest Service, National Parks Service, NC Trail of Tears Association, Tennessee Overhill Trails Association, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians

Culturally Based Native Health Program, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Tribal Heritage Preservation Office, and Cherokee Central School Board.

INSPIRING & EMPOWERING COMMUNITIES: Wild South believes that when citizens equip themselves with knowledge, skills, and resources, they can change and improve the quality of their own lives and communities.

Hikes in the BankheadThere are families in our communities have never been

exposed to our Southeastern National Forests. This year, Wild South educated over 600 people about the importance of healthy native ecosystems by leading natural history hikes for families and communities. The connection that the hik-ers feel to our public lands often becomes a foundation for future acts of conservation. Many of Wild South’s hikes are led in the Bankhead National Forest, AL. Hike participants come from across Alabama, and various organizations such as Fresh Air Family and the Arc of Walker County have begun to request specialty Wild South hikes. In order to meet the demand, Wild South leads up to four hikes per month and trains volunteers as additional hike leaders.

VolunteersTo every Wild South member who donated to our

fundraising appeals, renewed a membership, purchased gift memberships, and volunteered... Thank you!

Volunteerism is a vital part of the strength of Wild South. Volunteers help by leading hikes, maintaining and clearing trails, organizing special events, working at festivals, assisting with office work and organiza-tion, surveying canyons, picking up litter, making radio announcements, and restoring glades. We extend grati-tude to our valued volunteers for all they have done this past year to help protect our Southeastern forests:

Kati Adams, Vicki & Kirk Adcock, Stephen Alden, James Alexander, Harvard Ayers PhD*, Mike Bagwell, Bobby Ball, Taylor Barnhill, David Baum, Mayor Terry Bellamy, Joe Bernardo PhD*, Charlotte Lunsford Berry, Frank Beyer, Larry Boroff, Marina Boteva, Julia and Joe Bright, Lewayne Brock, Brad & Carolee Burris, John Buscarino, Hank Byrnes, Peter Call, Mitzi Cartee, Diedra Case, Jason Caughman*, Betty and Charles Chen, Camilla Christianson, Steve & Sally Cochran, Rev. Brian Cole, Michael Corbett, Rob Cox*, Dorothy Craven, Barbara “Bob” Crow, Jeanne Cummings, Walter Daniels, David & Posie Dauphine, Stephanie Davis, Virginia Dollar, Caroline Douglas*, Frank Douglass, Ross Dryer, Tom Dudley, Kerstin Dumas, Michael Eaton, Dee Eggers, Kevin England, Tony Farris, Jim Fisher, Rick Foster, Kevin Foy, Tom Fulton, Rachel Fussell, Johnny Garth, Norma Glascock, Susan Wells Glasscock, Gary Glover, Kiki Gollwitzer, Scott Gollwitzer, Doug Hamilton, Carla Hart, Mike Henshaw, Drew Herman, Lindsay Hill, Becky Hines, Mark Kirkpatrick, Jay Kranyik, Charu Kumarhia, Ted Kuzma, Cella Langer, Clint Lasher, Jeremy Lawrence, Peter Loewer, Benjamin Luckett, Megan Mailloux, Ethan Martin, Nicole Martinez, Travis* & Tayna McDowell, Jennifer McGee, Mara McLaughlin, Carol Ann McLendon, Forrest Merithew, Eric Mills, Taylor Moore, Debbie Motz, Bridget Nelson*, Sean Norman, Kristen Olsson, Sara O’Neal, Mitch Orland*, Matt & Amy Ostwalt, Kevin Palmer, Grant Posey, Anthony Poston, Greg Preston*, Sasha Rathe, Stephanie Rathe, Dawn Ringer, Charles Rose, Jack Saye, Paul & Sharon Scafidi, Billy Shaw*, Mark Shelley*, Adam & Elizabeth Smith, Sarah Smither, Eric Snoddy, Wes Snoddy, Micah Solomon, Jonathan Stang*, Olga Steiner, Cissie Stevens, Jon Strom, Gabe Swinney, Randy Talley, Renee Taylor*, Jackie Tipper, Heidi Travis, Mark & Cindy Vandewart, Ray Vaughn, Butch Walker*, Kellin Watson, Brianna Willis, Carroll Wilson, John Wilson, Bob Wood, Sydney Wood

*Indicates 2008 board member

Volunteer participation is more important now than ever as we look for ways to make funding go farther than usual. If you are not on our volunteer list and would like to be, please contact us at: general@wildsouth.org, or (828) 258-2667 for North Carolina; janice@wildsouth.org or (256) 974-6166 for Alabama.

Wild South Quarterly is published quarterly by Wild South, a nonprofit organization working to preserve and restore native wildlands in the Southern Appalachian region.

Contents copyright 2008 Wild South. Wild South Quarterly is printed on 100% post-consumer waste, pro-cessed chlorine free paper. Printed with soy-based inks.

Help us protect these vanishing resources that belong to all of the American public.“

After eight years of dedicated service to national forest protection throughout the Southeast, Wild South’s Alabama Program Coordinator, Vince Meleski, is retiring for his second, and final time.

Membership to Wild South is free. With a donation of $30 or more you will receive a subscription to the Wild South Quarterly, as well as action alerts and our e-Zine via e-mail. To become a member, please complete the membership form on the back page, or visit www.wildsouth.org. Send comments to general@wildsouth.org

Harvard Ayers, PhDJoe Bernardo, PhDDr. Charles BordenJason CaughmanRob CoxTravis McDowell

Mitch Orland Greg PrestonMark ShelleyRenee TaylorButch Walker

Wild South Board:

from the Directorby Tracy Davids, Executive Director – tracy@wildsouth.org

Go to www.wildsouth.org to learn how your business can help support Wild South.

Wild South Home Office:16 Eagle St., Suite 200 Asheville, NC 28801 (828) 258-2667

Wild South Alabama Office:11312 AL Hwy 33, Suite 1 Moulton, AL 35650 (256) 974-6166

Janice BarrettTracy DavidsMark Kolinski

Lamar MarshallBen PraterAshley Vandewart

Wild South Staff:

I sat down with Vince recently to find out more about his

experience as an environmental advo-cate. Here’s what he had to say.

TD: Well, Vince, we’re very sad to see you go because you’ve been an ardent advocate for our National Forests and the environment. I’m curious: to what do you attribute your love of the great outdoors?

When I was a kid, my family started camp-ing all summer long from the time school let out to the time school began in the fall. We started with a tent and then a pop-up camper, and spent the summer at Woodland Valley State Park in New York. My father commuted to and from work from the camp and my mother, sister and I stayed at the camp.

I spent my summers out in the woods with trails to hike, mountains to climb, and streams to fish and play in. We fed raccoons and chip-munks. When I graduated high school, I was trying to decide on a career in the outdoors, but everyone encouraged me to be an engi-neer. So, the outdoors became a secondary thing until I retired. I used my first retirement as an opportunity to get back to working for the outdoors.

TD: What brought you to Wild South? My first contact with Wild Alabama

was on a hike they hosted. I then became a member. When I retired from my 30 years at White Consolidated Industries and Americold, I started to volunteer for The Nature Conservancy and Wild Alabama.

Barbara Crow was Wild Alabama’s vol-unteer coordinator and she got me involved making phone calls, writing letters, and stuff-

ing envelopes for the national monument cam-paign in the Bankhead and Talladega National Forests. Not long after volunteering for Wild Alabama they offered me a bookkeeping job for a day or two a week. After four months, they made me Program Director.

TD: Of all the work you’ve done at Wild South over the years, of what are you most proud?

Our restoration work – the Bankhead Health and Restoration Project. It’s unique and special and I still think it’s one of the best things going on pub-lic lands in the whole U.S. Now when you go out into the woods in the Bankhead, you can see that things are happening, though I’ll be dead and gone before the forest is back to normal. In my retire-ment, I plan to continue going on the monitoring trips and liaison panel meetings.

TD: What do you think differentiates Wild South from other environmental non-profits?

There aren’t many small regional groups like ours doing what we do to protect National Forests. On top of that, Wild South worked to reorient the Forest towards restoration. That’s something really special. And, the fact that we’re still at it and surviving during this difficult time, that’s special, too.

TD: Who are your heroes and why? Wild South’s own Lamar Marshall and

WildLaw’s Ray Vaughn, for what they did to shut down timber production in Alabama’s National Forests. Also, Ray Vaughn not just

for what he did for Alabama’s forests, but for what he has done over the years to protect all southeastern national forests. Mark Shelley at the Southern Appalachian Forest Coalition is another hero. He’s made SAFC successful over the years and has stuck it out for so long.

TD: What are you looking forward to most in your retirement/what do you plan to do in your retirement?

Saying no – I’ve already been hit up for my time. I’m looking forward to hiking and

birdwatching. I want to have a garden and want to work around the house on projects that have piled up over the years. I have plans to reorganize our yard to make it more natu-ral. I also want to read and cook more.

Thanks for all of your work and sacrifice, Vince. You, no doubt, have made a positive impact on our National Forests here at home and throughout the country. Best wishes for a happy retirement.

Kirk AdcockBrent O’ConnorWalter DanielsJonathan Stang

Billy ShawRandy TalleyRay Vaughn

Advisory Board:

Wild South Quarterly EditorChris Joyell

Wild South would like to thank the Pisgah Brewing Company

for their generous support.

Wild South’s Vince Meleski accepts a Certificate of Appreciation from Glen Gaines of the US Forest Service.

To learn more visit www.wildsouth.org

WILD SOUTH NEWS&UPDATESCompiled by Ben Prater and Chris Joyell

Help us protect these vanishing resources that belong to all of the American public.”

TVA Widows Creek Waste Pond Ruptures

In January, the Tennessee Valley

Authority reported that a waste pond at its Widows

Creek power plant in northeast Alabama had ruptured but the spill was contained.

The spill came after a major rupture last month in Tennessee, when a dike released nearly a billion gallons of toxic-laden ash (see cover story). TVA said the leak in the pond was discovered at the plant near Stevenson, Ala. While most of the material flowed into a settling pond at the plant site, some spilled into Widows Creek.

The federal utility said the leak of what it described as gypsum had stopped and is now repairing the pond. TVA offered neither an estimate on much material spilled nor the cause of the failure, which is now under investigation.

The creek from which TVA’s coal burn-ing plant gets its name, crosses the plant property. Gypsum can be sold for use in wallboard, but markets have been slow and, like more standard ash, it can build up in waste ponds.

Alabama

TVA Releases Sludge into Ocoee

In January a delib-erate sludge release on the Ocoee River killed

fish and aquatic life in the once-dead but now-recuperating Ocoee River, prompting a state investigation that brought a citation and new cleanup order against the already embattled Tennessee Valley Authority.

Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation said state water regulators cited TVA with water quality violations after bottom sediment from Ocoee Dam #3 was sluiced into the river. Now officials are await-ing lab results from sludge samples, fearing that the mud, piled for decades behind the dam that separated the Ocoee from copper mining residue, may contain toxins such as PCBs and heavy metals.

The black and foul-smelling sludge over-whelmed the river and the Olympic white-water area of the Ocoee in some places more than three feet deep. The Ocoee River, devoid of life for nearly 100 years because of cop-per mining pollution, had begun to show life again in the past five years after mining was halted and a Superfund cleanup had begun.

TVA said they did not know why water was released from the bottom of Ocoee Dam #3 rather than the top, as is customary. Nor did they know how much water and sedi-ment was released. TVA was drawing down the water behind the dam in preparation for repair work on the downstream Ocoee Dam #2 and in case of heavy rains.

TennesseeHigh Praise for High Knob

For decades the Clinch Coalition has been singularly focused

on the protection of High Knob and its surrounding forests. High Knob is located on the Clinch Ranger District of the Jefferson National Forest in Wise County near the town of Norton.

Now there may be even more to brag about. During a recent presentation given by Wayne Browning, a biologist, climate researcher, and veteran of the National Weather Service, High Knob was touted as the greatest natural landform in Virginia.

Browning noted that High Knob is a National Biodiversity Hotspot for the rar-ity and richness of limited range species. It contains the deepest cave system in North America, east of the Rockies and north of Mexico. It’s the widest mountain in western Virginia, containing the most lakes, extreme whitewater streams, and wettest terrain in the region.

The Clinch Coalition hopes that this information will help them as they seek per-manent protection for this area in an effort to preserve the environmental and economic prosperity of the region.

Virginia

TVA Loses Air Pollution Lawsuit

In December, a fed-eral judge ordered that the Tennessee Valley

Authority install pollution controls on four power plants and substan-tially reduce pollutants that cause respiratory problems and swath North Carolina moun-tains in a whitish haze.

U.S. District Judge Lacy Thornburg, rul-ing in a nationally watched case, said North Carolina had shown that untreated air pol-lution from three power plants in eastern Tennessee and one in Alabama harmed citizens in North Carolina and posed a public nui-sance. Thornburg said the TVA had failed to install pollution controls in a timely manner, and he ordered installation of such controls.

North Carolina sued TVA in 2006, con-tending the pollution from its 11 coal-burn-ing power plants in Tennessee, Alabama and Kentucky wafting across the border caused respiratory problems and threatened the health of millions of people.

North Carolina

Learn More – Visit WildSouth.org

Final Decision on Upper Chattooga Boating Delayed

A flood of public comments has delayed the U.S. Forest Service’s

final decision on whether to allow nonmotorized boat-

ing on the Upper Chattooga River.The agency originally had planned to

release the final decision on recreation use on the river in December, but an extended public comment period that brought in more than 3,000 individual responses delayed the decision. The agency now expects to reach a decision in February.

The Forest Service’s verdict will finalize a proposal released by the agency on July 2 that would allow limited, nonmotorized boating on seven miles of the 57-mile river for a few days each year. The river runs from headwaters near Cashiers, NC down along the Georgia and South Carolina state lines.

Intense debate about recreation on the Upper Chattooga has gone on for years, most recently ignited by American Whitewater’s challenge to the Forest Service’s 2004 deci-sion to continue a boating ban on the river. That caused the agency to re-evaluate the river’s management plan.

The Chattooga, designated a Wild and Scenic River in 1974, is one of the few such designated rivers known to ban boating.

South Carolina

Spike in Rabies Cases Raises

Concerns

Rabies. Just the word sends a shudder down the spine, and it should.

Though human cases of rabies are extremely rare in Georgia, no one with a confirmed case has ever survived.

As the suburbs and the exurbs continue to encroach on wildlife habitat, the risk to humans and pets grows. For instance, last year Hall County confirmed 43 cases of rabies, which is about five times the annual average.

Since Hall is one of the fastest growing counties in the country, it is no surprise to learn that most of the rabies cases were report-ed in areas being developed. As wildlife habitat in developing areas rapidly shrinks, local popu-lation of wild animals concentrates, making it more likely that these displaced animals come into contact with humans and pets.

Georgia

Whoever first used the expression “as old as the hills” might have been referring to the Appalachian Mountains, which are over a bil-lion years old. Before the continents drifted apart, our Appalachians were part of a moun-tain range that went from Morocco in north-ern Africa all the way up into Scotland. The Warrior Mountains in northwest Alabama are the tail-end of the Appalachians, and therein lies the Bankhead National Forest.

The Warrior Mountains are not very tall, but the canyons are deep. Consider that the Appalachians were once taller than the Himalayas, now the tallest mountains in the world. Over millions of years, water and wind have eroded the Warrior Mountains to their lowly height and gouged deep canyons out of the sandstone.

There are stories in the sheer rock faces of the canyon walls. Geologists are scientists who study the history of the earth and its life, especially as recorded in rocks. A geologist can look at these canyon walls and read them like a book. The rocks tell us what happened millions of years ago; the layers of

sand and tiny quartz stones speak of ancient floods; the slant of the layers tell of the direction of streams and creeks that once flowed there; plants and animals that lived long ago are cap-tured as fossils.

Ancient Oceans and Iron RosesIn November, Professor Jim Lacefield, a

retired professor at the University of North Alabama, led Wild South members and friends to some very interesting places in the Bankhead National Forest. First, we walked into the Sipsey River canyon. Standing on the riverbank, we learned that the sandstone walls of the canyon are the reason that so many unique plants grow there.

There are very few places where sub-tropi-cal ferns grow near ice-age trees. The sandstone walls provide a protective environment for these plants, soaking up water during wet times and slowly releasing it when the weather is hot. Not

only does this keep moisture in the air, it helps to moderate the

temperature. The Eastern Hemlock, an evergreen

tree more commonly found in cooler, more mountainous places, is a type of ice-age tree that grows in the canyons.

Just a few feet away, we spotted a

small patch of the rare and delicate Filmy ferns that grew here in abundance during a time before the last ice age when the climate was sub-tropical – much warmer and wetter. This fern only grows in the most sheltered, shaded places low on the vertical rock face, getting all the moisture and nutrients it needs from the sandstone.

As water seeps down through the sandstone, it carries iron with it. Slowly, over thousands of years, the iron settles into patterns in the stone, creating lines and ridges called Liesegang rings. Some Liesegang rings are as flat and straight as a griddle; others are curved and wavy and round as a bubble. Some even look like the circular layers of pet-als in a rose blossom.

Indian Tomb Hollow is another place in the Bankhead National Forest we went that day. First, Professor Lacefield showed our group another type of rock called limestone and explained that where we were standing was once the floor of a shallow sea. The limestone rocks were masses of fossils – plants, shells, coral, and the skeletons of creatures that lived in that long-ago sea.

Learn more!Professor Lacefield has written a book

titled Lost Worlds in Alabama Rocks. If you are interested in geology, this is a great book to read. Also, visit Wild South’s website and click on Wild Alabama to read an article about Filmy ferns and more about our Geology day.

Contact janice@wildsouth.org to learn more about Wild South’s hikes into the Bankhead National Forest.

The South is home to an abundance of rep-

tiles. Turtles, snakes and lizards of all kinds can be found throughout the forests. In the Southeast the Wood Turtle is found only in Virginia. The Wood Turtle’s range is northern Virginia and West Virginia up through the Northeast and upper Midwest and into southern Canada. They are tolerant of cold climates and are active at lower tem-peratures than most other reptiles.

The Turtles are amphibious. In the win-ter they hibernate under water, becoming increasingly terrestrial during the summer. Wood Turtles are usually found in or near clear flowing streams and in adjacent hard-wood forests, meadows and old fields. They rarely venture far from flowing water, but have strong homing instincts and will usu-ally try to return to their original location if they are displaced. Favorite foods include berries, mushrooms, herbaceous leaves, and many kinds of animals, including earthworms, insects, snails, slugs, tadpoles and dead fish. Wood Turtles will climb into bushes to eat berries or stomp on the ground to draw earthworms to the surface to eat.

Wood Turtles are active during the day and are easily distinguished from the East’s

other species of woodland turtle, the Eastern Box Turtle. Adult Wood Turtles have a brownish knobby carapace (upper shell) around 6 to 8 inches long with scutes (plates) that have concentric growth rings similar to the growth rings on a tree. The hingeless plastron (lower shell) is yellowish with a dark blotch on each scute. Adults are often brightly colored with orange on the neck and limbs. Young Wood Turtles also have a long tail. In Virginia the Wood Turtle most often breeds in the fall and lays 4 to 18 eggs the following Spring. Wood Turtles can live for more than sixty years.

Extinction Pressure The intense development of the Wood

Turtle’s native range has fragmented popula-tions and habitat, limiting their ability to repopulate areas. In addition, global warming threatens to alter their aquatic and terrestrial habitats. The Turtles may not reproduce enough or survive long enough to make up for collection, predation or road kill, as well as losses from habitat alteration or develop-

ment. Wood Turtles benefit from clean water and intact forests. So what’s good for Wood Turtles is good for people.

Conservation Status In Virginia the Wood Turtle

is officially listed as “Threatened” under the state’s Endangered Species legisla-tion and is considered to be “declining.” Both Virginia and West Virginia consider the Turtle to be “very rare and imperiled,” prompting both state wildlife agencies place it in “Priority Group 1” in each state’s wildlife conservation strategy, meaning it is a “species of greatest conservation need.”

In order to protect Wood Turtles, efforts are underway to protect their existing habitat on the George Washington National Forest. Forest managers are planning to clear wildlife fields and relocate a trail to accommodate the Wood Turtle. The ongoing Forest Plan Revision process provides opportunities to designate “special biological areas” and pro-tect Turtle habitat from logging, road build-ing, burning and other development. By mak-ing the preservation of its habitat a priority in the Plan, forest managers can protect the imperiled Wood Turtle.

Wood Turtle by Ben Prater, Conservation Director, and Steve Krichbaum, Wild South volunteerSpecies

spotlight

Wild South’sNATURE Rangers

A Day of Geology Hikes in the Bankhead National ForestBy Janice Barrett, Outreach Coordinator

Wood Turtle (Glyptemys insculpta)

Professor Jim Lacefield reveals the lost worlds found in Alabama rocks.

three parts. Wild South is currently prepar-ing a report for the Eastern Band, titled “Trails of the Middle, Valley and Out Town Cherokee Settlements.” Wild South will soon produce a second report focusing on the Indian Trails of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. And, finally, we will prepare a third report specifically for the U.S. Forest Service. Sensitive sites and sacred places would not be made public because of the threat of looters.

Support is growing for this groundbreak-ing initiative, as we have made dozens of presentations to regional groups and agen-cies. Audiences include the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Eastern Band of the Cherokees including their tribal elders, the Cherokee Preservation Foundation, The Culturally Based Native Health Program, and EBCI Health & Medical Division of the Eastern Band, The Cherokee Central Schools Board, and the Cowee Community Mountain Initiative. Wild South has received letters of endorse-ment from many of these groups.

evolution of modern transportation and roads.Some of these trails appear to follow

modern hiking trails along portions of the Appalachian Trail and Joyce Kilmer/Slickrock and Citico Wildernesses. Hikers and back-packers can more fully enjoy the trails with this new dimension of historical interpreta-tion and awareness.

Our primary research team is com-prised of the Southeastern Anthropological Institute, the Mountains Stewards and Wild South. Each non-profit group brings togeth-er the skill sets necessary to do research, field work, assimilating data and mapping. In addition, we are involving Cherokee youth in the project, which will include field mapping with GPS units.

The mapping project has already turned up some amazing results. By comparing historical maps with modern maps, there appears to be about 79 miles of potential trails located on public lands, primarily National Forests. This could impact the management of around 25,000 acres of land if the trails become managed under Forest Service Cultural Heritage prescriptions with a quarter mile corridor along either side of the path or road.

In addition, Wild South has found documented Indian trails across proposed Wilderness expansions for the Big Frog and Little Frog Wildernesses. The historical ele-ments add to the preponderance of evidence proving the value for the additional land protection. Wild South and their partners have applied for grants from several regional funders that promote historical and cultural preservation.

The project has been divided up into

In April of 2008, the Wild South Cultural Heritage Department began assimilating raw data that includes the oldest historic maps and surveys of western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee and north Georgia. These 700+ maps, plus dozens of early journals and primary historical accounts, will be used to piece together the major regional trail system that was used by Native Americans, invad-ing British and American armies, traders and early settlers of the region.

The importance of this undertaking is far-reaching. First, no one has ever endeav-ored to produce an accurate, comprehensive map of all the known Indian trails of the 1700s and early 1800s for the region.

Second, it will fill a gap in the cultural and historical knowledge of the Eastern Band of Cherokees who inhabited this area for over a thousand years.

Third, it will provide government agen-cies with information for identifying and protecting a vanishing resource that belongs to all of the American public in regards to historic sites on their public lands.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation estimates that only a small percentage of about 2 million “cultural resources” that are located on 193 million acres managed by the U.S. Forest Service have been properly preserved. The Forest Service is mandated by the National Historic Preservation Act to survey and identify his-toric trails and roads. Cutbacks in personnel and funding have made this work impossible. Wild South and its partners can fill that void as a partner with the Forest Service.

The research areas include the Cherokee, Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests. This work is also important to the Department of Transportation since it is the basis for the

25,000 Acres Could Potentially be Identified as Cultural Heritage Areas

Wild South LaunchesIndian Trails Work

by Lamar Marshall, Cultural Heritage Director

The Great Tellico Counsel Oak on Tellico Creek in Macon County.

A late 1800s photo of the Nikwasi Mound on the Little Tennessee River.

The Qualla Boundary sign on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Cherokee. A view from Indian Gap looking south

down Oconoluftee River – the ancient trail.

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The Forest Service is seeking input on the management of the Big Creek watershed in Tennessee. This area of the Cherokee National Forest is a critical piece of land that connects with the Pisgah National Forest and the Great Smoky

Mountains National Park. Please urge the Forest Service to pro-

tect the conservation values of this area. Specifically tell the Forest Service to pro-tect connectivity and all old growth areas while restoring forest ecosystems.

Comments Needed on Big Creek Watershed Assessment

Wild SouthACTION ALERT

TO COMMENT PLEASE EMAIL: comments-southern-cherokee-watauga@fs.fed.us

Or write: Nolichucky/Unaka District Ranger 4900 Asheville HWY SR70, Greeneville, TN 37743

Wild South Annual Report :: TVA Ash Pond Spill :: The Wood Turtle Big Creek Assessment :: Geology Hikes in the Forest :: Cultural Heritage UpdateINSIDE:

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Winter 2009

(828) 258-2667www.wildsouth.orgProtecting Forests for Life

by Ben Prater

Big Creek watershed, Cherokee National Forest, Tennessee.