Karen Chávez

kchavez@citizen-times.com

ASHEVILLE - Land management agencies across Western North Carolina are starting to face the elk facts.

The massive mammals are roamers, and don’t like to be fenced in.

Since being hunted to extinction, then reintroduced into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park with a herd of 25 in 2001, and 27 more in 2002, elk have greatly multiplied, and moved out of their confines of the national park on the North Carolina-Tennessee border.

The Appalachian Ranger District of the Pisgah National Forest will hold a public meeting July 14 at the North Carolina Arboretum to gauge the public interest’s in issues related to a developing proposal for the "Twelve Mile" project in Haywood County, which will include creating a range of habitat conditions appropriate for the expanding elk population.

It refers to the road that crosses the area – starts at Harmon Den Exit 7 and leaves the FR 288 to near the GRMS boundary.

“We have a growing population of elk taking up resident in the “Twelve Mile” and Harmon Den area,” said Matt McCombs, Appalachian District Ranger of the Pisgah National forest. “One of the outcomes of the project is to increase habitat for elk and other species to help the herd and remain healthy.”

The elk herd is estimated to be about 150 animals, said Justin McVey, mountain region wildlife biologist with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. The herd is stable and are reproducing, and frequently leave the park boundaries, wandering onto private land in Cherokee, Maggie Valley and the Harmon Den area, causing property damage, according to some landowners.

The wildlife commission earlier this year voted to approve an elk hunting season to alleviate some elk-property owner conflicts.

“We’re trying to create some elk habitat on Forest Service land. This is the first time habitat is being created specifically for elk, but by creating early successional habitat, it will benefit a host of habitat for other wildlife,” McVey said. “One of the hopes is that by providing quality elk habitat on public land, it will help to draw elk off private land and alleviate some of those issues.”

McCombs said the Twelve Mile project refers to the proposed area for the project starting at the Harmon Den Exit off Interstate 40 in the southwestern most part of the Appalachian Ranger District and stretching to land adjacent to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This is the Long Arm Mountain and Hurricane Mountain area in Haywood County.

He stressed that the July 14 meeting is the earliest stage of the proposed project, in which the Forest Service is working with stakeholders including the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the state Wildlife Commission and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, as well as local environmental groups.

McCombs said seating is limited for the meeting, but it is only the first of many meetings that will involve the public.

“The key with this project is we really wanted to get the community, and in particular stakeholders, who have a vested interest in elk habitat management and forestry,” McCombs said.

“We’re interested in the unique data, perspectives and skills they can bring to the table. We’re hoping to be open and collaborative in a way we haven’t always been in the past. The benefit is empowering them to help us overcome the challenges and some of the tensions created when you have different values and perspectives at play.”

The purpose of the project is to implement Nantahala and Pisgah National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan direction and the Management Area objectives within the planning area boundary.

The meeting will be most effective if attendees come prepared to share any existing knowledge of the area and be ready to engage in meaningful and respectful conversations designed to capture input on the purpose of the project, McCombs said.

“There will be lots of other public engagement opportunities. The public comment process part of NEPA (the federal environmental regulations that must be followed) will be honored and we’ll try to even go beyond the way we’ve engaged the public in the past,” he said.

Additional focus areas for the project may include:

Providing a sustainable output of timber products to support local economies.

Emphasizing ecological restoration.

Enhancing recreational opportunities. Other opportunities may be identified through the collaborative planning effort.

The group of interested partners will work together with the public in defining the purpose and need of this project, the project area boundary, assessment needs, and data requirements.

The Forest Service will be hosting additional meetings and sharing additional information throughout the planning process.

“It’s an exciting project. We get to work with the Forest Service, the Smokies, and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation in a collaboration that will benefit wildlife,” McVey said.

IF YOU GO

The U.S. Forest Service will hold a public meeting 2-5 p.m. July 14 at the North Carolina Arboretum, at 100 Frederick Law Olmsted Way, Asheville.

For more information, contact Project Lead Jason Herron at jherron@fs.fed.us or call the Appalachian Ranger District at 828-689-9694.