This Land, Your Land

President Barack Obama wants to hear from you about how to "reconnect Americans, especially children, to America's rivers and waterways, landscapes of national significance, ranches, farms and forests, great parks, and coasts and beaches."

The America's Great Outdoors Initiative is meant to develop a 21st century strategy for America's great outdoors, and is gathering information through a series of public meetings, one of which is in Asheville on July 15.

The hearing at Asheville-Buncombe County Technical Institute, at 340 Victoria Road, will run from 1 to 4 p.m. Thursday.

Representatives from the Department of the Interior, Department of Agriculture, Environmental Protection Agency and the Council on Environmental Quality will be at the meeting to "hear your thoughts and to participate in a conversation with you about land conservation, recreation and reconnecting Americans to the great outdoors," information from the Initiative says.

You have to pre-reguister by Monday to speak; get details here.

The Initiative its to present the President with an action plan by November 15 and follow-up reports about the plan's implementation in September of 2011 and 2012.

The Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy is under contract to buy an 8,000-acre tract in Transylvania County that it eventually wants to sell to the state, in order to allow public access, Blue Ridge Now reported earlier this month.

The Conservancy will pay the family of former U.S. Rep. Charles Taylor $33 million, 40 to 50 percent less than the appraised value of the land.

It is one of the largest single tracts of private land in Western North Carolina, and is described as pristine and mostly level with large open meadows and numerous water features. The endangered green salamander can be found on the land.

"The forested tract, home to native brook trout, extensive timber resources, rare bogs and stunning waterfalls (see below) encompasses most of the pristine headwaters and main stem of the East Fork of the French Broad River," the Conservancy says in a news release.

"One of the significant features of the tract is Sassafras Mountain," Blue Ridge Now says. "The conserved tract occupies the northern end of the mountain, which is the highest point in South Carolina. It is bordered by the Jocassee Gorges Management Area, Greenville Watershed and the Watson-Cooper Heritage Preserve in South Carolina."

A section of the 80-mile Foothills Trail also runs through the tract.

Conservancy Executive Director Kieran Roe said the tract would most likely fall under the authority of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission and become a game land.

"The acquisition ... will open up over 50 miles of streams teeming with rainbow, brown, and the elusive Southern Appalachian-strain of brook trout, the region’s only native trout," the news release says.

The Conservancy is "seeking private funding sources to purchase the property and has submitted a $5.4 million application to the Clean Water Management Trust Fund. Roe, however, understands that getting money from the state could be challenging," Blue Ridge Now says.

They're not all "natural," and by our count there are actually 11, but everyone enjoys a Top 10 list and they're all part of public recreation lands, so here are "North Carolina's Top 10 Natural Wonders" as determined by Land for Tomorrow:

* Blue Ridge Parkway
* Cape Hatteras and Cape Lookout
* Grandfather Mountain
* Great Smoky Mountains
* Lake Mattamuskeet
* Lumber River
* Merchants Millpond State Park
* Mountains to Sea Trail
* New River
* Ocracoke Island

Land for Tomorrow, a lobby that promotes the state’s conservation trust funds, asked the public to nominate any landscape, natural feature, wildlife or plant life that is unique to North Carolina and should be considered among the state’s greatest natural wonders.

About 200 potential natural wonders were narrowed to a field of 25 semifinalists by a panel of prominent North Carolinians, which included folks a diverse as Gov. Jim Holshouser, Tift Merritt and Eric Montross. From those 25, 10 were determined in a popular vote with "over 3,000 individual votes submitted."

The Friends of the Mountains to Sea Trail are looking for volunteers to help remove debris blocking a critical link of the MST in northwestern North Carolina, the group says in its May newsletter.

The group wants help for all of part of May 21-27 to clear a 25-mile section of the trail under construction from Horse Gap near Glendale Springs to Bamboo Gap near Blowing Rock. The burgeoning trail is littered with limbs and other timber knocked down in winter storms.

The FMST hopes to have the section cleared and reconstructed in time for its official state designation and opening in October as part of North Carolina Mountains-to-Sea Trail Month.

The ongoing Mountains-to-Sea Trail project is to eventually extend across the state for approximately 900 miles from Clingmans Dome in the mountains to Jockey's Ridge on the Outer Banks. More than 350 miles of it have been completed.

Volunteers will assist certified chainsaw users from the U.S. Forest Service by pulling cut debris away from the trail and using hand loppers and pruning saws to cut smaller branches. They should bring safety glasses or goggles and appropriate work clothes and shoes.

The newsletter says some volunteers will be able to camp at Julian Price Campground on the Blue Ridge Parkway, but the deadline was May 14. Allen de Hart was coordinating camping reservations for the group (we suppose you can check with him if you're interested). Volunteers should bring their own camping equipment and provisions.

Jim Hallsey and John Lanman are contacts for volunteers to work on the trail.

"The President’s Fiscal Year 2011 budget for the National Park Service requests $2.7 billion and makes investments of $35.3 million in park operations increases. The budget underscores cost containment, program consolidation and management efficiencies to meet federal fiscal realities, yet provides the resources necessary to effectively carry out the National Park Service’s mission," says a news release from the National Park Service.

The request of $1.6 billion for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service "will focus funding on the agency's highest priority conservation initiatives, while containing costs through management efficiencies and other savings to address government fiscal realities. Among the top strategic investments are increases of $18.8 million for Climate Change Adaptation and $4 million for work to review planned renewable energy development to ensure they do not place threatened or endangered species at risk, as well as an additional $15.8 million for ecosystem restoration and $20 million for Federal land acquisition.

Elsewhere, "the National Wildlife Refuge Association expressed disappointment over President Obama's proposed $499.5 million operations and maintenance budget for the National Wildlife Refuge System (part of the Fish and Wildlife Service) for next year ... . Because refuges need at least $15 million annually to cover fixed costs, the proposed $3.3 million reduction represents an $18.3 million cut," says a release from the NWRA. "“If enacted, this budget will mean a loss of jobs and economic opportunity in communities across the country," said Evan Hirsche, president of the NWRA.

The budget also includes includes $4.939 billion in gross discretionary funding for the Civil Works program of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, offset in part by a proposal to cancel $52 million of prior year funding. It designates $64.3 million for projects in the Corps' Wilmington District. Among the projects funded are a major, multiyear rehabilitation project at John H. Kerr Dam and Reservoir in North Carolina and Virginia, several environmental restoration projects, a preconstruction engineering and design study for coastal storm damage repair at Surf City and North Topsail Beach, and money to continue studying the N.C. International Terminal in Brunswick County.

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is draining Upchurch Lake in Hoke County to repair a broken standpipe in the dam, the Commission said in a news release. The lake is a public fishing area managed by the Commission on the Nicholson Creek Game Land.

Repairs to the dam should be completed by mid-spring, and the 37-acre impoundment should reach full pool about two months later. The Commission will restock the lake with channel catfish in late spring or early summer of 2010, bluegill in the fall and bass in the spring of 2011, Keith Hendrickson, a fisheries technician with the Commission, said.

Two other ponds to the right of the main access road before Upchurch Lake remain open and have good largemouth bass and bluegill populations, according to Hendrickson. Lake Rim, another Wildlife Commission public fishing area, is located about 15 minutes north on U.S. 401, across the street from the John E. Pechmann Fishing Education Center in Fayetteville.

The U.S. Forest Service has suspended a decision to allow kayaking on the upper Chatooga River, a wild and scenic river in North and South Carolina and Georgia, the Anderson Independent-Mail says.

In August, the Forest Service decided to allow kayakers on the river between December 1 and March 1 from Norton Mill Creek in North Carolina south to Burrells Ford Bridge in South Carolina, about a seven-mile stretch. Five parties, including Georgia Forest Watch, appealed the decision, and The Southern Region of the Forest Service granted the request for a stay on October 26.

“Everyone should understand that this administrative battle over these 21 miles of wild, backcountry river is far from over,” leaders of Georgia Forest Watch said in a release. “... Georgia Forest Watch steadfastly has stuck to the position that the agency should continue its 30-plus-year prohibition on boating in this pristine area of national forest lands.”

American Whitewater, American Canoe Association, Atlanta Whitewater Club, Georgia Canoeing Association, and Western Carolina Paddlers had all filed lawsuits on behalf of their members to have Georgia Forest Watch’s request denied.

The river is designated as the Chattooga Wild and Scenic River and is managed by the Forest Service. The service took two years to analyze uses of the river and received more than 3,000 comments during a 45-day public comment period before announcing its August decision, the Independent-Mail says.

Two stretches of highway in North Carolina’s Scenic Byways program have been named National Scenic Byways, joining 149 other routes throughout the country to receive this designation, the state Department of Transportation announced Friday. Only four state byways share the National Scenic Byway designation.

“This puts these byways in an elite category, on par with the Blue Ridge Parkway,” said North Carolina Department of Transportation Scenic Byways Coordinator Jeff Lackey.

The Forest Heritage Scenic Byway was nominated for the national designation by the U.S. Forest Service because of its proximity to the Cradle of Forestry, the birthplace of the organization. The route begins in Brevard near U.S. 276 and travels north through the Pisgah National Forest, passing the popular recreation spot of Sliding Rock Falls and the rural Haywood County community of Bethel, home to Cold Mountain. It ends at the intersection of N.C. 215 and U.S. 64 in Rosman.

The Outer Banks National Scenic Byway highlights the unique maritime culture shared by 21 coastal villages along the route. That culture is intimately linked to the byway’s natural world of barrier islands, capes and shallow sounds, as well as nationally significant historic places.

The northern end of the Outer Banks National Scenic Byway begins in Dare County at Whalebone Junction, the joining of U.S. 64/264, U.S. 158 and N.C. 12 in Nags Head. It runs south along the Atlantic Ocean through the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, traversing Bodie and Hatteras islands in Dare County, Ocracoke Island in Hyde County and Down East in Carteret County.

The state DOT has designated 54 routes as part of North Carolina’s Scenic Byways program to embody the diverse beauty and culture of the Tar Heel State and provide travelers with a safe and interesting alternate route.

The DOT also announced the receipt of more than $1.6 million in grants for improvements to the Waterfall Scenic Byway, named for the 200 waterfalls located along its 98-mile trek through Cherokee, Clay, Jackson, Macon and Transylvania counties, and the Nantahala Byway,a 43-mile route through Cherokee, Graham, Jackson and Swain counties.

Take A Child Outside Week - September 24 to 30 - is a program designed to help break down obstacles that keep children from discovering the natural world, says its organizer, the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.

"By arming parents, teachers and other caregivers with resources on outdoor activities, our goal is to help children across the country develop a better understanding and appreciation of the environment in which they live, and a burgeoning enthusiasm for its exploration."

The museum's Web site offers a map of activities for the week and ideas for making your own plans.

Our site, Carolina Outdoors Guide, offers hundreds of places in North Carolina to take a child outdoors, all of which you are paying for with your tax dollars. Particularly for children, we suggest Educational State Forests for easily walked, fun and interesting outings, as well as our state parks and national parks, which provide a variety of experiences across the state.

Saturday, September 26, is the 16th annual National Public Lands Day, "the nation’s largest hands-on volunteer effort to improve and enhance the public lands Americans enjoy." In 2008, 120,000 volunteers built trails and bridges, removed trash and invasive plants, and planted over 1.6 million trees, the National Public Lands Day Web site says.

The site's state-by-state event search engine shows 11 events in North Carolina, from picking up roadside litter at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge to mulching the trails at Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve in Cary, to family events from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Wilson Lake in Nash County sponsored by Imagination Station.