This Land, Your Land

The US Forest Service said Wednesday that it is permanently closing the Nantahala National Forest's Upper Tellico OHV trail system in order to correct serious erosion problems in the Upper Tellico River watershed in Cherokee County.

"The 39-mile Upper Tellico OHV Trail System is currently contributing unacceptable levels of sediment into the Tellico River and its tributaries," National Forests in North Carolina Supervisor Marisue Hilliard said in a news release.

"The Forest Service is in violation of its own standards and North Carolina state water quality standards because visible sediment from the OHV trails is reaching the Tellico River and its tributaries in hundreds of locations. Many of the trails are on steep slopes and they all occur on very erodible soils. Much of the Tellico OHV trail system runs parallel to streams in the area, with over six miles within 100 feet of streams. The locations of these trails make it extremely difficult to prevent sediment from reaching the streams even if we are successful in repairing existing problems."

The Forest Service will continue to offer these OHV trail systems:
* Wayehutta, Nantahala NF (Roy A. Taylor Forest ATV Trail System), 21 miles (21 miles ATV and motorcycle).
* Brown Mountain, Pisgah NF, 34 miles (6 miles 4WD, 27 miles ATV, 34 miles motorcycle).
* Badin Lake, Uwharrie NF, 16 miles (16 miles 4WD, ATV and motorcycle).
* Black Swamp (see page 2), Croatan NF, 8 miles (8 miles 4WD, ATV and motorcycle).