The Great Smokey Mountains "Beginning to Die"

[Only Me]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=624&e=1&u=/ap/20040415/ap_on_sc/smoky_mountains_report_1


Report Shows Smokies 'Beginning to Die'
Thu Apr 15, 7:11 AM ET



GATLINBURG, Tenn. - A new report by the National Parks Conservation Association on the future of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park paints a dire picture.


"This park is beginning to die," said Tom Kiernan, the conservation group's president. "This assessment clearly shows the park is in danger, and its long-term viability is at risk."


High ozone levels, acid rain, continued underfunding and a proposed road on the north shore of Fontana Lake in North Carolina are combining to endanger the park's future, Kiernan said.


Much of the damage could be slowed or prevented if certain steps are taken, he said, including rigorous enforcement of the federal Clean Air Act and increasing the park's budget.


"The question is will our society and Congress step up to implement these recommendations," Kiernan said.


If the Smokies aren't protected, the negative impact on the region's economy and quality of life could be significant, he said.


"This is the first health assessment of the park, and it's not good," Kiernan said. "It's worrisome."


There had been no previous systemic, park-wide scientific study to provide a benchmark for future recommendations for the Smokies before Wednesday's report, Kiernan said. The public was forced to rely on conflicting findings of various groups, scientists and organizations when trying to evaluate the park's ecosystem, he said.


Raw data for the report was combined from the National Park Service, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (news - web sites) and various state agencies to gather all data that is published or unpublished on parks, Kiernan said.


"This has significant scientific credibility in the United States and is gaining it worldwide," he said.


Several areas of concern were noted in the report on the Smokies. Among them are:


_ Ground level ozone and acid rain "threaten the health of park visitors, staff, vegetation, soils and streams."


_ Air pollution has diminished visibility from an average of 113 miles from prime viewing locations to an average of 25 miles.


_ The park has an annual budget shortfall of more than $11 million, and needs another 108 new full-time positions to adequately protect resources.


_ Nonnative pests and diseases are killing off Fraser firs, hemlocks, dogwoods, butternuts and beech trees.


Much of the air pollution in the Smokies is from the burning of fossil fuels, particularly those used in power plants, factories and automobiles, officials said.


Conservation association program analyst Jill Stephens and Sandy McLaughlin, a researcher at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee, described the scope of the park's air-pollution problem Wednesday while at the Twin Creeks research station.





At the research station, one of three in the Smokies and Oak Ridge, 35 trees are constantly monitored by devices that check their growth, sap flow and other vital signs every half-hour, they said.

While pollutants affect vegetation throughout the park, trees that grow at higher elevations — such as spruce and firs trees — are hit especially hard, Stephens said. Also, rainfall is up to 10 times as acidic as normal precipitation in the park and fog is often 100 times more acidic, McLaughlin said.

Jim Renfro, a Park Service air-resource specialist, said that some species of plants are showing "visible leaf damage" from the pollution, while others aren't growing as well. He also noted that during the past 15 years the park has had more than 300 "bad-air days," meaning ozone levels were high enough to threaten public health.

"That's way too many," he said. "There shouldn't be any in a national park."

Experts expect the Smokies to be designated a "non-attainment" area Thursday when the EPA releases its list of areas that haven't met federal clean-air standards meant to protect public health.

Officials of the parks conservation group also are opposed to the proposed North Shore Road project, also known as the "Road to Nowhere," in Swain County, N.C. The road was started in the early 1960s, but work ended because of cost and environmental problems.

The issue appeared again in 2000 when North Carolina Rep. Charles Taylor and Sen. Jesse Helms tacked a new $16 million appropriation for the road onto a transportation bill. The conservation group contends completing the road would be costly and also inflict serious environmental damage to the park.

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On the Net:

Great Smoky Mountains National Park: http://www.nps.gov/grsm/

National Parks Conservation Association: http://www.npca.org/

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[villager]

1. was just about to post this same article...

Good for you getting it up here (and welcome to DU!). Yeah, way to fuckin' go, homo sapiens, we're just doin' a bang-up (literally?) job of takin' care of Gaia...

[ermoore]

2. Damn . . .

This is really a shame. The Great Smoky Mountains is probably the most best place on Earth (and second most beautiful after Taroko Gorge in Taiwan, speaking just in terms of scenery of course). (I can say this with authority b/c I am just that good and also I really have been "around the world from London to the Bay."

It is also the second most diverse biosphere on the planet (second to the Amazon River Basin).

Obviously, things like the Ozone and air pollution aren't really that noticable to the naked-eye, but as for the trees being killed off by "nonnative pests and diseases," that is true. It's sad, but just going through the region you can see large swathes of dead pines and other trees that are just brown.

[izzie]

4. I used to camp up their and it is lovely. This is sad.

We do hope we can keep the White Mountains. Some of Maine's rivers start up there so we know all this stuff must be kept in good shape for us all.

[Only Me]

3. Hello!

I live on the border of VA, NC and Tn, I am surrounded by mountains.
I live on one. I have really noticed a lot of changes in the last few years in my area. We are very rural and can't help but notice the changes taking place. For example, last year...a lot less birds and some very odd, behavior among some and later finding them dead. Local Extension office said it was West Nile. But that couldn't have been the total cause, only one was a black bird, reported to have been effected by the virus. I have also notices a lot of premature deaths among our trees. I think this sort of thing is happening everywhere, but the world is to busy to notice or even really care.

[BeFree]

5. Smokies are getting hammered

Air pollution is the cheif ingredient to your Park's decline.
Everything touted in the article is, sadly, too true. Bad Air quality trends at the highest elevations are climbing even as most cities are going down or at least holding steady.

The changes being forced on the Smokies are not good. Your Park is like a canary in the coal mine idea. If we can't change the course, we will lose more than just the Park.