North Shore Road
In Summary
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is at the center of SAFC's Conservation Vision and is the largest roadless area in the Southern Appalachians. With over 1/4 million acres it dwarfs all the national forest roadless areas we try so hard to protect. The 30 mile North Shore Road threatened to bisect an area of the park that has been recommended by the Park Service in the past for wilderness designation, and is crucial for wildlife, clean water, backcountry solitude, and view sheds from the Appalachian Trail.
In 2001 the idea of a road bisecting the park was successfully resurrected by then Congressman Charles Taylor, who successfully secured $16 million for the project. The North Shore Road was originally promised in 1943 when a country road was flooded and families were displaced to form Fontana Lake. The lake was created to generate and supply power to Alcoa Aluminum for the war effort. The federal government still owes Swain County, NC for the loss and the Swain County Commission, Bryson City Aldermen, Gov. Mike Easley and many others have called for a cash settlement of $52 million in lieu of building the North Shore Road.
The cash settlement is the best and preferred alternative to building the road. The county could invest that money in education, health, and other much-needed projects. If the road were built it would spoil the solitude of this popular backcountry area, poison the watershed with acidic runoff, kill wildlife and add to the park's serious air pollution problem. At a cost of roughly $400 million, the road is an economic boondoggle for America's taxpayers.
The Current Status
In September 2007, The National Park Service stated in its Final Environmental Impact Statement that it favors and supports the $52 million dollar cash settlement to Swain County as the preferred alternative to building the North Shore Road. With Congress already appropriating a $6 million dollar down payment for the settlement, the work now turns to seeing that Congress provides the balance of the monetary settlement to Swain County over the coming years. Your letters and calls were a key component to protecting Great Smoky Mountains Thank you! We will be sure to keep you up to date as we continue to work to ensure the Swain County settlement goes through.