Great Work on Fires Creek
By Mark Shelley, SAFC Director
Tucked away in the extreme southwest corner of North Carolina amid some of the most remote and pristine scenery in the eastern United States, the Fires Creek area offers varied opportunities for superb interaction with the natural world.
Tusquittee Roadless Area, is the largest inventoried roadless area in the state of North Carolina. Its 13,000 acres was once part of a larger 17,000 acre roadless area, but was carved down to its current size by two decades of Forest Service road building and logging.
The premier trail in the area is the 26 mile long Fires Creek Rim Trail, which traverses the unusual horseshoe shaped bowl of mountains, crossing over Tusquitee Bald, which lies at 5,240 feet. It is part of an extensive trail system that is heavily used by hunters, fishers, backpackers, and horseback riders, and which highlights the area’s important recreational values.
SAFC partners with the High Mountain Hikers whose mission it is to promote and facilitate hiking activities in the Southern Appalachians and to encourage involvement in the maintenance of trails and conservation of forest environments. Each month, this hiking club schedules work trips in both NC and GA. The club has been instrumental in reopening Chunky Gal Trail, opening and blazing a new trail to Boteler Peak, and is working presently to get the entire Fires Creek trail system upgraded.
SAFC, partially through a grant from Nature Valley, has contributed funds for the purchase of much-needed equipment for use by Mountain High Hikers.
Recreational values in this exemplary area are threatened by a 50 acre parcel of private property which is completely surrounded by publicly owned land. The owners of the property have indicated their intent to develop the land. This would be the only development inside of the basin and the area is high on steep slopes in the headwaters of a stream feeding Fires Creek. This will impair the pristine water quality in the area, severing the Rim Trail near its midpoint and ultimately disturbing the peaceful backcountry setting of this remote area.
SAFC encourages community involvement in the maintenance of the trails through this magnificent area and requests that the Forest Service purchase the private in-holding, protecting this conservation priority.
Partners: High Mountain Hikers, Wildlands CPR, WNCA, SELC, WildLaw,
Web link: mountainhighhikers.org
Funding Partner: Nature’s Valley, Z. Smith Reynolds, individual members
Tucked away in the extreme southwest corner of North Carolina amid some of the most remote and pristine scenery in the eastern United States, the Fires Creek area offers varied opportunities for superb interaction with the natural world.
Tusquittee Roadless Area, is the largest inventoried roadless area in the state of North Carolina. Its 13,000 acres was once part of a larger 17,000 acre roadless area, but was carved down to its current size by two decades of Forest Service road building and logging.
The premier trail in the area is the 26 mile long Fires Creek Rim Trail, which traverses the unusual horseshoe shaped bowl of mountains, crossing over Tusquitee Bald, which lies at 5,240 feet. It is part of an extensive trail system that is heavily used by hunters, fishers, backpackers, and horseback riders, and which highlights the area’s important recreational values.
SAFC partners with the High Mountain Hikers whose mission it is to promote and facilitate hiking activities in the Southern Appalachians and to encourage involvement in the maintenance of trails and conservation of forest environments. Each month, this hiking club schedules work trips in both NC and GA. The club has been instrumental in reopening Chunky Gal Trail, opening and blazing a new trail to Boteler Peak, and is working presently to get the entire Fires Creek trail system upgraded.
SAFC, partially through a grant from Nature Valley, has contributed funds for the purchase of much-needed equipment for use by Mountain High Hikers.
Recreational values in this exemplary area are threatened by a 50 acre parcel of private property which is completely surrounded by publicly owned land. The owners of the property have indicated their intent to develop the land. This would be the only development inside of the basin and the area is high on steep slopes in the headwaters of a stream feeding Fires Creek. This will impair the pristine water quality in the area, severing the Rim Trail near its midpoint and ultimately disturbing the peaceful backcountry setting of this remote area.
SAFC encourages community involvement in the maintenance of the trails through this magnificent area and requests that the Forest Service purchase the private in-holding, protecting this conservation priority.
Partners: High Mountain Hikers, Wildlands CPR, WNCA, SELC, WildLaw,
Web link: mountainhighhikers.org
Funding Partner: Nature’s Valley, Z. Smith Reynolds, individual members
posted by Southern Appalachian Forest Coalition at
9:45 AM
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