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Mount Pisgah, situated close to the intersecting boundaries of Henderson, Buncombe, Haywood and Transylvania countries, is the most prominent mountain in the French Broad River valley. It is part of our National Forests, and is administered by the U.S. Forest Service, a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The present tower was erected in 1954 under a lease from the forest service to WLOS TV. At the time, television, as a new technology, was sweeping through Western North Carolina much like the Internet had in the nineties. Most people saw it as a promising development, although the placement of the tower on Pisgah was not without opposition as expressed in a 1954 editorial in the Asheville Citizen. The present lease terminates at the end of 2005, but WLOS-TV wants to build a new tower now on the site to accommodate High Definition TV under a federal mandate. The N.C. Supervisor of the forest service has approved the building of the new tower, over numerous objections from the Blue Ridge Parkway and several conservation organizations., including the Western North Carolina Alliance, and WildLaw, a non profit environmental law firm. Administrative appeals to the decision have been filed. Much has changed since the present tower was built. The Blue Ridge Parkway was completed with the Pisgah area as a major destination for Parkway travelers from all over the country, hikers, bikers, picnicking families, and school kids from the surrounding area. Technology has advanced so that it is not necessary for the WLOS tower to remain on Pisgah. Other broadcast channels, WYFF, WSPA, and WHNS serve the area from much lower perches. About three-fourths of the viewers in the market are served by cable and satellite, which offer and additional 40 to 120 channels! However, The Forest Service announced plans on April 26, 2000 to move ahead with a new tower. Opponents of the new tower on Pisgah, including Bob Gale of the Western North Carolina Alliance, say that now is the time to find another, more suitable, site, and return Pisgah to all the people in all its natural beauty. Note: WLOS-TV started out as a local enterprise, but has
been bought and sold several times. It is currently owned by Sinclair
Broadcast Group, Inc., Baltimore, Md, a large media enterprise operating
60 television stations in 40 markets reaching 25% of US households. This is a business deal for them.
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