(Blue
Ridge Parkway)
L7617
XD18
June
2, 2000
Mr.
Art Rowe
District Ranger, USDA Forest Service
1001 Pisgah Highway
Pisgah Forest, NC 28768
Dear
Mr. Rowe;
This
is in reference to your letter dated April 26th, regarding the WLOS
request for tower placement and increased height on Mount Pisgah.
This tower has long been considered by our staff as a necessary
evil, greatly impacting sensitive habitats and the scenic quality of
a premiere recreational destination of the Blue Ridge Parkway. The
WLOS tower, and those on private lands above Frying Pan tunnel, are
the only visual intrusions the visitor encounters on framing
ridgelines above the parkway, from Asheville to Cherokee. This
portion of the parkway is one of the most scenic sections and
commits us to finding innovative solutions to these visually
intrusive features.
In
the last two years, we have worked vigilantly with the
telecommunications industry reviewing proposals for new towers,
successfully relocating those that would negatively impact the
visitor's experience. This current opportunity for new USFS
permitting brings with it the much overdo possibility of relocating
this tower to a less sensitive site and putting to rest the numerous
complaints we receive on this tower. As a public lands manager and
neighbor in the Pisgah region, we would gladly work with your
environmental compliance staff to evaluate alternative sites during
the environmental assessment process. With that in mind, our staff
has the following thoughts that we hope to help you address in the
environmental assessment.
- The
tower itself sits in a very visible location to visitors on the
Parkway, in an ecosystem of extraordinary beauty. We would
like to see this EA address relocation of the tower structure as
a viable alternative, and will actively assist in finding an
alternative location that meets WLOS's, the other tenants on the
tower, and our needs.
- If
the trail overlook needs to be closed for a period of one year,
we would like to review the signage for the proposed closure.
- We
would like to review the trail alignment for the re-route to the
new overlook, to understand how this realignment may affect our
viewshed management.
- We
would like to review the design of the new overlook platform.
- Mount
Pisgah is habitat to the endangered northern flying squirrel and
rare saw-tooth owl. What measures will be taken to insure
minimal impact to their disturbance?
Sincerely
/signed/
Gordon
Wissinger
Acting Superintendent
cc:
Dale McKeel, Scenic North Carolina
Don Barger, SER, NPCA
Bob Gale, WNCA
Gwj:
L. Rotegard 6-2-00 |
