Shope Creek Proposal

This is our newest timber sale proposal in the Pisgah National Forest in Western North Carolina. This is located off of Riceville Rd near the Riceville Communitycenter. Shope Cr. ends at a gate that enters the game preserve. The other proposed timber sales are Case Camp and Globe Forest. Case Camp is located near the fish hatchery in Brevard, and the Globe Timber sale is located outside of Blowing Rock, NC near Boone. I am often found in the woods documenting information, so please if you are interested in getting out there for a few hours to educate yourself or others, let me know, mmockbee@warren-wilson.edu. For more in-depth information as this page is just getting started, visit the Southern Appalachian Biodiversity Project at www.sabp.net





The Proposal from the Forest Service

Dear Interested Members of the Public:
Enclosed are preliminary working maps and a proposed action (proposal) for the Appalachian Ranger District’s Shope Creek Project which is located in Buncombe County, North Carolina. The proposed project is approximately six miles northeast of Asheville, North Carolina and approximately two miles north of the Riceville community—access to the area is via US Highway 70, State Road (SR) 2002 (Riceville Road), SR 2426 (Shope Creek Road), and Forest Service Road 220. The purpose of this letter is to inform you of this proposal and to solicit comments from you concerning it. This project was developed to address management opportunities identified for wildlife and timber within a portion of the 1,596-acre Shope Creek Analysis Area (AA) Number 2, which includes Compartments 22, 23, and 24 (see Figure 1
General Vicinity Map).


There are no Inventoried Roadless Areas, Wilderness Study Areas, North Carolina State
proposed Natural Heritage Areas, or Forest Plan designated large or medium old growth
communities located within the Shope Creek Project AA. There is Forest Plan initial inventory old growth communities in the AA and portions of stands 23-12 and 23-13 would harvest some; however 23-12 is predominantly white pine and the harvest prescription would allow for regeneration of oak/poplar. The project area is bounded by the Asheville watershed to the east,the Blue Ridge Parkway to the north, and private lands to the west and south. Additional Information I have scheduled an open house meeting to be held at the Riceville Community Center on Thursday April 26, 2007, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Several of my staff and I will be on hand to share information on the proposal as well as answer questions and respond to concerns/comments members of the public may have.
I recognize you may have interest and concerns with this proposal and this is why I am requesting your comments to the proposal to help me identify key issues and possible alternative ways of meeting the project’s purpose and need. I have decided to initiate an official 30-day Notice and Comment period with this scoping proposal pursuant to 36 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 215.3 and CFR 215.6. Comments on the proposal shall be accepted for 30 days following the date of publication of the legal notice [36 CFR 215.6(a)(1)(i)] and individuals Shope Creek Project Scoping Proposal 5 must comment during a Notice and Comment period to be eligible to appeal a decision made ona project (36 CFR 215.13) as per the recent Wilderness Society v. Rey ruling.
Feel free to contact Paul Gilliland, Project Leader; Michael Hutchins, Team Leader; or me at828-682-6146 if you have questions or need additional information regarding this proposal.
Comments may be mailed to: Appalachian Ranger District, ATTN: District Ranger, P.O. Box 128, Burnsville, North Carolina 28714 or e-mailed to: comments-southern-north-carolina-pisgahappalachian@fs.fed.us. I appreciate your continued interest in management of the Pisgah
National Forest.
Sincerely,
/s/M. Hutchins (for)
ANTHONY MATTHEWS
Acting District Ranger
Enclosures