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Here’s what NC hunters and ‘hippies’ can do when they work together

Hunters and “hippies” are raging at each other in other parts of the country, but in North Carolina they are working together to create our state’s first national scenic area.

What has brought old-timers and New Age millennials together in our state? A big, beautiful forest.

The Craggy section of Pisgah National Forest includes 16,000 acres of world-class trails, waterfalls, ancient forests and trout streams. For the past eight years, folks of different backgrounds and beliefs have forged an unusual and unlikely partnership to permanently protect it. I consider myself one of those “hippies.”

“There’s a lot more we have in common than you might think,” says Alan Smith, a 73-year-old who has been hunting in Craggy’s forest for decades. “People love the forest for a lot of different reasons, but we all share a deep connection with the woods. If you start there, good things can happen.”

Eight years ago, Smith sat around a wobbly folding table at the community center with a dozen other locals from the Craggy community. Born-again Bible thumpers and witchy wildcrafters had come together to talk about the logging that threatened their forest. They began spit-balling ideas about how to protect Craggy’s forest, and someone suggested proposing it for National Scenic Area designation. After all, its panoramic vistas from the Blue Ridge Parkway were some of the most popular and photographed spots in the country.

A mountain biker splashes across Staire Creek Trail in the proposed Craggy National Scenic Area. World-class mountain bikers seeks out its steep, rugged trails.
A mountain biker splashes across Staire Creek Trail in the proposed Craggy National Scenic Area. World-class mountain bikers seeks out its steep, rugged trails.

So they hatched a plan that included door-to-door conversations, flyers at the local gas station, and a community meeting with the U.S. Forest Service. “We didn’t know what we were doing,” said Steven McBride, one of the neighbors around the table at that first meeting. “But we had to try. We just decided to go for it and got to work.”

The Craggy National Scenic Area proposal quickly gained momentum: over 10,000 supporters submitted comments to the U.S. Forest Service. The proposal received unanimous bipartisan resolutions of support from Buncombe County commissioners and Asheville City Council after hundreds turned out at their meetings.

The Craggy National Scenic Area also earned the support of the Nantahala-Pisgah Forest Partnership, a coalition of 30 diverse organizations that includes the timber industry, leading conservation groups, national hunting organizations, and an array of recreation organizations.

And just last week, the Forest Service recommended special protections for Craggy as a Forest Scenic Area in recognition of its outstanding and unique ecological and recreational qualities.

The Craggy National Scenic Area is now only one step away from becoming a reality: It still needs one of North Carolina’s senators to formally introduce a bill. Sen. Thom Tillis is an avid mountain biker; Sen. Richard Burr is retiring this year and looking for a legacy.

Craggy could become the country’s 11th National Scenic Area. Virginia already has two National Scenic Areas. Georgia has one, too. It’s time for North Carolina’s scenic splendor to receive the national recognition it deserves.

The 70-foot Douglas Falls cascades through the heart of the proposed Craggy National Scenic Area.
The 70-foot Douglas Falls cascades through the heart of the proposed Craggy National Scenic Area.

Craggy has it all: big waterfalls, panoramic views, iconic trails. The Hunger Games and Last of the Mohicans were filmed in Craggy. And its pristine mountain streams provide drinking water to communities downstream. That clean water is important to N.C. breweries and businesses, as well as area farmers like Anna Littman, who owns Ivy Creek Family Farm just a stone’s throw from Craggy.

“We don’t want our creek running brown or drying up. We depend on the forest to protect our farm,” Littman says. “We need to keep the forest just the way it is.”

Ivy Creek Family Farm is one of over 150 area businesses and organizations that have endorsed the Craggy National Scenic Area.

Across three presidential administrations, unlikely allies have partnered to build unanimous bipartisan support for the Craggy National Scenic Area. This is a rare opportunity to show that communities matter, democracy still works, and public lands can bring us together.

Harlan is a hippie and a hunter who lives in rural Barnardsville near the proposed Craggy National Scenic Area. Learn more about it at iheartcraggy.org or iheartpisgah.org .