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Appalachian Trail Conservancy Comments on National Park Service Record of Decision for Monetary Settlement to Resolve North Shore Road Issue

Asheville, N.C. (January 3, 2008)— Responding to the news from Great Smoky Mountains National Park on the North Shore Road record of decision, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) says it is celebrating a victory for its advocacy along with the coordinated efforts of other conservation groups throughout the Southeast and the nation.

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy, in partnership with Swain County, N.C., the State of North Carolina, the National Parks Conservation Association, Southern Environmental Law Center, Sierra Club, Carolina Mountain Club, Smoky Mountains Hiking Club and many other local conservation organizations has been working for many years to help secure a monetary settlement in lieu of construction of a road along the north shore of Fontana Lake.

The Appalachian National Scenic Trail is one of the two national parks, including the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, whose resources would have been significantly impaired by construction of the road. ATC will continue to work with the above parties and the National Park Service (NPS) to secure appropriate compensation (approx. $52 million) for Swain County. ATC also applauds the excellent work of Sen. Lamar Alexander (Rep.) of Tennessee and Rep. Heath Shuler (Dem.) of North Carolina and the rest of the N.C. and Tenn. congressional delegations in obtaining a first installment of $6 million dollars for this settlement in the FY’08 budget.

ATC Regional Director Morgan Sommerville said, “With this NPS decision the spectacular A.T. viewshed provided by the vast unbroken forest canopy of the Great Smoky Mountains will remain an icon of international significance to be viewed by the children of generations to come. I am very pleased.”

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy is a volunteer-based nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation of the 2,175-mile Appalachian National Scenic Trail so that it will forever remain a simple footpath within a protected greenway along the Appalachian Mountains from Georgia to Maine. Its mission is to ensure that future generations will have clean water and air, scenic vistas, a healthy natural environment and opportunities for recreation and renewal along the entire Trail corridor.