Comment requested on proposed land swap

By Rose Hooper

The Eastern Band would like to acquire 168 acres known as the Ravensford Tract at the edge of Great Smoky Mountains National Park's southern boundary near Cherokee. Also known as Floyd Bottoms, the tract is located near the Blue Ridge Parkway intersection with U.S. 441.

The tribe's intent is twofold. Primarily they say they would like to build three new tribal schools there. Secondly, they would like to connect two areas of the reservation that are now bisected by park land.

In exchange for the Ravensford Tract, the Cherokee would acquire and offer to the Department of the Interior about 218 acres located next to the Waterrock Knob Visitor Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Public meetings will be held on the proposed exchange, beginning with one at Cherokee Elementary School Tuesday, Feb. 12. Another is planned for Wednesday, Feb. 13, at Ellington Hall on the University of Tennessee agricultural campus in Knoxville. A third will be held Thursday, Feb. 14, at the Folk Arts Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway (Milepost 382) in Asheville. Each is scheduled from 6 to 9 p.m.

Those attending the meeting will be given three minutes to speak or they may submit written comments, or both. The public record will remain open until Feb. 28.

The final decision will come from Washington, D.C., perhaps from National Park System Director Fran Mainella, or it could be "bumped up" to Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton, said NPS's Paul Winegar.

According to Principal Chief Leon Jones, reservation schools are "antiquated, overcrowded and dangerously-located."

"We are educating future leaders who will be vital to the preservation of our unique culture," said Jones. "A school campus located in the heart of the Qualla Boundary will be a focal point for them to explore our culture, history and natural heritage."

Cherokee's new Master Plan of economic development, approved Jan. 10 by Tribal Council members, also addresses the planned land swap.

"The elementary school occupies one of the most prime parcels of real estate in Cherokee, as does the Bureau of Indian Affairs offices next door. The school and the BIA are not the highest and best use of these prime parcels. Over the long term, the elementary school and BIA sites should become a new, cohesive anchor attraction," the plan states.

So-called "anchor attractions" discussed so far by the tribe's economic and community development division include a theme park called "Cherokee Journey" and an outlet mall.

"When the high school moves, it is recommended that the existing high school be renovated and expanded for use as tribal offices, tribal services, a community center and park," the plan continues.

In addition to public comments, the environmental impact of the proposed exchange of property will be evaluated, according to John Yancy, associate regional director for the park service's southeast regional office in Atlanta.

According to Yancy, approximately 22 studies are being prepared as part of the environmental analysis. These include studies focusing on specific groups of organisms, such as fungi and invertebrates, to archeological and cultural resources located in the Ravensford Tract.

The environmental impact of the deal has raised some concerns among several environmental groups who have already spoken out against the plan. Bob McCollum, chairman of the N.C. National Parks, Parkway and Forests Development Council, said, "Biologists have discovered many forms of life on this site that are found nowhere else in the park. Of these, 24 are species of life that are completely new to science."

Ted Snyder, Sierra Club activist, said removing the Ravensford Tract from the park would "affect the integrity of the park."

"The park has only a tiny fraction of its land in river bottoms," said Snyder. "These river bottoms are the only place flat land occurs within the park. Any reduction in this type of land form would be a serious loss to the park."

The Jackson County site proposed for exchange includes 7 acres of high-altitude wetland that seeps among the headwaters of the Tennessee River Valley.

"The site is next to a large parcel owned by the Nature Conservancy and will protect the ridge top from Waterrock Knob to Yellow Face," Chief Jones said. "It includes federally-listed endangered species and has been referred to as a Œbotanist's dream.'

"A land exchange will protect that habitat and a critical Œviewshed' from rapid housing development along the parkway," Jones continued.

Other environmentalists believe that the Ravensford Tract, placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982, is indeed of great educational value. They would back the land swap if the tribe were prepared to preserve the area as an historic site, rather than cover it in asphalt and concrete.

If you cannot attend... Those who cannot attend one of the three public meeting on the proposed land swap between the Eastern Band and the National Park System are invited to submit written comments to:

Anita Jackson - National Park Service - Southeast Regional Office - 100 Alabama Street SW - Atlanta, Ga. 30303 - Telephone: 1-888-820-3644 - E-mail: NPSlandexchange@saic.com.

Other contacts include:

Fran Mainella, Director - National Park Service - 1849 C. Street NW - Washington, D.C. 29240

Gale Norton - Secretary of the Interior - U.S. Dept. of the Interior - 1849 C. Street NW - Washington, D.C. 20240

Sen. John Edwards - 225 Dirksen Office Bldg. - Washington, D.C. 20510

Rep. Charles Taylor - 231 Cannon House Office Building - Washington, D.C. 20515-3311

Back to Archive: 01/31/02.