Help protect rivers in Western North Carolina!  On Thursday, July 10, 2014, the Nantahala and Pisgah national forests will be hosting a meeting at the Crowne Plaza Resort in Asheville to solicit public input on their current Forest Planning effort.  From 11:30am to 1pm there will be an opportunity to visit a Wild and Scenic Rivers information station and share your comments. 

During Forest Planning the agency will update their list of rivers on the National Forests they deem "eligible" for Wild and Scenic designation.  Eligible river reaches are freeflowing (though can have dams upstream or downstream), and have at least one nationally or regionally significant value that is rare, unique, or exemplary.  Who better than paddlers to share the awesome recreational, scenic, biological, and geological values of our regional rivers?  The best part: Eligible rivers are protected from dams and other impacts.  

The only rivers currently protected as eligible are:

• Nolichucky River
• Nantahala River
• Snowbird Creek
• Mills River (North and South Forks)
• Big East Fork of the Pigeon (plus Yellowstone and Dark prongs)
• Davidson River
• Linville River
• Tellico River

We bet you have some great ideas for additional eligible rivers.  You can view our initial ideas in our most recent comments on this process.  

You can also weigh in about the three designated Wild and Scenic Rivers on these Forests: Wilson Creek, the Horsepasture River and the upper Chattooga River.  We have asked the Forests to lift the seasonal, water level, and geographical closures on the upper Chattooga now that monitoring data has shown that paddling use is a non-issue.  Got some attaboys or constructive criticism to offer on the management of the 3 Wild and Scenic Rivers?  Share them!  

The short Wild and Scenic River session is a small part of a larger more structured agenda for the day.  For the Wild and Scenic session, you can expect a poster or three to check out, a friendly Forest Service staffer to chat with, and some comment cards.  There may be no easier way to save rivers on your lunch break!