Forest Service to permanently close Upper Tellico Off-Highway Vehicle trail system

Shawn Tabb | October 14, 2009 | 0 Comments

MURPHY — The U.S. Forest Service announced today that it is permanently closing the Upper Tellico Off-Highway Vehicle trail system to correct serious erosion problems in the Upper Tellico River watershed.

The agency announced its decision after two years of analysis of the 39-mile trail system about 11 miles west of Murphy in the Nantahala National Forest.

The agency first began looking at runoff problems in the area after several environmental groups threatened to sue the agency in July 2007, alleging the Forest Service violated laws by failing to prevent mud from eroded trails from polluting streams.

Since then, there has been intense debate between four-wheel-drive advocates and environmental groups over how to manage the area, and the Forest Service has temporarily closed some trails in the area.

Marisue Hilliard, National Forests in North Carolina supervisor, said that the agency hoped that it could make repairs and modifications to the exisiting trail system to correct water quality problems while still allowing some OHV use in the area.

But, she said that repairing existing problems and maintaining the trails in the future would be much more difficult than expected.

“Simply put, the Uppert Tellico OHV system is not sustainable,” Hilliard said. “It is not the place for an OHV system.”

Hilliard said it will cost $2.3 million to correct the erosion problems that are currently occuring and that are in voilation of the forest service’s land management plan and state water quality standards.

The agency plans to keep 13 miles of forest service roads in the area open year-round or seasonally for highway legal vehicles to provide access for hunting, fishing and other recreation activities in the area. They will also be paving and reconstructing a portion of Highway 420 that serves as a through route from Tennessee to North Carolina.