Archive for the ‘Lamar Alexander’ Category

TN Senators Introduce Bill to Protect 20,000 Acres of Cherokee National Forest

Sunday, June 5th, 2011
On Thursday of last week, U.S. Senators Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) announced the introduction of the Tennessee Wilderness Act of 2011. If passed by Congress, the act would designate as wilderness, nearly 20,000 acres in six areas of the Cherokee National Forest.

These areas were recommended for wilderness status by the U.S. Forest Service in the development of its comprehensive 2004 forest plan and have been managed as Wilderness Study Areas since that time.

Congress began protecting wilderness areas in the Cherokee National Forest in 1975, with additional wilderness areas established by the Tennessee Wilderness Acts of 1984 and 1986.

This bill will have no effect on privately owned lands and will cause no change in access for the public, as each of these areas is owned entirely by the U.S. Forest Service and managed as a Wilderness Study Area.

The Tennessee Wilderness Act of 2011 creates one new wilderness area and expands the boundaries of five different existing wilderness areas within the Cherokee National Forest:

• Creates the 9,038 acre Upper Bald River Wilderness (Monroe County)

• Adds 348 acres to the Big Frog Wilderness (Polk County)

• Adds 966 acres to the Little Frog Wilderness (Polk County)

• Adds 2,922 acres to the Sampson Mountain Wilderness (Washington and Unicoi County)

• Adds 4,446 acres to the Big Laurel Branch Wilderness (Carter and Johnson County)

• Adds 1,836 acres to the Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness (Monroe County)


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com

Posted in Bob Corker, Lamar Alexander, Tennessee Wilderness Act of 2011, Upper Bald River Wilderness, cherokee national forest | Comments Off

Sen. Alexander requests $252M in federal funding for TN projects

Wednesday, April 28th, 2010
Senator Lamar Alexander has asked for 54 projects in Tennessee costing more than $252 million be included in next year's federal budget, according to disclosures completed yesterday. Here are a few of the outdoor related projects:

Historic Preservation: $3.5 million

Funding will be used to construct a new facility to preserve historic artifacts and documents from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and other surrounding National Park Service facilities.

Big South Fork Conservation: $550,000

Funding would allow the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area to purchase a 50-acre tract of land, the last remaining privately-held parcel within Big South Fork that is surrounded by federal lands.

Rocky Fork Conservation: $8 million

Funding would allow the Cherokee National Forest to purchase property known as Rocky Fork Tract (an approximately 10,000-acre tract of land adjacent to existing national forest) which is one of the largest remaining tracts of wilderness in the eastern United States.

Hemlock Forest Protection: $1 million

Funding would be used for on-the-ground treatments for protection of hemlock trees in the Cherokee National Forest and Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

WBIR doesn't have the entire list of projects, but they have many of the other non-outdoor related projects listed in this article.

I understand some of these projects are probably much needed. However, many of these look like pure pork barrel wasteful spending. When will politicians finally get it? There's a recession going on out there! There's 10% unemployment - much higher if you count the people who have given up looking - and people are tightening their belts to make ends meet. These polticians continue to spend money - our money - like drunken sailors.

The outcome of all this wasteful spending will not be good for America. Higher taxes, high inflation and a lower standard of living will be the end result.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, and more.

Posted in Big South Fork, Lamar Alexander, Rocky Fork Tract, Senator, cherokee national forest, hemlock trees | Comments Off