Locals express views during town hall meeting

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Many voice concerns regarding Forest Service’s Jellico/Little Rock Creek proposal

 

“We live over there on Osborne Creek, and it is a beautiful place,” McCreary County resident Birdie  Lovett told U.S. Forest Service officials during a public meeting concerning the U.S. Forest Service’s proposed Jellico Vegetation Management Project held last week at the Whitley County Extension Agency Office north of Williamsburg.  The project proposes vegetation management treatments, including use of herbicides and timber harvest with some clear cutting, on approximately 5,000 acres over a period of 40 years in the Jellico Mountain area of Whitley County and approximately 5,000 acres in the Little Rock Creek/Osborne Creek area of McCreary County.

Lovett continued by describing the beauty she sees daily from her home on Obsorne Creek.

“We’ve got the prettiest view of the mountain and the leaves,” the elderly woman said softly. “That water comes down off the mountain and goes all around our property.  My grandson walks that mountain and squirrel hunts, and we drive it.  There’s a spring up there with the cleanest, coldest water you’ll ever find.”

Quietly she continued, expressing her opposition to parts of the Jellico/Little Rock Creek proposal.

“I’m against it,” Lovett said firmly.  “My husband was a logger.  He’s against it, too.  It would be a shame if you ruint such a beautiful place.”

More than a dozen McCreary Countians joined Whitley Countians, state environmentalists, and others to listen to what Forest Service employees had to say about the proposal, ask questions, express their concerns, and give comments about the proposed project.

Overwhelmingly, those attending and speaking out during the town hall styled meeting were opposed to the project as it is currently proposed-particularly parts of the plan calling for the use of clear cutting and other similar logging techniques as part of the project.  Concerns about the project varied but centered mostly on the issues of clear cutting, the size of the project, excessive targeting of mature forest, the use of herbicides, and the potential for erosion, landslides, and related flooding.

“My dad was a logger, and there is a right way and a wrong way to do it,” McCreary County resident Johnny Baird said as he described past logging practices that have occurred in the area.  “I’ve lost a lot of my mountain because of something that was done when I was a boy.  My dad was a logger, and I’m a tree hugger.  There’s a right way to do it, and this just isn’t right.”

Alan Harrelson, who recently moved to McCreary County from South Carolina after purchasing 170 acres in the Obsorne Creek area, spoke up firmly against the plan.

“Why is clear cutting necessary anyway?  Why are we interfering with what the forest does naturally?” Harrelson, who has a PHD in American History, asked.

Harrelson also referenced comments made recently by McCreary County’s State Senator, Robert Stivers, when he noted the economic potential for McCreary County to develop a fall tourism campaign focusing around the newly constructed and scenic state HWY 92 which meanders alongside the proposed logging project area.  Harrelson noted the negative impact logging might have on the area’s scenic beauty and its potential for tourism.

“My overall thought on the project is that it is a very bad idea,” Harrelson told The Voice after the meeting.  “McCreary County is beautiful as it is.  History has proven over and over that when government gets involved, things usually go wrong.”

Harrelson, whose dissertation and related research focused on the decline of rural Kentucky since the 1800s, observed that resources have increasingly left Kentucky for use in other places.

“We fell in love with McCreary County because of its natural beauty and wonderful people,” Harrelson declared.  “We don’t want to move here and have the Federal Government take that beauty away.”

Harrelson also spoke of his concerns about the use of herbicides during implementation of the project.

McCreary County’s Jonah Neal questioned the project asking, “How does it benefit McCreary County?” Neal also asked how public roads will be impacted by an influx of logging trucks and equipment.

U.S. Forest Service officials answered Neal’s concerns by pointing to logging as an economic benefit for the local economy and noted the government pays PILT and Secure Rural School funds to the county for use in maintaining roads.

McCreary County’s Gina Hasty spoke up in support of the area’s old growth trees.

“We are building a tiny home community to help those in need in the valley on Osborne Creek,” Hasty said passionately.  “I am convinced it (the project, as presented) will ruin our valley.  I’m against clear cutting.  Select cutting is the way to go.”

Harrison Hasty, who also resides in McCreary County, questioned why the Forest Service doesn’t gear the project toward recreation and tourism.  Hasty noted the area is ideal for hiking trails and other outdoor recreation amenities.

Kentucky Heartwood’s Jim Scheff noted several concerns.  First, Scheff said too much old (mature) growth is targeted in the plan.  He also expressed his concerns about clear cutting, particularly in regard to erosion and landslides.  Scheff also opined that big cuts can create problems with invasive species.

Forest Service officials attempted to address concerns during the meeting.  Stearns District Ranger Tim Reed noted the purpose of the proposal is to provide diversity across the area and to make sure the forest is not all of one age.

The Forest Service estimates an annual average of 200 acres of timber harvest in the Jellico area over the next 40 years.  However, the number could fluctuate.

Silviculturist John Hull and others addressed questions concerning erosion and the use of herbicides.  Officials noted the Forest Service is required to follow the guidelines mandated for use of herbicides, including limitations on herbicide use near water and on certain types of soil.

District Ranger Tim Reed stressed the proposal is in the early phase of the process.  According to Reed, the timeline to complete analysis and environmental assessment is hopefully by June, 2023.

“This phase is about identifying issues.”

(For related items, see page A4.)

 

Comments and input regarding the proposed Jellico Vegetation Management Project must be submitted by December 5, 2022.

Stearns District Ranger Tim Reed articulated the Forest Service’s desire to receive public input and comments.

“We always want and try to get public input to use in our decision-making,” Reed stated.

Comments can be submitted electronically by email to:  SMLFS.r8dbstecom@usda.gov or on the project website at https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project/?project=63037.   The following should be submitted as part of comments:  (1) Name, address, phone number, email address, and organization (if applicable) (2) Title of the Project:  Jellico Vegetation Management Project (3) Specific facts and relevant rationale you feel should be considered, along with supporting reasons the Responsible Official should consider in reaching a decision (4) Signature or other verification of identify upon request.

 

Comments can be mailed or delivered in person to:

District Ranger

Daniel Boone National Forest

Stearns Ranger District

3320 Highway 27 N

Whitley City, KY  42653

 

Written comments can be sent by fax to:  606-376-3734

For submitting oral comments by telephone, call 606-376-5323 and identify the purpose of your call.  The receptionist will connect you with someone who will document your comments.

 

For additional information about the project, please contact John Hull at johnhull@usda.gov or by calling 606-376-5323.