The Pisgah National Forest is located in the Greater Smoky Mountains of western North Carolina, right near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Pisgah is home to 500,000 acres of pristine forest and wilderness. It has tremendous opportunities for hiking, swimming, rafting and other recreation activities. The Pisgah National Forest is part of the Greater Smoky Mountains landscape, which The Wilderness Society is working to protect.
See also:
About Pisgah National Forest
Pisgah National Forest is one of the oldest national forests in the United States. It was the first piece of land bought under the legislation that led to the national forest system in the early 1900s. It has two of the first wilderness areas designated on the east coast.
Pisgah has tremendous recreational opportunities, from hiking and camping to swimming and rafting. However, an anti-wilderness bill in the House of Representatives could open it up to development.
Threats to the Pisgah National Forest
The most immediate threat to the Pisgah National Forest comes from an anti-wilderness bill that Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California introduced, the Roadless Area Release Act (H.R. 1581). This bill would remove protections from more than 58 million acres of national forest roadless lands. It would open millions of acres of Wilderness Study Areas to developers, who could harm already vanishing wilderness.
Pisgah National Forest is one of the oldest national forests in the United States. It was the first piece of land bought under the legislation that led to the national forest system in the early 1900s.
Developing wilderness in the Pisgah National Forest would threaten forest wildlife, pollute the water and limit recreation access for the millions of visitors each year.
Protecting the Pisgah National Forest
At Wilderness, we are working to stop the Roadless Area Release Act. Its consequences would be disastrous for the Pisgah National Forest. Former Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt told the House of Representatives that this bill “is the most radical, overreaching attempt to dismantle the architecture of our public land laws that has been proposed in my lifetime.”
You can help
You can help ensure the Pisgah National Forest and the Magnificent Seven wildlands remain part of our natural heritage. Help save this iconic American landscape by making a donation today.
