[TN-Bird] Cades Cove planning - long

Hi folks,

Many of you know how beautiful a place Cades Cove is, and how good
the birding can be there.  I have personally seen upwards of 130
species there.  I the last 2 years Red Phalarope, Sandhill Crane,
Short-eared Owl, and even nesting Red Crossbills have been recorded
there.

You may also be aware of some of the challenges to visitors there: 
millions of people (literally) 2 over-utilized restrooms, and bear
jams.

Here is an opportunity for you to tell our leaders what you'd like to
see done there.  Among the options are:

- do nothing
- various potential plans to reduce traffic
- increase the number and location of restrooms
- change management rules in various ways
- build a new, bigger visitor center
- add public transportation
- add/remove/ change signage

Some of these will be good for wildlife.  Some will not.  There is
probably room for debate about most of them.  If you're interested in
my opinions, send me an email (not to the list, please) but here is
your opportunity to be heard.

Sincerely,
charlie

Great Smoky Mountains News Release

Immediate Release                               Contact:  Nancy Gray
Date:  July 25, 2005                                  865/436-1208

                PARK MANAGERS MOVE INTO SECOND PHASE OF THE
                        CADES COVE PLANNING PROCESS

      The second phase of the Cades Cove Development Concept and

 Transportation Management Plan, the long-term visioning process for
Cades

 Cove, has begun.

      Cades Cove, a 6,500-acre valley, is a popular destination for a

majority of the Park?s visitors.  Cades Cove contains farmsteads that
date

from the 19th and early 20th Centuries and provides good wildlife
viewing

opportunities.  Over time, visitation to the Cove has grown yet the

facilities that support visitor use, including the 11-mile one way
loop

road, remain largely unchanged.  Traffic congestion and inadequate
visitor

facilities are among the issues now faced in Cades Cove.  Park
managers

with the help of partners and the public embarked on a planning
process in

2001 to develop a plan to implement changes that will ensure the
protection

of the significant resources while ensuring a quality experience for

visitors consistent with the National Park Service mission.

      Wilbur Smith Associates is leading the consulting team for the
Phase

 II project with management oversight once again by the Knoxville
Regional

 Transportation Planning Organization.  In Phase II, the five
existing

 preliminary alternatives that were developed in Phase I, with
extensive

 public involvement, will be further detailed, refined, and
evaluated.

 These preliminary alternatives include one ?no action? alternative
and

 four combinations of new approaches to resource management, visitor

 facilities, transportation options and other factors affecting the

 visitor?s experience in the Cove.  These alternatives are described
in

 detail and information about them can be obtained by visiting the

 project?s website, www.cadescoveplanning.com.

      Phase II will be conducted over a 22-month period and will
provide

 the technical analysis to determine if the final alternatives
considered

 represent the possible range of alternatives by evaluating their

 feasibility, cost and environmental, socio and economical impacts.  
The

 results of Phase II will be used during a third project phase to
develop a

 Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS).

      The Phase II process will incorporate a National Park Service

 planning tool known as Visitor Experience and Resource Protection
(VERP).

 VERP is used to provide a better understanding of complex issues of

 visitor use management and carrying capacity?the types and levels of

 visitor use that can be accommodated while maintaining acceptable
resource

 and social conditions.  ?VERP is simply a measurement tool to help
assess

 the level of impact the resources can sustain while also providing a
good

 visitor experience,? said Park Superintendent Dale Ditmanson.  ?This
data

 collection is another step in helping us to better evaluate the

 alternatives and their usefulness to reach future management goals
for the

 Cove by answering such questions as how sensitive is the resource,
how

 limited is the space, and at what level does public enjoyment
diminish,?

 he continued.

      Visitor surveying will start on Wednesday at several locations
within

 the Park and will be a key element of the VERP effort.   Three
surveys

 will be presented to the public--one to collect basic information on
where

 they go and what they do; another to ask more in depth questions
such as

 how they view conditions in the Cove related to traffic, crowding,
and

 facility availability; and a third to capture information from
visitors

 who do not have plans to visit the Cove.  All of these surveys will
have

 basic demographic information as well.  Visitors will be randomly

 approached and asked to take the time to fill out the surveys.

      The DEIS is expected in 2008, pending funding availability. 
The DEIS

 will present the range of alternatives evaluated and the impacts and

 benefits of each.  The alternative ultimately selected for
implementation

 may combine elements of several alternatives studied.  Depending on
the

 outcome of the decision, more complex elements of the selected
alternative

 may require additional work before implementation can begin.  ?This
is a

 dynamic process,? said Superintendent Ditmanson, ?and we will
continue to

 keep the public informed and updated on the project so that they
will have

 a chance to provide their input and comment as we continue to move
closer

 to a decision.?

      Once the impact assessment is largely completed in Phase II,
the next

 set of public meetings will be held, tentatively scheduled in summer
2006.

 In the meantime, interested persons will be able to get updated

 information as it becomes available, along with background
information on

 the project, the Phase I report with alternatives, and the
newsletter

 announcing Phase II, by visiting the Cove planning project website
at

 www.cadescoveplanning.com.  Comments may be made at the website or
by

 writing to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 107 Park
Headquarters

 Road, Gatlinburg, TN 37738.

*******************************************************************
Charlie Muise, Naturalist in
Great Smoky Mountains National Park

"To the dull mind all nature is leaden.  To the illuminated mind 
the whole world sparkles with light."  - Ralph Waldo Emerson


                
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