Get involved to protect the Nantahala and Pisgah today!

The heart of the Southern Appalachians are the million-plus acre Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests and the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. New management plans are currently being developed for the Forests, creating a once-in-a-generation chance for Outdoor Alliance to help protect these special mountains and ensure their sustainable enjoyment.

The Forest Service is currently in the final stages of planning for how it will manage these areas and activities for the next 20-30 years. At stake are things like recreation access, infrastructure development and maintenance, trails, scenic viewsheds, permitting for guides, outfitters and educational groups, wilderness designations, wild and scenic river designations, and the possibility of new scenarios for stewardship and forest partnerships. 

Outdoor Alliance member organizations, including American Whitewater, the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA), the Southern Off-Road Mountain Bicycling Association (SORBA), Access Fund, and other recreation groups have spent the last 3 years collaborating with regional stakeholders in monthly meetings, thoughtfully promoting a vision of protected lands and rivers, and recreation policies that ensure the mountains will continue to offer world class paddling, climbing, hiking, and biking in a region otherwise lacking in public lands. But we need your help to make sure that the interests of human-powered recreationists—skiers, climbers, mountain bikers, paddlers, hikers—are well represented as these plans move toward final drafts and, ultimately, toward implementation.

For more information, and links to planning documents and the comment form, check out Forest Service’s planning information page. Or sign up below to get involved, and we will send you up-to-the-minute guidance about how to make a difference.

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