Threats posed by air pollution and the high potential for development in and around the park have placed Great Smoky Mountains National Park on the 2003 America’s 10 Most Endangered National Parks List, distributed annually since 1999 by the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA). This marks the park’s fifth consecutive appearance on the list.

“Air pollution continues to be the biggest threat that the park and its visitors face, but it’s not the only danger facing the Smokies,” said Don Barger, director of NPCA’s Southeastern regional office. “Several development proposals and continued inadequate funding also put park resources at risk.”

Named last fall as the most polluted national park in the country, poor air quality in the Smokies often rivals urban areas. Park visitors seeking pristine mountain air find that their health may be jeopardized in summer months. Last year, the park experienced one of its worst ozone seasons, with 43 days of unhealthy air. Clouds hanging over sensitive spruce-fir forests at Clingmans Dome and other high elevation sites are often as acidic as vinegar.

Coal-fired power plants are largely responsible for the Smokies’ pollution. North Carolina became the first state in the Southeast to reduce emissions from all of its power plants after finalizing the Clean Smokestacks bill last year. However, Bush Administration actions overshadow this progress at the state level with a series of setbacks for federal clean air enforcement. Last February, the administration released its Clear Skies Initiative, an emissions program that falls far short of protecting the air in national parks. In November, the Environmental Protection Agency also finalized changes to the Clean Air Act and proposed others that would allow the oldest, dirtiest power plants to operate indefinitely with limited pollution controls. Although these changes will affect facilities all across the country, the agency has planned only one public hearing for citizen input.

“Last year, Clean Air Act programs essential to improving conditions in national parks were all too eagerly abandoned by the Bush Administration,” said Jill Stephens, program coordinator in NPCA’s Southeast Regional Office. “The Smokies serve as an ever-present reminder that our elected officials must support measures that begin the clean-up of parks and communities rather than prolong pollution.”

The park also is facing a series of development issues. Great Smoky Mountains is the largest national park in the East, and its proximity to a number of urban centers creates a unique set of problems. “It’s wonderful that such an amazing park is close to so many people,” said Barger. “But it’s important to remember that in many ways Great Smoky Mountains is an urban park, so issues associated with urban growth affect the park just as much as the towns that surround it.” These issues include the widening of U.S. 321 and development along the northern boundary in Tennessee; a proposal to remove 144 acres from the park for development near the Oconaluftee Visitor Center; and resuscitation of proposals to build the North Shore Road in North Carolina through the largest roadless tract of mountain terrain in the eastern U.S. The National Park Service abandoned plans to build the road in 1962, when environmental studies found development of the area would cause tremendous damage.

In addition to these concerns, park officials often find themselves struggling to find funds for everyday operations. Chronic inadequate funding impairs park staff’s ability to protect natural and historic resources properly, to ensure visitor safety, and to enhance visitor education.