<< Back 9/4/02 Parkway aims towards smart growth By Don Hendershot Timeframe for BRPGMP/EIS ° 2000 — Began pre-planning process. ° Fall 2001 — Initiate planning process ° Winter 2001-Summer 2002 — Define planning context; planning team affirms mission. team members collect and analyze data and public comment. ° Summer 2002-Summer 2003 — Develop and evaluate alternatives. ° Fall 2003-Fall 2004 — Prepare draft document and identify preferred alternative. ° Winter 2004-Summer 2005 — Publish final document. The plan is approved in a published Record of Decision. ° Summer 2005 and beyond — Implement the approved plan. The Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP) is unique in the national park system. It is 469 miles long with an average width of 800 feet. Eighty-two thousand acres are contained within its 1,000 miles of boundary, making it the National Park Service’s third largest unit. “But many people don’t even know it’s a park,” said Gary Johnson, chief of resource planning for the BRP. Johnson was in Asheville Aug. 29 to meet with representatives from the Western North Carolina Alliance (WNCA), National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) and Friends for Parks and Public Lands (FPPL) to discuss the crafting of the BRP’s first General Management Plan. The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 mandates that all units of the national park system have a GMP/EIS (Environmental Impact Statement.) According to Johnson, funding for such a project for the BRP was not made available until recently. He said the parkway received planning money in 2000 to create a blueprint for the GMP/EIS project. The planning process began in earnest in the fall of 2001 with discussions between park staff and community planners and regional planners from Virginia and North Carolina. Park planners are working now to analyze data and collect input from organizations, citizens and local governments regarding the future of the BLRI. The GMP is expected to determine the park’s management direction for the next 15 to 20 years. “This will be a non-traditional plan and process. Most parks focus inwardly, on how to protect natural resources inside their boundary. This park is so spread out and so many issues outside the park affect the park – a lot of this plan will focus outside the boundary. We want to talk about issues we have in common with our neighbors – what is the value of views and scenery and what impact does the parkway have on local economies,” Johnson said. Johnson told the Asheville group he was there to hear their concerns. Bob Gale, ecologist for WNCA said he would like to see industry educated as to the value of the viewshed. “We are losing the viewshed to pollution,” Gale said. Johnson said a recent pilot study in Haywood County revealed that if views were impacted by 25 percent visitors would find another area or another section of the BRP to visit. Research has shown that 95 percent of those who visit the parkway do so because of the scenery. Johnson also noted that parkway visitors contribute $2.2 billion to the economies of the 29 counties it passes through. Greg Kidd of NPCA said traffic was one of the greatest concerns of his organization. Johnson said there were a lot of issues connected with traffic on the BRP. He said safety, local access, volume, commuters in some areas, winter road closings and bicycle use were some of the items that had already been brought to the attention of planners. Ken Fitch of FPPL said the parkway was unique because it provided immediate and direct access to an abundance of natural and cultural resources. Johnson said the protection of those resources would be a major component of the plan. According to Johnson, original master plans for the parkway didn’t even discuss resources. “They were development plans ... The parkway was built for recreation and scenery and to expose people to the Appalachian landscape. It wasn’t geared to natural resources ... It wasn’t until the advent of NEPA that the parkway began to consider resources.” Gale said the BRP probably wouldn’t be built today given the obvious environmental impacts. “But it’s here now, and we should plan from now forward. The parkway probably serves purposes it was never designed for such as a corridor for wildlife and a means for genetic migration,” said Gale. The role of the BRP in the central/southern Appalachian ecosystem is another issue already before planners. To learn more about the GMP/EIS for the parkway log on to their website at www.planning.den.nps.gov/plans.cfm. Johnson said the process is just beginning and there will be lots of opportunities for public input. Two public meetings are scheduled in the area; 3:30-7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 23, at the Best Western Hotel, Blue Ridge Plaza, 840 E. King Street in Boone; and 3:30-7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 24, at the Folk Arts Center, 382 Blue Ridge Parkway, in Asheville. “The parkway hasn’t done a lot as far as presenting an image to the public. We see the GMP process as a way to open that door. We want to build reapport with our neighbors and formalize public input,” Johnson said. To learn more about the process and/or to comment, contact BLRI by mail at Blue Ridge Parkway, 199 Hemphill Knob Road, Asheville, N.C., 28803. By phone at 828.271.4779. By email at blri_gmp_eis@nps.gov. Or go to their web site, http://planning.den.nps.gov/plans.cfm.