More than 30 leaseholders, adjacent property owners and interested stakeholders stopped by Mountain Neighbors For Needmore Preservation’s “drop-in” meeting held Jan. 30 at Southwestern Community College’s Swain Center.

Swain County resident Cheryl Taylor, who organized the meeting, believes residents living near the Needmore Tract should have a say in what happens to the land. She bases that opinion on the fact that the land was initially obtained for public utilities and because it has been used most of this century as public access for fishing, boating and other public recreation as well as leased for farming.

Crescent, the land management arm of Duke Power, has been charged with coming up with a management plan for the 4,400-acre tract that is in Macon and Swain counties. According to Crescent’s updated timeline issued in January, it will continue to meet with stakeholders through the spring of 2001. Officials will then review existing data and determine by this summer what else needs to be studied. Crescent will then begin assembling data and draft initial findings by fall 2001. Those findings will be reviewed and additional input will be accepted through winter 2002, and a final report will be ready by spring 2002.

A petition circulated at the Jan. 30 meeting states:

“These citizens of Needmore, and Swain County, petition the local government and Crescent Resources Inc. to abandon the consideration of development and allow the Needmore Tract to remain as it has been, a public use land. We seek to work with local government and Crescent Resources Inc. via a board to represent Mountain Neighbors For Needmore Preservation; to explore avenues that would allow the continuance of public use and recreational access, as well as to preserve the natural resources and historical value of this land. Leaseholders, land owners, sportsmen and general public have responsibly used and cared for this land for generations and should not only be heard, but seriously considered in the future of the Needmore Tract.”

Taylor said that approximately 30 signatures were collected during the meeting, and that some attendees took petitions with them. She said the meeting was a great success in helping the group identify adjacent property owners.

Taylor said she envisions a board of around a dozen people representing leaseholders, adjacent property owners and recreational users. She said three adjacent land owners - Roy Parton, James King and Wayne DeHart - have agreed to sit on the board.

Parton said he felt Crescent had a “moral obligation” to Needmore residents because of the way the land was acquired. He said he knew of people who had owned land in Needmore and who were told they should sell the land because if they didn’t it was going to be under water.

Roger Turner of the Western North Carolina Alliance and Paul Carlson of the Little Tennessee Land Conservancy were also at the meeting. Carlson and Turner are both on record as supporting continued traditional uses and local access to the property.

Taylor said the three members who have agreed to sit on the board would meet Thursday, Feb. 8, with other interested parties in hopes of completing the board. Persons interested in attending the meeting can call Taylor (488.3934), Parton (488.9811) or DeHart (488.2028) for more information.

 

Back to Top

The Smoky Mountain News