Upper Tellico ORV Trail System Permanently Closed

The Forest Service announced today that it will be permanently closing the Upper Tellico OHV System to off road vehicle use.  This decision comes after over two years of study and heated debate.  Managers of the Forest finally admitted that the area is simply unsuitable for off road recreational use.  You can access the decision documents and Forest Service press release here.

“Our analysis has shown the problems to be worse than we first thought,” said Forest Supervisor Hilliard. “The 39 mile Upper Tellico OHV Trail System is currently contributing unacceptable levels of sediment into the Tellico River and its tributaries. The Forest Service is in violation of its own standards and North Carolina state water quality standards because visible sediment from the OHV trails is reaching the Tellico River and its tributaries in hundreds of locations."

One news article quotes the Forest Service as stating that it will cost 2.3 million dollars to repair the damage caused by the unsustainable ORV use.  "Simply put, the Uppert Tellico OHV system is not sustainable," Hilliard said. "It is not the place for an OHV system."

We commend the National Forests in North Carolina for finally making the right management decision for this important watershed on our public lands, and hope that this can be a lesson to other land managers to thoroughly evaluate the impacts from allowing intensive ORV use before this sort of damage can occur.