New Beginning at Tellico ORV Area
The Tellico River flows from its headwaters in Cherokee County, North Carolina on into Tennessee. As it does, it supports a self-sustaining population of wild native brook trout. Valued for their beauty, their delicious taste, and their sport-fish qualities, they are also indicators of the broader health of the watersheds where they live.
Sadly, despite its classification as “Wild Trout Waters” by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission in 1991, the Tellico also flows through the Tellico OHV System, an off-roadvehicle playground. Famous for unprecedented ecological damage caused by man and machine, the Tellico has been the scene of a struggle to reign in these impacts.
For many years, Trout Unlimited, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), WildSouth, the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), and other conservation groups have worked to protect the Tellico watershed and the native brook trout in the area. Years of heavy use by off-road vehicles and the resulting erosion have turned the trails in the Upper Tellico Off-Road Vehicle (ORV) area into massive ditches, some more than seven feet deep. In wet conditions, these ditches channel muddy water into nearby streams. According to estimates by the U.S. Forest Service, which manages the area, some 25,000 tons of sediment have washed off the ORV trails into streams over the years, a primary factor in the decline of native brook trout in the area.
On October 14, 2009 the Forest Service completed its environmental analysis of ORV use in the area and came to the only conclusion it could. The agency announced that it will close the Tellico area in North Carolina to future ORV use to protect water quality in the watershed, which is one of the last, best strongholds for native brook trout in the region. The agency will invest substantial resources to restore those lands, and convert the remaining ORV trails to forest roads for public access for other types of recreation. ORV use will no longer be allowed anywhere in the area.
The Forest Service’s action will improve water quality in the Tellico River, which flows from North Carolina to Tennessee.
In the course of its analysis, the agency found that excessive authorized and illegal ORV use has caused extensive damage to water quality throughout the Tellico River watershed, with muddy water from the trails visibly running into the Tellico and its tributaries in hundreds of locations. The Forest Service’s evaluation of the trail system also found that many trails cut through unstable soils.
ORV use in the Tellico area was found to be in violation of Forest Plan standards for soil and water. Best Management Practices, including almost 2000 trail drainage features like water bars, broad-based dips, grade sags, ditches, cross drain culverts, out sloping, and sediment traps, were not adequate to protect trails from erosion and stream channels from sedimentation, and were not sustainable due to severely erodible soils and heavy rainfall in the area. Less than half of the trail drainage features are functioning properly.
The Forest Service also admitted that North Carolina standards for turbidity were being violated, and that brook trout reproduction was being negatively affected, particularly by elevated levels of fine sediment deposits that are a direct result of motorized use.
The Upper Tellico ORV area was also in violation of forest plan standards for trail density, which impose a limit of 2 miles of ORV trails per square mile. The Tellico system was over four miles per square mile.
The miles of Forest Service designated trails in Tellico was twice the maximum density of trails allowed by the Forest Plan, and this number did not include the innumerable illegal trails created by ORV users. In violation of state and federal law, approximately six miles of designated trail are located within 100 feet of trout streams, impacting 16 miles of critical habitat.
Trout densities in streams affected by the Upper Tellico ORV area are approximately 50% of those found in streams of similar size, topography and geology across the National Forest. From 1996 through 2004, annual fish counts conducted by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission documented a declining trend in trout populations affected by the Tellico ORV trail system, including at least one year in which no young were documented. All of the streams affected by the ORV trail system are designated as “Class C” trout waters by the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources. North Carolina law prohibits excessive sediment in these special waters.
In 2007, conservation groups in North Carolina and Tennessee took steps to sue the agency for failing to meet federal law and its own forest plan standards to protect the watershed from pollution caused by excessive ORV use. These groups negotiated repeatedly with the agency to get restoration and long-term protection of this vital watershed, and never formally filed suit in federal court. Instead, the Forest Service agreed to conduct a full-scale environmental assessment of ORV use in the Tellico area, and to close many of the trails in the interim while the study was being completed.
In May 2008, the ORV user groups sued the Forest Service for closing trails. The Southern Environmental Law Center, on behalf of their partner groups, filed a motion to intervene in that lawsuit, which was granted in October 2008. The four-wheeler groups voluntarily dismissed their lawsuit the following month, however, making further intervention unnecessary.
On November 30 of this year, the Rescue Tellico coalition, the Southern Four Wheel Drive Association, the United Four Wheel Drive Associations and Blue Ribbon Coalition filed an administrative appeal to challenge the Forest Service’s decision to close Tellico’s trails. The appeal alleges that the decision violates NEPA and the Clean Water Act. It is hard to imagine, however, that the Forest Service will change its course of action given the overwhelmingly convincing evidence of damage to the area, and violations of the Clean Water Act and other laws.
We look forward to watching as the Forest Service implements this decision over the upcoming year, and look forward to the recovery of the Tellico watershed after restoration is complete.
— Sarah Peters is Legal Liaison for Wildlands CPR.
Sadly, despite its classification as “Wild Trout Waters” by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission in 1991, the Tellico also flows through the Tellico OHV System, an off-roadvehicle playground. Famous for unprecedented ecological damage caused by man and machine, the Tellico has been the scene of a struggle to reign in these impacts.
For many years, Trout Unlimited, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), WildSouth, the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), and other conservation groups have worked to protect the Tellico watershed and the native brook trout in the area. Years of heavy use by off-road vehicles and the resulting erosion have turned the trails in the Upper Tellico Off-Road Vehicle (ORV) area into massive ditches, some more than seven feet deep. In wet conditions, these ditches channel muddy water into nearby streams. According to estimates by the U.S. Forest Service, which manages the area, some 25,000 tons of sediment have washed off the ORV trails into streams over the years, a primary factor in the decline of native brook trout in the area.
On October 14, 2009 the Forest Service completed its environmental analysis of ORV use in the area and came to the only conclusion it could. The agency announced that it will close the Tellico area in North Carolina to future ORV use to protect water quality in the watershed, which is one of the last, best strongholds for native brook trout in the region. The agency will invest substantial resources to restore those lands, and convert the remaining ORV trails to forest roads for public access for other types of recreation. ORV use will no longer be allowed anywhere in the area.
The Forest Service’s action will improve water quality in the Tellico River, which flows from North Carolina to Tennessee.
In the course of its analysis, the agency found that excessive authorized and illegal ORV use has caused extensive damage to water quality throughout the Tellico River watershed, with muddy water from the trails visibly running into the Tellico and its tributaries in hundreds of locations. The Forest Service’s evaluation of the trail system also found that many trails cut through unstable soils.
ORV use in the Tellico area was found to be in violation of Forest Plan standards for soil and water. Best Management Practices, including almost 2000 trail drainage features like water bars, broad-based dips, grade sags, ditches, cross drain culverts, out sloping, and sediment traps, were not adequate to protect trails from erosion and stream channels from sedimentation, and were not sustainable due to severely erodible soils and heavy rainfall in the area. Less than half of the trail drainage features are functioning properly.
The Forest Service also admitted that North Carolina standards for turbidity were being violated, and that brook trout reproduction was being negatively affected, particularly by elevated levels of fine sediment deposits that are a direct result of motorized use.
The Upper Tellico ORV area was also in violation of forest plan standards for trail density, which impose a limit of 2 miles of ORV trails per square mile. The Tellico system was over four miles per square mile.
History Leading up to the NEPA process
The Upper Tellico ORV area, with 40 miles of designated ORV trails and an estimated average usage of 2,400 off-road vehicles per month, had become one of the largest and most intensively used ORV destinations on public lands in the Southeast. Much of the use entails driving customized “monster” trucks and smaller all-terrain vehicles through rugged terrain — the steeper the trails, the more challenging, and the more damaging to the forest floor and water quality.The miles of Forest Service designated trails in Tellico was twice the maximum density of trails allowed by the Forest Plan, and this number did not include the innumerable illegal trails created by ORV users. In violation of state and federal law, approximately six miles of designated trail are located within 100 feet of trout streams, impacting 16 miles of critical habitat.
Trout densities in streams affected by the Upper Tellico ORV area are approximately 50% of those found in streams of similar size, topography and geology across the National Forest. From 1996 through 2004, annual fish counts conducted by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission documented a declining trend in trout populations affected by the Tellico ORV trail system, including at least one year in which no young were documented. All of the streams affected by the ORV trail system are designated as “Class C” trout waters by the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources. North Carolina law prohibits excessive sediment in these special waters.
In 2007, conservation groups in North Carolina and Tennessee took steps to sue the agency for failing to meet federal law and its own forest plan standards to protect the watershed from pollution caused by excessive ORV use. These groups negotiated repeatedly with the agency to get restoration and long-term protection of this vital watershed, and never formally filed suit in federal court. Instead, the Forest Service agreed to conduct a full-scale environmental assessment of ORV use in the Tellico area, and to close many of the trails in the interim while the study was being completed.
In May 2008, the ORV user groups sued the Forest Service for closing trails. The Southern Environmental Law Center, on behalf of their partner groups, filed a motion to intervene in that lawsuit, which was granted in October 2008. The four-wheeler groups voluntarily dismissed their lawsuit the following month, however, making further intervention unnecessary.
On November 30 of this year, the Rescue Tellico coalition, the Southern Four Wheel Drive Association, the United Four Wheel Drive Associations and Blue Ribbon Coalition filed an administrative appeal to challenge the Forest Service’s decision to close Tellico’s trails. The appeal alleges that the decision violates NEPA and the Clean Water Act. It is hard to imagine, however, that the Forest Service will change its course of action given the overwhelmingly convincing evidence of damage to the area, and violations of the Clean Water Act and other laws.
Conclusion
The decision to close Tellico to recreational motor vehicle use reflects the Forest Service‘s legal mandate to protect water quality and wildlife habitat. This duty was acknowledged in the Tellico environmental assessment, which provides a thorough description of the effects to the area from motorized recreation. It can be found at: www.cs.unca.edu/nfsnc/nepa/tusquitee/tellico.htmWe look forward to watching as the Forest Service implements this decision over the upcoming year, and look forward to the recovery of the Tellico watershed after restoration is complete.
— Sarah Peters is Legal Liaison for Wildlands CPR.
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