[ft-l] Roan Highlands open pit gravel mine

Florida Trail listers,

Please read the following email and visit Wingfoot's website to support 
preservation of the AT at Roan Highlands.  He has launched an easy-to-use 
letter campaign that will email your letter to decision makers.  Look at the 
photos there and decide for yourself if you would want to see an open pit 
mine at this location.  Thank you.
-Fred Collins
Gainesville, FL 

<<The North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), 
the agency charged with protecting the environment and natural resources of 
the state, has issued a mining permit for an open pit gravel mine/quarry 
(151.36 acres in size) on Belview Mountain in Avery County, North Carolina, a 
mere 1.5 miles from and within sight of the Appalachian Trail as it crosses 
the rare Southern balds of the Roan Highlands.

The Roan Highlands balds are spectacular grassy pastures with sweeping views 
of Grandfather Mountain, Linville Gorge Wilderness, Mount Mitchell, Roan 
Mountain and Big Grassy (in Tennessee), and Mount Rogers in Virginia. 

The state Mining Act and the N.C. Appalachian Trail Systems Act directs DENR 
to protect our public lands in general and the Applachian Trial and its 
environment in particular. DENR failed to do this when they failed to 
consider the location of the AT in issuing the permit for the open pit gravel 
mine on Belview Mountain. Because of this ommission, Mike Easley, the 
Attorney General, has asked for public hearings to correct this grievious 
error, and DENR has scheduled a hearing on March 16 at 7pm at the Avery 
County Courthouse in Newland.

DENR has also agreed to accept e-mail comments into the official record, for 
those who cannot attend the hearing, and that is the purpose of this on-line 
letter-writing campaign, to allow everyone to participate.

As part of the hiking/outdoor recreation community,
here's what you can do to help ...
Send a letter using the letter-writing form, see--

http://trailplace.com/save/belviewmtn.html

The AT needs many voices of support, and you can help us get them.
Working together, we can make a difference!

Jay Leutze, Chairperson (jayerskine@hotmail.com)
Concerned Citizens to Protect Belview Mountain >>

* From the Florida Trail Mailing List | http://www.backcountry.net *

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To:            ft-l@backcountry.net
Cc:            Fred Collins <FCollage@aol.com>