Blue Ridge 2020: An Owner's ManualThe mountain chain known as the Blue Ridge traces a 550-mile arc through Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Georgia. Along the way, it encompasses Shenandoah National Park, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Blue Ridge Parkway, seven national forests, numerous federal wilderness areas and state parks, and parts of the Appalachian Trail. It is the largest concentration of public lands east of the Mississippi and home to an astonishing diversity of plant and animal life. But as the most extensive natural area in the increasingly populous Southeast, the Blue Ridge ecosystem faces unique challenges in the next decades. Drawing on scientific research in a variety of disciplines, journalist Steve Nash provides a clear and evenhanded introduction to some of the most hotly disputed environmental issues facing the Blue Ridge, including the invasion of exotic plants and insects, the explosive growth of suburban-style communities in natural areas, worsening air and water pollution, and the erratic management of national forests. Informative and highly readable, Blue Ridge 2020 takes a hard look at what is at risk in these mountains and what we--as the "owners" of the public lands--must do if we intend to preserve their future. |
Contents
Solutions | 18 |
The Future of Sprawl | 94 |
Land Trusts in the Blue Ridge | 96 |
Copyright | |
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acid rain adelgid Afforestation agency air pollution animals Anyplace average bear biodiversity biological biologist Biosphere birds Blue Ridge ecosystem Blue Ridge Parkway brook trout CALIFORNIA/RIVERSIDE The University century Cherokee National Forest chestnut clear-cuts climate decline deer diversity dogwoods ecological economic ecosystem effects Environmental estimated exotics federal Fish and Wildlife future Georgia gypsy moth habitat Harmful Non-Indigenous Species hemlock human ibid impact infestation insects interview land landscape logging miles million Mount Rogers Mountains National Park National Park Service nitrogen North Carolina old growth ozone percent pests pine plants populations Protection recreation red spruce region River roadless roads salamanders says scientists Shenandoah National Park Smoky Mountains Smoky Mountains National soils Sources South Southern Appalachian Assessment spruce streams sulfur Tennessee timber tion trees U.S. Congress U.S. Fish U.S. Forest Service University Library UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA/RIVERSIDE Vectors Virginia visibility wilderness Wildlife Service wolves wood