Its former owner was a timber company whose logging tracks crisscross the property in a network of unimproved, overgrown forest roads, ideal for hiking and exploring the remote backcountry. It adjoins the Bald Mountain Roadless Area, the largest area of its kind between Great Smoky Mountains and Shenandoah national parks. Part of Cherokee National Forest, the 10,000-acre Rocky Fork watershed is about the size of DuPont State Forest in Henderson and Transylvania counties of North Carolina. Rocky Fork is Appalachia at its very best. It’s palpable and undeniable: this place has been special to people for centuries. From the moment you enter the narrow passage that leads into a mossy-green-and-grey labyrinth of rock-strewn waterways, you are enchanted-even haunted-by an ancient energy force that is mysterious yet welcoming. Until you actually go “up in Rocky Fork,” it’s hard to understand just what a magical place it is. Or pick up the Appalachian Trail in the Smokies and hike northeast along the spine of the mountains that divide Tennessee and North Carolina for about four days, and you’ll come to Rocky Fork, a Smokies-like swath of forest that offers an ideal getaway for hikers, backpackers, mountain bikers, trout fishers, horseback riders, birders, and anyone simply seeking solitude in a pristine mountain setting. Go to Mount Mitchell, highest peak in the east, in the late afternoon and look directly west: the mountains you see in the sunset comprise the Rocky Fork watershed. Now is the time to visit this remote and virtually undiscovered wilderness-and to help protect it. You can find all this and more at Rocky Fork in the northeast corner of Tennessee. The cleanest water, the rarest species, the most secluded hiking and biking trails in the region, and a new state park. Rocky Fork Creek/photo by Joye Ardyn Durham In so doing, this project seeks to increase awareness of natural resources management, cultural heritage, diversity in development planning, and enhance ecotourism development through oral history.In its new state park, Tennessee plans to build a large road on a steep mountainside, which would damage stream water quality and threaten wildlife. By integrating the park as a feature of the community, this collaboration fosters a symbiotic understanding, where both the town and the park benefit, each from the success of the other. Furthermore, the interplay between the community and park helps to establish Rocky Fork as a feature that supports the sustainable economic development of Unicoi County and the town of Erwin. By using the history of the park as a centering point for development, the park can tailor a visitor experience that is unique to this particular location. Utilizing oral histories and community-based fieldwork, this project examines the relationship between the community and the park. In 2017, East Tennessee State University’s Appalachian Teaching Project graduate students collaborated with Rocky Fork park rangers to document the community importance of the Rocky Fork area, including perspectives on land use, recreation, logging, and conservation. Rocky Fork’s trail system connection to the Appalachian Trail and unique biological merits as an Appalachian Cove Forest situates the park as an asset for Unicoi County by way of cultural heritage tourism and ecotourism. Abstract Situated in Southern Appalachia, Rocky Fork State Park (Unicoi County) became Tennessee’s newest State Park in October 2012.
0 kommentar(er)
