Historic Signing in Bryson City – North Shore Road Issue is Over
Danny Bernstein

      It promised to be the biggest event in Western North Carolina in 67 years. The North Shore Road controversy in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was over. Swain County was going to get its $52 million over 10 years - an amount calculated as the present value of the road that was flooded in 1943 to create Fontana Lake and Fontana Dam.

       On Friday Feb. 5, Swain County Board of Commissioners voted 4 to 1 in favor of the agreement. Under the terms of the agreement by the Department of the Interior, Swain County, North Carolina, and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), the Department of the Interior will pay up to $52 million into a trust fund established for the County. Only the earnings can be spent. The County was one of the four signatories of the original 1943 agreement.

      CMC, through the Conservation Committee, worked hard to support the financial settlement option.  Ruth Hartzler, former Chair of the CMC Conservation Committee said "I was really pleased and gratified that most of the CMC Council members attended the North Shore Road hearings in Asheville. Many members spoke at the hearings and others sent in written comments. I'm delighted that this pristine area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will be preserved and the people of Swain County will receive fair compensation."

      The next day (Saturday, Feb. 6), a day which promised to be wet, cold, and icy, I drove down to Bryson City with Morgan Sommerville, Regional Director of A.T.C., Deep South region to witness a signing ceremony at Swain County High School. Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, was scheduled to attend but the weather in Washington kept him away. This omission did not dampen the audience’s enthusiasm. This day was about Swain County and Congressman Heath Shuler, the hero, coming back to Swain County High School where he played football.
      Leonard Winchester, president of the Citizens for the Economic Future of Swain County and a retired Swain County education administrator was elated. “It’s a historic day. We’ve already received $4 millions and will receive another $8.8 millions in 120 days. We have to continue working to make sure that we get the rest. But now we can ask our two senators to help because there’s only one option.”

      Ted Snyder, CMC member and past president of Sierra Club, has been working on this issue since the 1960s. Snyder feels that the agreement “does something for the parks, the plants and the animals.” Next, he plans to work on Wilderness Status for the Smokies. “Wilderness status is feasible but the locals won’t support wilderness status until they get all their money.”
      Glenn Jones, Chair of the Swain County Board of Commissioners proclaimed that “It took us 67 years to reach this point. The journey has not been easy. People have made sacrifices but these sacrifices are going to make the future easier. Every citizen in Swain County will benefit from this cash settlement.” He praised Congressman Heath Shuler, a Swain County graduate who played quarterback for the Swain County Maroon Devils. Jones instructed the proroad people to put their protest signs away. The proroad folks stayed quiet but carried “Build the road” signs.

      Superintendent Dale Ditmanson of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park,  representing the Department of the Interior, recapped the Federal Government’s involvement in the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). There were 75,000 comments on the DEIS and it was determined that the road would not be built. “No one has worked as hard over the last three years on the monetary settlement as Congressman Shuler. The National Park Service will continue to provide transportation to the cemeteries.” Ditmanson brought a message from Secretary Salazar who said “the settlement is good for the people of Swain County because it generates much needed revenue; good for the department, because it protects one of America’s most treasured parks; and good for the American taxpayers, since building the road would have cost several times more than the settlement.”

      Finally it was Congressman Heath Shuler’s turn at the podium. He recalled that “growing up, I saw both sides of the issue. It’s divided this community. Our next generation can grow up with better education. It’s time to let go of something in our past that divided us. My roots are here. My foundation is here.” Shuler received three standing ovations.

     Then the signing. Three of the four parties had already signed the historic document. The last, Glenn Jones for the Swain County Board of Commissioners, signed the agreement and it was witnessed by Congressman Shuler. This truly was a historic day and I was thrilled to be there.  

Pictures (from top to bottom).

1. New four-party agreement; 2. Congressman Heath Shuler at the podium, 3. Morgan Sommerville with Shuler, 4. Commissioner Glenn Jones signing the document with Congressman Shuler witnessing