Southern Appalachian Digital Collections

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Appalachian National Park Association Newspaper Clippings, 1899-1902

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  • May, i 902 COUNTRY LIFE IN AMERICA a state question. No state would to-day be justified in establishing a forest reserve of several million acres, for the reason that the benefits which would be derived from this reserve would accrue more to the surrounding states than to the state wherein the reserve was established. Pennsylvania would, of course, be pleased to see New York state establish a forest reserve, likewise would New York like to see Pennsylvania do the same. This holds true of any neighboring states; the forests of the mountains are necessary to the agricultural districts lying in the lowlands for the retention of the rainfall. It is coming to a point in the East where the national government itself will have to step in and establish reserves at the most feas- soaring. Indeed, the inroads of unscientific lumbermen in this region have already become alarming. These mountains are sure for generations to come to be the playground of the whole South and southeastern section. As has already been shown, the mountains act as a reservoir for the rivers of the whole southeastern states. The agricultural districts of these states are all more or less dependent upon these mountains for their water supply. The South is awaking to its possibilities as a manufacturing center. Thousands of water-power plants are being installed whose future must be looked to. The natural scenery of the section under consideration is also one which has attracted national attention. Scientific forestry would always preserve such places as this.—View from Dodson's Cabin, Hickory Nut Gap Mountains, North Carolina ible points. The states will give their consent (North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Virginia have already done so), but these states cannot be expected to pay those who now own the lands privately. Nowhere on this continent can there be found to-day as large areas of virgin forests as there are in the southern Appalachians inrl f)r>TOlT"-'> "<-» *s* £>-»»■- •■ -'•_/! -"—.,. ,'-,.1 ' . - .- I.!,.-CS " so large a variety of hardwood trees. This is the point where the flora of the North and South practically meet— where all species found in the North, as well as the South, grow in profusion, according to the altitude and the natural environment. Here the hemlock reaches its greatest growth; the pine, the oak, the ash, poplar, tulip, cherry, walnut, chestnut and many other kinds of trees grow to a size which can be found nowhere else in the country. True, the difficulty of marketing timber from these steep mountain slopes is enormous, but the price of lumber is Climate and scenery combine to make it a famous winter resort for northerners and summer resort for southerners. Here are the most beautiful as well as the highest mountains east of the Rockies (Mt. Mitchell 6,710 ft.); more than forty mountains having an elevation of 6,000 feet ?re here found,, all covered with virgin forests. "^ noi a is such as to attract the attention of botanists all over the country; here are cliffs, waterfalls, gorges, cascades, valleys, ridges, knolls and peaks abounding in every direction, and we of to-day should certainly see that at least a portion of this beauty is handed down to posterity. The existing national parks can be visited only in summer. If a national park or forest reserve were established in this country it could, with pleasure and comfort, be visited the year round. The location is central, being only twenty-four hours' ride from New York, Chicago,
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Object’s are ‘parent’ level descriptions to ‘children’ items, (e.g. a book with pages).