These letters to the editor were published in the Knoxville News Sentinel, February 8, 2004. If the link doesn't work, they are included below.
KnoxNews
http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/letters_to_editor/article/0,1406,KNS_363_2635250,00.html
Letters
February 8, 2004
Retain history without converting Elkmont
Proponents of the conversion of the Elkmont area of the Great Smoky Mountains
National Park into a commercial resort destination complete with hotel, rental
cabins and perhaps a restaurant tend to ignore or misinterpret both the position
of those opposed to their view and the law guiding the National Park Service.
The National Parks Conservation Association is open to the preservation of a
representative sample of the structures in Elkmont that can be efficiently
maintained and used by the park for interpretation of the story of the southern
Appalachians and other purposes. That story includes Cherokee, homesteaders and
lumber mills, as well as the Elkmont resort that existed before the creation of
the park.
The park has chosen to tell this story through representative structures
throughout the park. The conservation association cannot support the
commercialization of Elkmont, as we cannot support turning the structures at
Cades Cove, Oconaluftee or Cataloochee into rental cabins or a restaurant.
Congress and the National Park Service very wisely placed restrictions on where
hotels and other businesses can set up shop in our national parks, requiring
that they are provided only under carefully controlled safeguards. A business
must be "necessary and appropriate for the public use and enjoyment of the
park in which it is located, and identified needs are not, nor can they be, met
outside park boundaries." Commercialization of our park would have
significant negative impacts on the resources that we all come to enjoy.
One need only consult a phone book or the chambers of commerce of surrounding
counties to find many rustic cabins, bed and breakfasts and restaurants just
outside the boundary of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. In addition,
visitors for many years have come to the Elkmont campground with their tents and
recreational vehicles to enjoy all this place has to offer. A new resort
business at Elkmont or any other place in the park is neither necessary nor
appropriate.
To suggest that those opposed to the development of a hotel and rental cabin
business at Elkmont want to see all of the buildings bulldozed or burned is both
inaccurate and misleading. It is also inaccurate to suggest that the majority of
comments - including the conservation association's - that favor saving some
structures want to see Elkmont commercialized.
NPCA and many other organizations and individuals expect the park to protect the
natural beauty of the park while using representative structures to bring the
history of the park to life for the enjoyment of all visitors.
GREGORY S. KIDD
Associate Director, Southeast Region, National Parks Conservation Association
Knoxville
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Elkmont should serve everyone, not the few
On page 40 of the general management plan for the Great Smoky Mountains National
Park, it is stated, "Leases for approximately 50 structures occupied by the
Elkmont Preservation Committee (cabins and the Wonderland Hotel) will expire in
1992, and four remaining leases will expire in 2001 (see appendix A). None of
the leases will be extended, and the structures are proposed for removal on
termination of the leases. Building sites will be returned to a natural
state."
The park should carry out this policy. It is inappropriate for any part of the
park to become an enclave for a few privileged visitors or for use by commercial
interests that provide food and overnight accommodations. If any structures are
allowed to remain, there should be no overnight stays in them. Only an absolute
minimum (one to four) of the structures should be left for the historical
interpretation of the logging history of the area. There should be no additional
concessions permitted beyond the current ones (soft drinks and firewood sales at
the campground).
The natural resources in the area should be protected, and the Native American
and early settlers' archeological artifacts should be preserved and protected.
The water quality of Little River must be maintained for swimming, paddling,
hiking, fishing and wildlife.
Little River is an outstanding national resource water. There should be no
additional discharge of effluent from the sewage treatment plant into the Little
River. The montane alluvial flood plain of the Elkmont area is very rare and
should be conserved. The habitat of the fascinating synchronous fireflies should
not be diminished.
Let's protect the park and preserve it as a national treasure for all Americans,
not the privileged few.
ELIZABETH DIXON
Knoxville
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Save one cabin; end the fight
This is in response to the several Jan. 26 letters regarding Elkmont
preservation. Preserve Elkmont? Why? When the U.S. government took over the land
to make the park, did it preserve the early settlers' homes on the spot? No. It
took examples of the houses and put them in Cades Cove for all to see.
Preserve Elmont? No! Take one of the dilapidated cabins and put it in Cades Cove
like the others. This fight has been going on too long.
Maybe we need to have "Dateline" or some other TV show come down to
give a nationwide report on the crying rich who can't get their way. And we
don't need input from people in 36 states and five countries.
JOSEPH K. CASEY
Knoxville
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Elkmont cabins unneeded inside Smokies park
This is regarding the preservation of Elkmont. No. Period. Ridiculous. Those
cabins should be destroyed (what is left of the mess), and there should be no
more funding as it is for political reasons.
This is not in the best interest of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
There are plenty of places along the park boundary to have a cabin. Wildlife
needs the park. Stop encroaching inside the national park.
T.M. WOOD
Spring City
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Park should follow management plan
The Elkmont area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park has received a great
deal of press attention lately (News Sentinel letters to the editor Jan. 26).
Unfortunately, the story of our special places being turned into a Holiday Inn
is not being told. The proposal to redevelop the Elkmont area and turn it into a
weekend getaway devastates this sensitive area, known as an alluvial floodplain.
Overnight occupancy and increased tourism will bring hundreds of people to this
sensitive area, and people bring waste. Increased sewage will flow into Little
River, and more cars will contribute to the already egregious air pollution.
In addition to the environmental consequences, commercializing public land sets
a dangerous precedent in our last remaining special places. I encourage the
Great Smoky Mountains National Park to heed the management plan and allow the
Elkmont area to become a piece of our natural heritage.
RACHEL GRAMIG
Knoxville
Copyright 2004, KnoxNews. All Rights Reserved.
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KnoxNews
http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/letters_to_editor/article/0,1406,KNS_363_2641686,00.html
Letters
February 10, 2004
Don't deface Elkmont with commercialism
As has been the case with many recent projects in the Great Smoky Mountains
National Park, the issue of what to do with Elkmont is a contentious one. As a
lover of the park, its natural resources and its historical richness, I am of
the opinion that there should be great care and study in formulating a plan for
the future of Elkmont. Among the aspects of preservation to be considered, with
my thoughts on the subject:
There should be no lodging or food concessions. The development of rental units,
as has been suggested by some, would detract immeasurably from the Elkmont
experience.
A selected number of the existing cabins should be restored and maintained for
education and interpretation of park history.
Additional parking, on a very limited basis, could be provided for access to
trailheads.
Most importantly, there should be absolute protection of natural resources,
including Little River, the alluvial plain and the synchronous fireflies in the
area. Serious attention should also be given to the protection of archeological
and cultural resources. It would not be possible to maintain these protections
if commercial development occurs.
Please, let's not allow the Elkmont area to be defaced by commercial
development.
KATHRYN SHERRARD
Franklin, N.C.
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Elkmont should welcome visitors
It is with great interest that I read the letters regarding what to do about the
historic cabins at Elkmont. Since I live a short distance from the Great Smoky
Mountains National Park, I find it a wonderful addition to East Tennessee and
enjoy going there each year. It seems that the cabins at Elkmont do have
historic value, and at least some should be saved and restored for that reason.
However, I would not like to see them preserved for lodging or food concessions.
It would also be important to limit parking spaces as part of a plan to protect
the natural, archeological and cultural resources of the area. I would like to
stress that the quality of visitor experience should be maintained.
RUTH PEEPLES
Pleasant Hill, Tenn.
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Copyright 2004, KnoxNews. All Rights Reserved.