Group cites tribal transfer as danger to park

TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2002

A conservation group on Monday released its annual list of the nation's most endangered national parks, citing a pending land transfer to the Eastern Band of Cherokees in North Carolina as a threat to one.

The National Parks Conservation Association put the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on its list for the fourth year in a row. It was one of ten parks the group said faced dangers from pollution, lack of funding, Bush administration policies and potential development.

In the case of the Great Smoky, which borders the Eastern Cherokee Reservation on its southern edge, there were a number of factors contributing to its addition. Chief among the complaints was pollution from coal plants but also a plan to swap 168 acres within the park.

The National Park Service has engaged in consultation with the tribe on the proposed transfer, which would involve the tribe purchasing 218 acres of land in exchange. Three scoping meetings were held in February, with tribal members who attended supporting the move in order to build a school complex.

Conservationists have opposed any development. The parks group, without going into specifics of the proposed land transfer, says the tribal deal is just one of several projects threatening the 800-square-mile park.

The swap is still being reviewed by the NPS, which extended public comments until the end of this month. The agency has set up a special web site containing numerous draft reports on how the transfer would affect the park, animals and other natural resources.

The agency expects to issue a draft environmental impact statement in August to address the concerns raised. The report could recommend the swap take place, no action or a transfer with certain limitations.

The conflict between conservation and tribal interests isn't the first for the parks group. Last year, the organization, which has maintained mostly friendly ties with Secretary of Interior Gale Norton, lashed out against a Clinton-era plan to allow members of the Hopi Tribe of Arizona to collect baby eagles in a national monument.

In other instances, the group's goals have met with tribal ones. Yellowstone National Park makes a fourth appearance on the endangered list, cited for threats to bison within the park.

Under a plan approved by the Clinton administration, Montana state wildlife officials are allowed to kill bison which wander out of the park. The state fears the animals, which are the descendants of the last free roaming herd of bison in the country, will transfer a deadly disease to cattle.

Tribes and Native activists, along with environmentalists, have protested the killings. Since the adoption of the plan, Montana began killing bison for the first time in two years.

Relevant Links:
Cherokee Land Exchange - http://www.npslandexchange.com
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians - http://www.cherokee-nc.com
Great Smoky Mountains National Park - http://www.nps.gov/grsm/index.htm

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Cherokee tribe urges land swap (2/13)