Globe Forest, NC

Giant trees—we’re talking big, five feet in diameter and 300 years old—are a rare find in the Southern Appalachians. That’s one reason why the Globe Forest is such a biological treasure—it’s one of the few places you can still gaze up at a 328-year-old chestnut oak. Located close to western North Carolina’s booming communities of Boone and Blowing Rock, the Globe Forest is also a beloved popular recreation destination for hikers, bikers, and anglers.

So when the U.S. Forest Service announced a plan to log 212 acres in the Globe Forest, people got upset. Really upset. The Blowing Rock Town Council, the Boone City Council and the Watauga County Commission passed unanimous resolutions opposing the timber cut. Local businesses, political leaders, and more than 1,000 people submitted comments against a proposal that would wipe out old growth, degrade recreational opportunities, and hurt the local tourism economy. The Forest Service has an obligation to listen—and to manage the Globe according to the needs and desires of local communities that depend on the forest’s recreational, scenic, ecological, and economic values. Instead, the agency is trying to proceed with its logging plans.

Learn more about SELC’s efforts to protect the Globe Forest for future generations. This work is part of SELC’s regional Forest Protection Program, which seeks to protect our region’s five million acres of Southern Appalachian national forests.

Photo: ©Jerry Greer