The federal government has decided not to build the contentious North Shore Road along Fontana Lake in Swain County in western North Carolina.
Instead, the government has agreed to negotiate a financial settlement with the county, which was promised the road some 60 years ago, said U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler, a Waynesville Democrat, Barb Barrett reports.
The government pledged decades ago to build the road to boost economic development in the region after it built a dam creating Fontana Lake. The proposed road has been a divisive issue among landowners.
Many, including Shuler’s predecessor, former Rep. Charles Taylor, wanted the government to fulfill its promise. Others worried the road would bring unwanted traffic and hurt the region’s environment.
More after the jump.
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"A monetary settlement between the federal government and Swain County will protect the undisturbed forests and streams of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and save the American taxpayers millions of dollars," Shuler said in a statement.
Environmental groups were pleased as well.
"We are elated that the largest unroaded tract of mountain land in the East will be protected," said Ted Snyder, former national President of the Sierra Club and a 35-year Smokies activist, in a statement. "This has been the longest fought conservation battle over protection of the nation’s most popular national park."
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