Aetna Mountain in the News

#21
I've often wondered that myself. I've been told where I can or can't camp in the woods and never could figure out why. I know that's a little different subject, but for some reason some activites get hammered way more than others.
this is kindof off topic of the thread, but a lot of times they close the dispersed camping because of people leaving trash everywhere and burning anything within a quarter mile of their campfire.
 
#22
Any off-road park or area unfortunately could come under serious scrutiny under the Clean Water Act. Private land, public land, it doesnt matter. If activities on your property pollute a waterway, its bad according the CWA.
 
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#23
Some people may flame me for this. But in those government owned parks I think they should give fines to people who don't stay on the designated trail, or take out trees. I feel like that would be an easy way to cut down on some erosion.
 
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01tj

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#24
Was Aetna even an offroad park? I know the lease side is privatly owned, but not sure about the other side.
 
#26
Some people may flame me for this. But in those government owned parks I think they should give fines to people who don't stay on the designated trail, or take out trees. I feel like that would be an easy way to cut down on some erosion.
Absolutely there should be fines. There should be fines for not using a tree saver as well. I don't know that it would help erosion but thats just more fuel to the greenies fire if we don't do everything exactly how we should.
 
#28
it make me so upset that these big companies hop on the environmental train saying that what they are doing to the land is more sustainable than current actions, when in fact its really not any better for anything other than their wallet. It's ridiculous what people will do for money in acts of greed, and is really just sad.
 
#31
Marcus. You should get with Nick about goin up there. Think Travis and Lottsa Cash (LMAO) went a few weeks back. Nick has a key for the WEROCK entrance I do believe.
 
#34
Just a couple of thoughts. Just because it is private land does not mean you have no responsibility for run off and silt pollution. I too did not believe 4x4's could cause a lot of the environmental problems we get blamed for. But now owning and working a park I see just how much runoff silt a trail can make once green vegetation is removed. For example the bottom of TnT rock Garden we dug with a 4 foot bucket on a monster excavator a 30 foot by 60 foot hole to catch the runoff from Heartbreaker, not a real long trail. After 2 storms in 2 weeks it was full. I would not have bought the Gulches property if it did not have a natural barrier at the bottom against the river to protect the river from our silt run off. Where I have had to put up silt fence in 2 short areas I have to redo it every 3 months. We have dug several 30 foot holes around our lower trails 2 and 2A which this week we are again renting an excavator to dig them out. So I sympathize with our fellow off roaders but I know first hand what a fresh set of tracks in a virgin area can do in a short period of time. One new run by a vehicle is then followed by several more runs which create more run off. I never in my business plan imagined what a huge problem silt runoff would be in such a short time as we opened new trails.This was largely the problem with Tellico. Too many ways out of slick rock over the years allowed too much runoff. All trails are designed for one way of travel with one line of runoff. At the end slick rock had at least 15 ways to get out at the end until the end looked like a large washbowl of dirt. As I said we filled a 30 by 60 foot hole by basically 2 trails in 2 weeks and our park is only 6.5 years old. We work at controlling run off full time 52 weeks a year. I hate that we are losing public lands and several states including South Carolina have made it illegal to run power line trails. All of this land closure and private parks closing is not good for our hobby or my park. Folks get out of the hobby when an area close to them closes and then I lose an occasional customer also. An answer to our problem I have none. But I believe I now know why in many cases we have these problems.
 
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#37
The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA), after several months of soliciting public input and meeting with state and federal agencies, has reached a decision regarding future management plans for the Cummings Cove Wildlife Management Area. TWRA officials said off-road vehicles will no longer be allowed on its property on Aetna Mountain.

Four-wheelers long have gone up the old Aetna Mountain Road and utilized countless trails on state and private land on the undeveloped mountaintop. There has long been a battle between the four-wheelers and owners of the Cummings Cove development at the foot of the mountain in Lookout Valley.


The developers are planning a "small town" on the mountain and recently obtained approval for TIF financing to construct a new road and sewer up the mountain.

The 1,200-acre Cummings Cove WMA is on Aetna Mountain in Hamilton and Marion counties and was acquired by the state of Tennessee through federal funding from the Forest Legacy program administered by the U.S. Forest Service. Forest Legacy guidelines funding is made available to preserve specific tracts of environmentally sensitive forest land which are considered significant for forest and management purposes.

Land acquired under the Forest Legacy program must adhere to management guidelines and uses, compatible with national conservation standards.

“While several public comments supporting recreational use of off-road vehicles (ORVs), on Cummings Cove WMA, that activity is not allowed under Forest Legacy guidelines,” John Mayer, TWRA Region III manager said. “It is also not allowable under rules for state wildlife management areas unless designated trails have been established.”

Aetna Mountain has been heavily utilized by ORVs. Some of this use has been very destructive to the environment, particularly in locations utilized by the larger ORVs (4WD trucks, jeeps, and “rock-crawlers”).

This environmental issue came to a head in 2010 after a severe mudslide occurred from Aetna Mountain, across U.S. Highway 41, and eventually into the Tennessee River. Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) personnel were able to trace the origin of the mudslide directly to a location heavily utilized by ORVs on Aetna Mountain.

“That landslide was one of those eye-opening events that highlighted just how severe the erosion problems were on Aetna Mountain,” Kirk Miles, TWRA Region III Wildlife Program manager said. “It quickly became obvious that the use of the WMA by ORVs was a core cause of the problem.”

During the last year, TWRA participated in a public meeting to answer the public’s questions on why Cummings Cove WMA has regulations that prohibit ORV use. TWRA also solicited public comments over a 76-day period, from March 1, 2012 to May 15, 2012, in an effort to determine what the public expected in the way of recreational opportunities on the WMA. In addition, TWRA conducted several site visits to Cummings Cove WMA with various state and federal agencies including TDEC and USDA Forest Legacy.

According to Mr. Mayer, a critical part of the final decision came from a determination by the USDA Forest Service that a trail system for ORV use on Forest Legacy lands is incompatible with the mission of the Forest Legacy Program.

“Because we received this land through the Forest Legacy Program, TWRA, as the managing state Agency, is accountable to manage Cummings Cove WMA in line with Forest Legacy policies,” said Mr. Mayer. “Further, as owner and manager of this property, the TWRA faces a legal mandate from other state and federal environmental agencies to curtail the erosion problem. That mandate coupled with the Forest Legacy management guidelines, ultimately led to the decision that the TWRA must increase law enforcement efforts to address the environmental damage caused by ORV use on Cummings Cove WMA.”

Mr. Mayer stated TWRA’s management goals for Cummings Cove WMA are simple. “Our first responsibility on Cummings Cove WMA, as it is on all our WMAs, is to conserve and protect the wildlife and land resources. Secondly, we have a goal of making Cummings Cove WMA more accessible for a wide range of user groups. That is our next challenge.”

Cummings Cove WMA is one of 125 TWRA managed WMAs. TWRA Region III consists of 25 counties located from the Cumberland Plateau southward to the borders of Alabama, Georgia, and North Carolina.
this just sucks
 
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