Friday morning, a new plaque will be unveiled along the Blue Ridge Parkway commemorating the centennial of the Weeks Act, which created the national forest system in the eastern United States.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Weeks Act, which started the national forest system in the eastern United States. The act was named after John Weeks, a congressman and senator from Massachusetts who was also an avid conservationist. In 1911, President William Howard Taft signed the act into law and it allowed the federal government to purchase private lands. These lands were bought in order to protect the headwaters of rivers and streams in the eastern states. It also led to greater efforts to protect these lands from fire.
The U.S. Forest Service is inviting the public to join National Park Service and local officials at a Friday morning ceremony to unveil a new wayside exhibit on the Blue Ridge Parkway commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Weeks Act.
The event begins at 10 a.m. at Laurel Knob Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway at mile post 349.2, approximately an hour’s drive north of Asheville and 45 minutes from Old Fort. The exhibit overlooks the first tract of land purchased under the Weeks Act of 1911 that led to the creation of the national forests in the eastern United States.
“Managing the first tract of land establishing eastern national forests is truly a privilege and an honor,” said John Crockett, Grandfather District ranger. “McDowell County residents can be proud of this local history that helped restore and protect the forests of western North Carolina.”
After the ceremony, attendees are invited to drive a forest road through a portion of the original tract and Curtis Creek Campground to the Mountain Gateway Museum in Old Fort. The museum now has a special exhibit, titled “100 Years of Conservation,” that focuses on the history and heritage of the national forest lands in western North Carolina. It was partially created by the U.S. Forest Service.
At the museum, Jim Webb, retired associate deputy chief of the U.S. Forest Service, will share reflections of the impact of the Weeks Act on the national forest system. Webb is a resident of Asheville and an active volunteer with the N.C. Arboretum in Asheville and Schenck Job Corps near Brevard.
Early national forests in the West were established from public lands by 1909, but no such public lands had been established in the Eastern United States. The Weeks Act became law on March 1, 1911. The very first tract purchased under the act was 8,100 acres owned by the Burke McDowell Lumber Company, located near Marion. This land is now a part of the Grandfather Ranger District of the Pisgah National Forest. The exhibit overlooks the original Burke-McDowell Tract now encompassing Curtis Creek Campground and surrounding areas.
Over the last 100 years, North Carolina has become home to the Nantahala, Pisgah, Uwharrie and Croatan National Forests, which encompass more than 1.2 million acres – about 4 percent of North Carolina’s land.
The Weeks Act launched a century of conservation – providing clean water, restoring forests and reducing catastrophic wildfires. Land purchases allowed protection of headwater sources of some of the most valuable navigable streams and rivers, mostly in the East. Now, one-fifth of the entire nation’s clean drinking water flows from those lands.
Millions of acres of bare, eroded lands were restored and replanted. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Forest Service continue to work with partners to restore public lands. The epic western wildfires of 1910 led to support for the Weeks Act of 1911. The Weeks Act enabled federal-state partnerships to control wildfires and prevent erosion and flooding that can follow a wildfire.
For more information on the Weeks Act centennial visit the National Forests in North Carolina website at www.fs.usda.gov/nfsnc. More information is also available at http://www.fs.fed.us/land/staff/weeks-act.html.
For more information on the event, contact the Grandfather Ranger District at 652-2114.
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