Park to hold meetings on foothills parkway section 8b

Great Smoky Mountains National Park will be conducting two identical public scoping workshops on March 19 and 20 to discuss Section 8B of the Foothills Parkway. Section 8B is a 14-mile section of parkway corridor that extends from Pittman Center to Cosby, Tennessee in Sevier and Cocke Counties. The Foothills Parkway, as originally planned, would be a 72-mile scenic parkway traversing the northern and western perimeters of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Approximately 23 miles of the parkway have been completed and are open to traffic, including a 6-mile section from Interstate 40 to Cosby, Tennessee and a 17-mile section from Chilhowee Lake to Walland, Tennessee. An additional 15 miles of the parkway from Walland to Wears Valley, Tennessee are under construction. Section 8B is one of the three remaining sections of parkway to be constructed. Since the Foothills Parkway Master Plan was prepared in 1968, several planning studies and documents have been prepared for the Foothills Parkway, including specific evaluations of Section 8B. In accordance with National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) guidelines, an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is currently being prepared to document the anticipated impacts to the natural and human environments associated with the proposed project. The EIS will incorporate and build upon prior planning efforts and environmental studies, including comments and suggestions previously provided by the public. Several concepts have been proposed for the project and will be considered in the development of the EIS. These include: no action, where no development would occur; construction of a two-lane, paved roadway through the entire 14-mile section; construction of a trail in lieu of a roadway through the entire section; and construction of a combination roadway and trail. These proposed concepts were developed based on previous planning efforts, including input and suggestions received from the public. The study team will be conducting fieldwork and research in and around the Foothills Parkway Section 8B right-of-way beginning this spring to gather information about natural resources; geologic resources; community and visual resources; and historic and archaeological resources. Smokies Superintendent Dale Ditmanson said, \"These public workshops will provide the opportunity to review various concepts that have surfaced regarding this section of the Foothills Parkway. We want the public to tell us what other concepts they think need to be considered and what concerns they may have about the possible natural, cultural, economic and other impacts.\" The public scoping workshops will be held on March 19, 2007 at Cosby High School, 3318 Cosby Highway in Cosby, Tennessee and on March 20, 2007 at Gatlinburg-Pittman High School, 150 Proffitt Road in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The meetings will provide an opportunity for the public to learn about the project, discuss the project with the study team, and provide comments. Citizens may attend the meetings at any time between the hours of 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The meetings will be an Open House format and will not include a scheduled presentation. Both locations will provide the same materials and information. These public meetings are part of the first phase of the EIS process, which will continue over the next three years. The National Park Service expects to have a Draft Environmental Impact Statement by late 2008. The implementation of any selected alternative will be contingent upon funding being appropriated. Throughout the planning process, the public will be given project updates and additional opportunities to provide input. All those who register at the public meetings or provide written comments will be put on the project mailing list and will be provided project updates when available as the project moves forward. To obtain more information about the project, contact Great Smoky Mountains National Park at (865) 436-1207 or log on to the project website: http://parkplanning.nps.gov/grsm (select Foothills Parkway Section 8B Project). The public is encouraged to use this website to submit their comments.