Revised 2021
The Conservation Committee advocates for the quality of the hiking experience in our hiking area, including promoting hiker-friendly trails, supporting ecological conservation, and protecting natural beauty. The Committee:
- Identifies issues and activities concerning resource and environmental conservation (matters) that may affect the hiking experience of CMC members or the quality of the environmental resource of interest to the CMC. As examples, these matters include timber harvesting, mining, or other commercial projects in the Pisgah or Nantahala National Forests; trail development and abandonment, and use policy assessments for trails in CMC hiking areas; and budget allocations to public land managers, which may affect trail maintenance and resource quality in hiking areas.
- Monitors and researches these matters, and engages with land managers (e.g., National Forest Service, National Park Service, North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation) and stakeholder organizations to support development of Club positions relative to the matters.
- Informs the CMC Council of these matters and recommends positions for approval by the Council on behalf of the Club.
- For matters on which the CMC Council approves positions, publicly advocates accepted positions on key issues in appropriate forums. These forums include public meetings, relevant publications, and submission of letters and comments to land managers on the matters of concern.
- For matters on which the CMC Council approves positions, encourages, and works with, CMC members to voice their opinions on these matters in appropriate forums.
See CMC Positions, Letters and Comments on the CMC website for positions that the Club has formally adopted on matters of concern. See Conservation Collaboration on the website for a list of organizations that the Club and Conservation Committee has engaged with in developing and promoting positions on issues of mutual interest.
The Committee usually meets the third Thursday of each month at 2:30 P.M. in Asheville. Contact the Committee Chair for the meeting location and time, and for more information about the Conservation Committee, including joining. The Chair is Mike Fisher mfshr@yahoo.com.
Conservation Committee members (January 2019):
- Tish Desjardins
- Mike Fisher (Chair)
- Hermann Gucinski
- Kakii Handley
- Ruth Hartzler