http://www.wjhl.com/story/21418059/m...-area-mountain

Mud boggers destroying top of area mountain

By Nate Morabito, Investigative Reporter - email




The top of an area mountain, known for one of the best views in the region, doesn't look so beautiful right now and property owners up there are outraged.
Camp Creek Bald, a flat section of land on top of Viking Mountain in Greene County, is a stone's throw away from the Appalachian Trail and the North Carolina border and sits in the Cherokee National Forest.
Lately, the popular tourist attraction is attracting people, both young and old, who are up to no good.
"I think it's a disgrace, I think it's saddening to know that this could be such a beautiful place, but people would rather come up here and tear it up," nearby property owner Natasha Tenney said. "When the snow melts, it turns to mud and they want to come up here and four-wheel, which is not what this property is for. There are places to do that and this is not one of them."
According to Tenney, people are driving to the top of the mountain in their big trucks and going mud bogging. In the process, they're destroying a rare part of the Cherokee National Forest. Balds are rare and home to many sensitive species.
Tenney says things started getting bad a couple of years ago when the U.S. Forest Service officer assigned to patrol the area retired. The forest service has yet to fill that position and mud boggers have figured that out. Even after the forest service put large boulders around the area to keep them out, they've found a way to move the rocks and in the last month they've really made a mess.
"I'd like to see more patrols up here, more forest service presence, maybe hand out some tickets to keep people from doing this," Tenney said.
Tenney's family recently contacted the U.S. Forest Service and so did we. Cherokee National Forest District Ranger Terry Bowerman says when the weather allows, crews will go up the mountain with their equipment and put the boulders back in place. The ranger says he's also asked the law enforcement office to increase the forest service's presence up there.
"This bothers us more than normal illegal use in other parts of the forest," Bowerman said. "It needs to be addressed. We will address it...so that people can have some expectation of getting caught if they're doing something illegal."
According to Bowerman, it's unclear why the government has yet to fill the retired patrolman's position. Regardless, in the meantime he says there are only three patrol officers assigned to cover 350,000 acres of forest in four counties. That's why he says officers need the public's help. If people see someone destroying forest property, Bowerman wants to know. Not only is that person hurting the environment, he or she is also committing a federal crime.