SPARE America's Wildlands

Cherokee National Forest, Tennessee

Stretching across 10 counties in eastern Tennessee and on both sides of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Cherokee National Forest is a haven of Appalachian hardwoods, pine forests and rushing mountain streams. Campers can still encounter black bears and Blackburnian warblers.

Hikers roam the trails that take them to numerous waterfalls, including the 475-foot Buckeye Falls. Snorkelers swim the still pools of the Conasauga State Scenic River to see turtles, redeye bass, sunfish and the federally listed blue shiner in its natural habitat. The Conasauga is a treasure house of diversity.

But this beloved piece of Tennessee's natural heritage is being degraded by logging. The U.S. Forest Service continues to sell timber to companies whose logging operations damage wildlife habitat, watersheds and the overall health of the forest.

Help the Sierra Club protect Tennessee's wild heritage by ending commercial logging on Cherokee National Forest.

Photo courtesy Rosalie Russo

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