Saving the Smokies: Stopping the North Shore Road
Claude Douthit, a founding member of Citizens for the Economic Future of Swain County. Claude's two sisters are buried in the area north of Fontana Lake, in what is now part of the national park. Unlike some county residents who also have family members buried in that area, Claude does not want a new road built into the park.
Trail sign on the North Shore
©Ted Snyder
Looking across Fontana Lake into the largest tract of unbroken forest in the Southern Appalachians.
Luke Hyde, innkeeper and founding member of Citizens for the Economic Future of Swain County
Ted Snyder of the Sierra Club (in blue cap at center) talks to a group of hikers about the history of the area, and the faults of the proposed North Shore Road.
Old cemeteries such as this one would be threatened by potential vandalism if the proposed road opened up access to the north shore area.
