GSMNP -- 2002--Managers at Great Smoky Mountains National Park are inviting the public to a second round of public meetings as they work to develop a new plan for the future management of the 74 buildings (including cabins and a hotel) within the Elkmont Historic District of the Park. The Elkmont District is located near the Park's Elkmont Campground about 7 miles west of Gatlinburg in Sevier County, Tennessee.
The second round of meetings has been set for Monday, August 19, 2002, at the American Legion Hall, Hwy 321 near the Post Office in Gatlinburg. A second is scheduled for Thursday, August 22, 2002, in Knoxville at the Hollingsworth Auditorium, Ellington Plant Sciences Building, at the corner of Center Drive and Chapman Drive on the School of Agriculture Campus of the University of Tennessee. The meetings will begin at 6:30 p.m. and last until 8:30 p.m., starting with a short general presentation followed by attendees breaking into small work groups facilitated by planning team members.
The first initial meetings that were held in May 2002 provided the public an opportunity to share concerns and identify issues to be addressed in the planning process. This phase was a success with 554 individual comments received either by letter or in the form of completed surveys.
Analysis of public comments indicate the majority of respondents feel that the protection of the cultural and natural environments are important to the future of Elkmont and 89 percent are in favor of some form of restoration.
Since the initial public meetings in May, the Elkmont Planning Team has completed initial baseline studies on cultural, natural, recreation and infrastructure resources. A brief overview of the results of the baseline studies and a discussion of public comments received to date will be presented during the upcoming meetings. The majority of time allotted for the meetings will focus on discussing potential and appropriate uses of the Elkmont structures.
The Elkmont enclave began in the early 1900s when several individuals bought land from the Little River Lumber Company and built vacation cottages. In the 1930s when the States of North Carolina and Tennessee began acquiring land for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GRSM), one of the options available to landowners was to receive a lesser cash settlement but retain a lifetime lease to use their property. The 74 cottages, outbuildings, and the Wonderland Hotel were under lease to the Elkmont Preservation Committee until December 1992. The structures have been unoccupied for almost 10 years, except for three cabins with leases that ended in 2001.
The Park's current management strategy for Elkmont was laid out in the General Management Plan-Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Under this Plan, developed with public input in 1982, the Park planned to remove all structures once their leases expired and restore the area to a natural state. However, in early 1994, 49 of the 74 structures in Elkmont were placed on the National Register of Historic Places; consequently, any actions affecting them requires consultation by the Tennessee State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO).
The NPS, the SHPO and special interest group representatives have had several discussions since 1992 but have not reached an agreement on a management strategy which strikes a balance between preserving the cultural, natural, and recreational experience at Elkmont. All parties have agreed that any new alternative would be a significant departure from what was laid out in the General Management Plan. Consequently, in October 2000 a decision was made to begin a new planning process. The end product of this effort will be an Amendment to the General Management Plan and an Environmental Assessment in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act and Sections 106 and 110 of the National Historic Preservation Act. The decision-making process is expected to take about 18 months. Written comments may be sent to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 107 Park Headquarters Road, Gatlinburg, TN 37738 or by e-mail to ElkmontComments@tnainc.com. A web site, http://www.elkmont-gmpa-ea.com has additional information about the project. Comments will be accepted until September 3, 2002. The next meeting will be a public workshop tentatively scheduled for the end of September to review and comment on preliminary alternatives for the Elkmont Historic District. A 30-day comment period will follow the public release of the Plan and Environmental Assessmen which is currently scheduled for June 2003.
