PREVIOUS: The CCC
Photo courtesy of the Blue Ridge Parkway Archives.[1]
In Virginia the Parkway and the Appalachian Trail (AT) run parallel for almost 70 miles. The two ideas were brought into being in the same decade, a decade filled with a resurgence of love for the outdoors and a respect for nature. The same naturalists who championed the AT were the ones who advocated for the preservation of wildlife on the BRP.
Although the involvement of conservationists on the construction of Parkway took second fiddle to the politicians who fought to bring the road through their states, conservationists play a major role in the maintenance of the BRP. From individuals to organized groups, environmental activists have helped shape National Parks policy on the Parkway and the preservation of trails and paths along the BRP.
Wildflowers on the Parkway. Photo courtesy of the National Parks Service.
An excellent example of the dedicated people who fight for the environment along the Parkway are the Smith Sisters. Julia and Helen Smith were two sisters from Greensboro, NC who took visited the BRP and noticed that the mowing practices on the Parkway were cutting back on wildflowers. The sisters took thousands of photographs of the flowers growing along the BRP and filled hundreds of small notebooks with notes on the mowing practices and how they were harming the growth of the flowers. For years Julia and Helen petitioned the BRP to change their mowing policy, they even visited the Parkway’s Asheville Headquarters. Finally in 1978, after 5 years of petitioning, the mowing policy on the Parkway changed because of the work of the sisters.[2] All of their notebooks and photographs can be found at the Blue Ridge Parkway Archives in Asheville, NC.
In 1996 the Conservation Trust of North Carolina was charged with protecting land along the BRP. Since then the Trust says they have protected at least 57 locations and 32,000 acres along the Parkway.[3] CTNC is also a part of a group called Blue Ridge Forever. This coalition is made up of 10 land trusts and national environmental groups all working towards raising funds and awareness to preserve the natural beauty of the BRP.[4]
UP NEXT: Locals
Footnotes
1. Curled Purple Rhododendron leaves, Doughton Park, photographer Estes and Robinson, March 11 1957, BRPPL.
2. News & Record, “Exhibit Honors Sisters’ Dedication to Saving Wildflowers,” Jim Schlosser, May 2 2004, http://www.greensboro.com/exhibit-honors-sisters-dedication-to-saving-wildflowers/article_f153a85c-c851-5049-997b-5052f0ae0195.html.
3. Conservation Trust of North Carolina, “Blue Ridge Parkway,” 2017, https://www.ctnc.org/protect/blue-ridge-parkway/.
4. Blue Ridge Forever, “About Us,” 2017, http://www.blueridgeforever.info/about/.