Cumberland Plateau history and conservation

At the beginning of 2011, the Cumberland Plateau was listed as one of the South’s most endangered regions, according to the Southern Environmental Law Center. Visitors to the area have long appreciated the beautiful ridges, cliffs, and waterfalls of the plateau. The historic hiking area known as the Walls of Jericho, closed to the public in 1977 and later reopened by the Nature Conservancy, is just one example of the beautiful and isolated areas to be found on the Plateau (and in the surrounding mountains). Walden Ridge marks the eastern edge of the plateau, just north of the Sequatchie River and Valley.Environmental agencies are especially concerned, however, about “some of the most biologically diverse temperate forests in the world,” according to The Tennessean. The plateau is the longest hardwood-forested plateau in the world, stretching from northern Alabama across eastern Tennessee and into Kentucky. The sandstone and shale that comprise the plateau has been dated as far back as 500 million years. The forests alone would be worthy of admiration, but the rivers and streams on the plateau also contain some of the most diverse fish and mollusk species in the country. Additionally, the plateau’s ravines include some of “the richest wildflower areas in southern Appalachia,” according to the Nature Conservancy.The attraction to the plateau is not a new phenomenon. Late-19th- and early-20th-century naturalist John Muir recorded his adventures crossing the plateau in his 1916 book A Thousand Mile Walk to the Gulf. The book can be read online at the Sierra Club’s John Muir Exhibit.Historically, the Cumberland Plateau has been unsettled, due to infertile soil for common crops. Mississippian and Cherokee hunters occasionally camped on the plateau (according to artifacts discovered in caves in the area), but the nearest settlements were originally found in the nearby valleys. However, the plateau was a popular mining and timber-harvesting spot. In modern times, it has also become popular with all-terrain vehicle enthusiasts and, surprisingly, retirement community development.In the summer of 2010, former governor Phil Bredesen signed a petition which requested the U.S. Office of Surface Minining to declare the ridge-tops on state-managed lands in the area as “unsuitable for surface coal mining.” The Office has not yet made a decision on the topic.Other endangered sites listed by the Southern Environmental Law Center include the Alabama Coast, Georgia’s Cypress Forests, Georgia’s Oconee River, North Carolina’s Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, and South Carolina’s Santee River Basin. You can see the full list at the SELC’s website. The SELC has been working for over two decades to address environmental issues in the American Southeast, and relies “on charitable gifts from individuals, families and foundations” for its services.