Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2019 - 5

LETTERS

PIPEVINE SWALLOWTAIL
I am enjoying the March/April edition, and
especially like the article "Plant for Wildlife in
Your Backyard." I am a Certified Virginia Master
Naturalist (High Knob Chapter) and our members
promote the use of native plants for pollinators
and wildlife.
The article has some gorgeous photography,
but one of the photos is misidentified. On page
48, the butterfly identified as a "Spicebush
Swallowtail on Spicebush" is actually a Pipevine
Swallowtail (Battus philenor). This is an easy error
to make. Pipevine Swallowtails are unpalatable
to birds. The Spicebush Swallowtail is a mimic
of the Pipevine and thus benefits from its strong
resemblance to the bad-tasting Pipevine species.
-CHRIS ALLGYER, VMN HIGH KNOB CHAPTER PRESIDENT,
BIG STONE GAP, VIRGINIA

Adult Spicebush
Swallowtail
(Papilio troilus)
for comparison. The
butterfly was raised
in Chris Allgyer's
yard on a Spicebush
shrub (Lindera
benzoin).

Rocky Fork Not Saved Yet
In his March/April guest column, David Arthur Ramsey described
"champions of Rocky Fork" working together a decade ago in
Unicoi County, Tennessee, to "permanently protect" one of the last
unspoiled wilderness areas in Appalachia. Now a new group is trying
to save this watershed from over-development by Tennessee State
Parks, which purchased roughly a fifth of the 10,000-acre tract to
create Lamar Alexander Rocky Fork State Park.
The park provides the best point of entry for the larger tract,
the rest of which was added to Cherokee National Forest. Adjoining
Bald Mountain Roadless Area and the recently enlarged Sampson
Mountain Wilderness, Rocky Fork is currently part of the largest
swath of undeveloped land between Great Smoky Mountains and
Shenandoah.
Last November, after a three-year silence and with no public
input, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
announced plans to cut a 24-foot-wide access road into the steep
slope of Flint Mountain. The massive road would lead ostensibly to
an overlook and campground-and cost taxpayers some $20 million.
Architects, engineers and water quality specialists say this road would
permanently damage Rocky Fork Creek-the cleanest tributary in
the Nolichucky River Watershed, feeding into the French Broad,
Tennessee River, and finally the Mississippi.
Biologist Dr. Foster Levy attended stakeholder meetings about
the park's development along with Ramsey and representatives of
many agencies and recreational groups. "Without exception, all
supported the concept of a primitive, low-development park," he
said. "None were in favor of road development."
Learn more on RockyForkJournal.com and Facebook's Rocky Fork
Watershed Almanac.
- FRANCES FIGART, UNICOI COUNTY, TENNESSEE

CONTRIBUTORS

Joe Tennis

Nan K. Chase

(Festivals and Caverns) is a contributing editor
and also an award-winning features writer for
the Bristol Herald Courier. His latest book, "Along
Virginia's Route 58: True Tales from Beach to
Bluegrass," includes chapters on Mabry Mill,
The Crooked Road, Whitetop Mountain, Virginia
Creeper Trail, Barter Theatre and Cumberland
Gap. To order, visit arcadiapublishing.com.

History buff and road trip fanatic Nan K. Chase
(Frescoes) has visited 22 state capitols in the last
three years, from California to New Jersey, and
hopes to collect all 50. She is the author of "Eat
Your Yard!" and "Asheville: A History," and coauthor of "Drink the Harvest." She also writes for
WNC Magazine and Carolina Gardener, and blogs
for Sow True Seed.

Marla Hardee Milling
Contributing Editor Marla Hardee Milling (Baby
James) started writing for Blue Ridge Country in
1989. She's proud to be a native of Asheville,
North Carolina, and loves having black bears visit
her yard. She's the author of "Only in Asheville:
An Eclectic History," published in 2015 by The
History Press, and her second book, "Legends,
Secrets and Mysteries of Asheville," is due in June.
She's mom to two teenagers, Ben and Hannah.

Dave Jenkins
Dave Jenkins (Rock City Barns) has been a
photographer and writer since 1970. His
domain is the old, the odd, and the ordinary;
the beautiful, the abandoned, and the
about-to-vanish. He is a visual historian of an
earlier America and a recorder of the interface
between man and nature; a keeper of vanishing
ways of life.

http://www.RockyForkJournal.com http://www.arcadiapublishing.com

Blue Ridge Country - May/June 2019

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