Further changes planned for Upper Tellico OHV system
Although initial plans for changes to the Upper Tellico OHV system were released in June, further details recently came to light that have led the BlueRibbon Coalition to issue an action alert.
The OHV area near the Tennessee/North Carolina border is still scheduled to have 11 miles of the 39.5-mile trail system closed. However, BRC has learned the 11 miles that will be closed will cut off access to many other parts of the riding area. The U.S. Forest Service is also planning to pave one of the trails, Tipton Creek, and allow street legal vehicles only on that trail. The Forest Service is also looking into closing the Chestnut Mountain trail in the riding area.
“Those 11 miles literally cuts the heart right out of the OHV experience that is Tellico,” Brian Hawthorne, BRC public lands policy director.
BRC, in partnership with the United Four Wheel Drive Associations and the Southern Four Wheel Drive Associations, has taken legal action to challenge the temporary emergency closure.
