To the Editor:

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is making grand plans for its 75th anniversary celebration. The park’s half million acres are divided, with three-fifths in North Carolina and two-fifths in Tennessee, and roughly 40 percent of the park lies within Swain County. The history of the park’s relationship with Swain County marks over 65 years of dissatisfaction, to put it mildly.

The Park is a very special place to most people in Swain County. Some have roots that trace to the North Shore. Most natives have a strong tradition of interaction with the outdoor world and are committed to conservation. We’ve also experienced an influx of newcomers who are dedicated environmentalists. Many from Swain County have sacrificed and continue to sacrifice to make the park what it is today.

This peculiar relationship is decidedly one-sided; not something we feel the park should be celebrating.

Dale Ditmanson, superintendent of the GSMNP, is uniquely positioned to guarantee his legacy will stand forever in the history of the park. He is responsible for the initial decision that resulted in the Record of Decision to resolve the 1943 Agreement through a monetary settlement. As superintendent, the responsibility for the park’s relations with its neighbors lands on his shoulders. How he deals with the potential settlement will set the stage for the next century of how the people of Swain County will feel about the park.

If the National Park Service and the Department of Interior attempt to capitalize on their perceived position of advantage in the negotiations to prey on Swain County by suggesting a low-ball figure and an unenforceable contract, they risk jeopardizing park relations for the next century. It goes like this: The Park Service insists any new contract cannot be enforceable due to existing laws they have to comply with, and we shouldn’t question their commitment to fulfill the terms anyway. Then almost in the same breath we get beat over the head with the same contingency language in the 1943 Agreement. The clear message is that Swain County is at their mercy and does not have a bargaining position. These methods do not represent negotiating in good faith.

Sacrificing park relations to gain advantage in negotiations is not in the long term interest of the GSMNP. If this happens on Thursday, it’s time for Ditmanson to go and Rep. Heath Shuler, D-Waynesville, to play an active role in the selection of a new superintendent, one that values relations with Swain County and North Carolina.

An opportunity is before them to embrace the 2003 resolution of the Swain County commissioners and take the high road. For all time they could say that Swain County made the offer and they accepted. If the legislative process is utilized to resolve this matter, then for all time the Park will wear this yoke of shame.

Will Swain County be able to join in the 75th anniversary celebration, or will the celebration have to be held with half the family locked in the basement?

Leonard Winchester,

Chairman

Citizens for the Economic Future of Swain County