BLUE RIDGE ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE LEAGUE
PO Box 88 ~ Glendale Springs, North Carolina 28629 ~ Phone (336) 982-2691 ~ Fax (336) 982-2954 ~ Email: BREDL@skybest.com

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NOVEMBER 7, 1996

CONTACTS:  Janet M. Zeller (910) 982-2691

BLUFF MOUNTAIN CAMPAIGN TAKES TO THE AIR

Today citizens' opened a new front in the campaign to save Bluff Mountain with a series of radio ads aimed at preserving the 4,680 foot peak in Madison County. The 30-second spots, which are being aired on commercial stations in Asheville and Marshall, ask listeners to call the US Forest Service to express their opposition to the proposed Bluff timber sales.
    
Amid growing concerns about the construction of two wide access roads, impacts on wild mountain trout and bear habitat, and marred viewscapes for the Hot Springs tourism industry, the radio ad campaign is designed to educate the public and focus public opposition. 

"These ads zero in on facts about the proposed timber sale that are not widely known,"  said Janet Marsh Zeller, Executive Director of the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League.  "Taxpayers need to know that the Bluff Mountain sale would not cover the cost of road building and that the US Forest Service has the leeway to grant an exception for Bluff Mountain."

Many western North Carolinians, who do not oppose the entire forest management plan, are pointing out that Bluff is a special place and deserves special protection, the theme of one 30 second spot. The ads will run from November 7th through November 14th, the anticipated date for a US Forest Service decision on citizens' appeals.

The ad series is paid for by the Bluff Mountain Defense Fund, a non-profit fund established by a coalition of regional environmental organizations, bear hunters clubs, and Madison county businesses.


BLUFF MOUNTAIN RADIO AD #1

Bluff Mountain is the jewel in the crown of Madison County and it belongs to everybody.

The bad news is that the US Forest Service is treating Bluff like just another tract of timber.

The good news is that it's not too late to stop the Bluff Mountain timber sale.

Call the US Forest Service today and tell them to rezone Bluff Mountain, to make an exception
for this exceptional place. Tell them: Don't Cut Bluff.

Paid for by the Bluff Mountain Defense Fund.


BLUFF MOUNTAIN RADIO AD #2

The US Forest Service says the proposed timber sale on Bluff Mountain is an example of balance. But let's weigh it out.

Big roadbuilders get two new highways on the mountain and the taxpayers get the bill.

Big timber companies get cheap logs and the people get the stumps.

Big paper companies get pulp for less than 50 cents a tree and the hikers and the hunters lose Bluff Mountain.

Call the US Forest Service today and tell them to weigh this one again. Don't Cut Bluff.

Paid for by the Bluff Mountain Defense Fund.


BLUFF MOUNTAIN RADIO AD #3

I just couldn't believe it when I heard the US Forest Service is gonna let 'em ruin Bluff Mountain.

There goes my huntin' and fishin' and the kids' campin' trips.

They're actually talkin' about building miles and miles of roads and then selling off the timber at a loss, one piece at a time.

I thought we had a budget deficit!

We've gotta call the Forest Service right now and tell 'em they gotta stop this sale. I'm gonna say: Don't Cut Bluff.

Paid for by the Bluff Mountain Defense Fund.

Bluff Mountain Campaign