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Planning Process

Public Involvement

Heavy visitation is taking a toll on other cultural resources found in the Cove as well. The historic structures in the Cove constitute one of the largest and most recognized collections of log structures in North America. Historians have come to value the Cove as a cultural landscape. Protecting and preserving these resources in the context of two million annual visitors is proving to be a challenge with many sites experiencing the affects of overuse.

Biologists value the diversity of plants and animals, and the number of rare and endemic (meaning that they are found nowhere else on earth) species found on the Cove's valley floor. For the visitor, the Cove is the most popular wildlife viewing area in the Park. Often times, it is that activity of looking for bears, deer and other wildlife that backs up traffic in Cades Cove.

Park staff is concerned about the impact that air pollution is having on the visitor experience and the resources the Park is charged with protecting. Recent National Park Service air pollution data indicate that Great Smoky Mountains National Park is one of the most polluted national parks in the United States. Transportation is a contributor to the pollution affecting park resources, but wind currents also transport pollutants from large urban areas, industrial sites and power plants across the southern Appalachians, resulting in reduced visibility, respiratory irritation and injury to soils, vegetation and streamlife.

The Cades Cove Planning team is adamant about preserving and protecting Cades Cove and will be looking at management alternatives that combine a premiere visitor experience with a variety of access alternatives.

There will be opportunities for public involvement throughout the
Cades Cove study.