Benton MacKaye Cherokee National Forest land Consolidation Act of 2010

Floor Speech

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Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of my amended bill, H.R. 4658, the Benton MacKaye Cherokee National Forest Land Consolidation Act.

This bill is a simple bill that authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to convey to the Towee Falls Baptist Church a 65-acre parcel of National Forest System land in the Cherokee National Forest, which surrounds the Church.

The bill would also allow the Forest Service to acquire from the Monroe County Tennessee Board of Education an 102-acre parcel of land in Monroe County, Tennessee, known as the Doc Rogers tract. The result is a net increase of 37 acres for the Cherokee National Forest.

This bill is very important to Monroe County, Tennessee, a rural county in my District that is struggling economically. This bill is a win-win for all parties involved.

The Towee Falls Church sale would allow the Forest Service to dispose of a piece of property and end an inholding created by the granting of a permit to the church in question in 1946.

The Church is a willing buyer of the additional property to expand its building and cemetery, the latter of which will soon be full.

The sale of the Doc Rogers tract would allow the Monroe County School Board to dispose of a piece of property that the Forest Service would like to purchase because it is traversed by the Benton MacKaye Trail, a hiking trail that feeds into the Appalachian Trail.

This bill is named in honor of Benton MacKaye, who was an American forester, planner and conservationist who lived from 1879 to 1975. He helped pioneer the idea of land preservation for recreation and conservation purposes.

Mr. MacKaye is best known for developing the idea of the Appalachian Trail, the National Scenic Trail that runs 2,179 miles from Georgia to Maine and runs through my District in Tennessee.

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