Planning Process

VERP

Purpose and Need
The success of the Cove as a visitor destination also carries a cost. High levels of visitation are expected to rise even higher, which will make it more difficult to provide visitors with a high quality experience. Maintaining the integrity of the natural and cultural resources with current staff and infrastructure while managing this level of visitation has become a challenge. It has become increasingly difficult for the NPS to maintain intact the rural, pastoral and cultural setting of this special place, which attracts approximately 2 million visitors each year. Stresses on this highly valued environment indicate the Cove needs a long-range management plan. These issues, along with the Park's 1926 enabling legislation (that the Park be established "for the benefit and enjoyment of the people"), reinforce the need for a long-range management vision and plan.

Phase II Links:

VERP

Summer 2005
Survey Results

Cades Cove Planning was undertaken as a means to develop a long-range management vision to protect the Cove's natural and cultural resources and ensure that visitors will continue to have a quality experience. The management vision will reflect the significance of the Cove. The following values from Great Smoky Mountains National Park's 1998 Access Issues at Cades Cove report describe the:

• scenic beauty and sweeping vistas of Cades Coveimportance of the Cove's historic setting and representation of Smoky Mountain cultureneed to protect and enjoy wildlife
• importance of the Cove as a place to recreate, socialize, be inspired or educated

This long-range management vision will provide a program of management actions to improve visitor experience, preserve and restore resources, provide adequate facilities and infrastructure capacity, and increase the level of information/education that visitors receive. Moreover, this plan provides a holistic approach to the development of alternatives that address the issues within the Cove. The National Park Service (NPS) and the Knoxville Regional Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) are working together in lead roles to complete this project, along with consultant teams. The public plays an important role in the development of the Plan. Early in the process, it became clear that the issues and concerns affecting the Cove went beyond mere traffic congestion. The development of a comprehensive management plan for the Cove, then, would require that the project team review and document the Cove's resources, visitation patterns and education/ interpretive programs as well as the enabling legislation for the entire ParkGuiding Themes
As information on issues and concerns was identified, it was categorized into a set of themes that guided the development of the Plan. These themes include:

Resources: The natural and cultural resources of Cades Cove are being damaged by increased visitation. These impacts are seen in erosion from vehicles and foot traffic, air pollution, graffiti and damage to visitor facilities. Visitation: Increased visitation has inhibited the overall visitor experience. "Wildlife jams" (traffic congestion resulting from wildlife viewing), inadequate accessibility of facilities and a lack of visitor knowledge of the regulations, activities and traffic conditions have combined to reduce the quality of the visitor experience. Resource Education: Inadequate orientation services and visitor contact points and the lack of display space for historic artifacts have diminished the ability of Park staff to educate the public about the Cove's resources. Resource education should focus on the Cove's environmental biodiversity, scenic beauty and the continuum of human activity represented in its historic sites.

Safety/Facilities: Inadequate facilities and utilities, increasing maintenance problems and insufficient law enforcement and staff have combined to diminish the visitor experience.