VIII. Road Access and
Maintenance Plan
A. Vehicle Access
Access on the property via a paved road system is
extremely limited. Highway 178 and Cleo Chapman Road (county road 143) are
the only paved roads that access the property. Paved roads at three
adjoining state parks provide access to the boundaries of Jocassee Gorges.
Approximately 138 miles of "dirt" roads exist on the property.
Roads on the property fall into two major categories: 1) roads open
seasonally for public access, forest management, fire control, etc. and 2)
roads closed to public vehicle access but used for official access, forest
access, fire control, and public access for mountain biking and hiking,
etc. The property contains approximately 70 miles of seasonally gated
roads and 68 miles of permanently gated forest access roads. Seasonal
public access roads take the form of "jeep trails," and
four-wheel drive vehicles are needed for safe travel. The property is
flanked by several state parks that offer improved access to the Jocassee
Gorges area. Table Rock State Park adjoins the property on the eastern
boundary. Devil's Fork State Park and Keowee-Toxaway State Park lie on the
western boundary of Jocassee Gorges. These parks provide improved access
to the Jocassee Gorges area. Table Rock State Park is a major access point
to the foothills trail, while Devil's Fork State Park provides boating
access to the "heart" of the Jocassee Gorges Project.
Public vehicular access to the Jocassee Gorges property
will follow a schedule similar to that used in the past (Appendix A-7, and
Appendix B-2). Roads initially open to public access include Camp Adger,
Horsepasture (from Hwy 178 only), and Cane Creek Road (to the vicinity of
Cane Creek), and portions of Standing Rock Road. All roads will continue
to be open seasonally beginning September 15 through January 2 and during
the month of April as they have in the past, provided adequate funding is
available for maintenance. Access to the Musterground property of Jocassee
Gorges will continue to be available through the Bad Creek Facility. This
gate will also be open September 15 through January 2 and during the month
of April. The lower Tater Hill road (off Hwy 130) should also continue to
be opened seasonally. Closed roads on the property will be marked with
signs.
This schedule will allow for visitor access during the
peak foliage seasons. This access schedule also accommodates traditional
recreational user groups such as hunters, anglers and hikers. Special
consideration is also being given to providing year-round access on the
main Horespasture Road from Laurel Valley Lodge to Laurel Fork Gap. This
will allow better access to the property by visitors.
Additional access may be considered as funding for road
maintenance and repair is secured. However, ecological concerns warrant
allowing seasonal vehicular access only at this time. The area is highly
erodible and road repair is expensive. Annual rainfall on the property is
the highest in the east. Year-round access would require much more
maintenance activity such as blading and adding gravel. Sedimentation
studies imply that frequent road maintenance in the mountains increases
sediment sources to the watersheds. Additionally, black bear research
studies in the area indicated that vehicle traffic on open roads inside
the Horsepasture had a significant negative impact on movements of bears.
Black bears avoid open forest access roads. Bears seldom utilize available
habitat within 500 meters of logging roads when public access is allowed.
Bear avoidance of open roads has been documented throughout the southern
Appalachians.
Access through the historic, lower entrance to the
Horsepasture Road at Cane Creek was not included in the state's purchase
of the property. An alternative access for Jocassee Gorges is planned by
renovating the historic Old Horsepasture Road. This road will enter the
main Horsepasture Road in the vicinity of the Gant Fields. This will take
time and significant funding to accomplish. This access will not be
available until renovation is complete and the road meets acceptable
standards. Until then, the only vehicle access into the major section of
the Horsepasture is through Laurel Valley. From the Laurel Valley entrance
to Cane Creek is approximately 16 miles.
An angler access at the southern limit of Eastatoee
Creek Heritage Preserve (ECHP) is needed. The lower portion of Eastatoee
Creek below the gorge area at ECHP maintains an excellent wild rainbow
trout population, but reasonable access is not available to anglers. If
acquisition efforts afford the potential for better angler access to this
stream reach, the SCDNR should pursue development of a small, 10-car
parking and access area from Eastatoee Valley or possibly trail access
from Highway 178. This would also give "through access" for
hikers on the ECHP trail. Until better access can be developed, the
primitive camp area on ECHP, and an angler trail should be maintained, if
compatible with ECHP management. Development of hiking trails that benefit
day users and anglers may also be conducted along streams such as Cane
Creek.
B. Road Maintenance
A prioritization of road maintenance and improvements
will be developed. Acceptable standards for road conditions will be
established and met. Soil scientists and engineers with the National
Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) and SCFC will be consulted in this
process. Road management schemes should pay attention to the
recommendations of Van Lear (1995) in the maintenance of access roads.
Installation of sediment traps, broad based dips, water bars, berms,
weeps, etc. will be needed to minimize erosion from many main access
roads. Road surfacing used should be carefully considered to minimize
siltation (e.g. avoid crusher run around spring and stream areas).
Maintenance of watershed integrity and high water quality is a management
priority. Also, managers must maintain the ability to close roads during
extremely wet weather conditions or when roads are in dire need of
maintenance. Because of high amounts of rainfall in the Horsepasture, it
may be necessary to "daylight" (i.e. cut or trim trees along the
road) some roads. Daylighting roads will be a practice considered for
application on a site-specific basis where appropriate. Initially, road
maintenance will be conducted through a contracting process or cooperative
agreement or by SCDNR staff. As management funding for equipment and
personnel becomes available, it will be beneficial to hire personnel to
conduct routine road maintenance. It is recommended that roads used to
access Duke Electric Transmission (DET, a Duke Energy Company)
rights-of-way be maintained by a cooperative effort of SCDNR and DEC.
Closed roads should be maintained in a stabilized state
consistent with standards for light duty or forest access roads (Swift
1984).
SCDNR will cooperate fully with the SCFC in the
suppression of forest fires on Jocassee Gorges. This will include
providing access on all roads on the property for fire suppression
purposes.
Road Inventory and Repair Process
There are numerous dirt roads on the property ranging
from major access roads to closed-out roads from previous forestry work.
An inventory of these roads will be completed, and special emphasis will
be given to noting any roads that have become destabilized and that are
contributing notable quantities of siltation to trout streams. The roads
needing stabilization work will be prioritized, and work indicated to
provide and maintain stabilization through implementation of Best
Management Practices. A team involving SCDNR, NRCS, DPC and other
appropriate entities will coordinate this effort. DPC will implement
recommended actions (Keowee Toxaway Fishery Resources-Ten Year Work Plan,
1996).
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