To: US Forest Service
To whom it may concern:
I am writing this letter as per the request of the US Forrest Service.
My name is Angie Murphy and I am co owner of Murphys Greenery in Yancey county NC.
My husband and I are lifetime residents of Yancey county, NC; as well as small business owners that have created a small agriculturally based business that utilizes galax and other regional plants grown in the surrounding Appalachian mountain region.
The recent proposals to designate certain areas into “wilderness” areas will specifically affect our business in a detrimental manner.
My hope is that my letter will provide more detail and some insight into exactly what will be the unintended consequences by these proposed “wilderness” designations.
First, we were shocked and frankly taken aback by the mere thought that designation of our beloved home called the Black Mountains was in jeopardy of being “changed” which meant that we would lose both our right to use this land to make a living on and we would be in jeopardy of losing a family tradition that dates back almost 100 yrs.
A stroke of the pen that at first glance may seem innocent or well intentioned from your perspective will negatively impact our business and livelihood.
It is my hope that this letter offers a look with facts, some passion and points you to a true and personal understanding of why we should leave the beauty of the way things are preserved now, and for the future.
Designating our land as a wilderness region will mean that a rich tradition, a family heritage and small business will be lost.
Please review a little bit of the history we have been writing on our website.
The following pages, excerpted directly from our website, describes our family business and its history, and we formally request this be entered into the record of dissent regarding the proposals for wilderness areas that pertain to Yancey County, NC.
The Murphy’s Story of Galax
Angie Murphy is the key figure at Murphy’s Greenery. She was so young when she started in the business that when she would go pick Galax with her daddy, she would have to be put in a Galax sack to cross the creeks and often fell backwards pulling Galax plants.
Her family was so very poor and they would have to pick Galax to help pay bills and get groceries. If she wanted shoes they would have to pick it. If they wanted to go to the movies they would have to pick 5000 leaves to sell it for $10.00 to get 3 movie tickets, popcorn and drinks.
Angie would stay home 1 day a week from school to pick Galax. Back then the attendance issues weren’t like they are today so she got away with it, but as she got older, and got into high school, attendance became a real issue.
Angie’s dad would work timber and logging contracts, but on his days off he would pick Galax.
Angie’s mom loved the outdoors and loved the extra income it afforded while having the time to meet the kids at the school bus when it arrived each day and then off to picking Galax with them.
Back when Angie was a little girl, she and her brother would start out in the summer time early in the day to pick 10,000 leaves, bring them home to pack them into 25 stems per bunch. Then they would go right back out in the afternoon.
Angie was relentless, after picking 10,000 leaves, she’d return to the woods and rivers to pick another 5000.
Looking back at their early days, Angie remembers that in the summertime, they would pray for rain so they could have a little time off from picking Galax. In those days, there were no coolers and they could not harvest wet Galax.
While growing up Angie could remember Granny saying that she hoped she would die in the woods picking Galax, and indeed she passed away in the mountains while picking Galax.
Granny Bonnie said she never wanted to be in a hospital, and lived a simple life. The day she passed, her daughter Debbie, (Angie’s aunt) became kind of worried because her dog and Granny did not return that night as Granny was deadly afraid of the dark.
They had a feeling she had passed away because it was her dream to do so in the woods picking Galax. A family friend, Harold came over that night to comfort Debbie
until morning arrived, and Angie was at home praying and crying. Harold found Granny in the woods with her Galax sack.
Marty, Angie’s husband in the business also grew up with Galax because his grandparents picked it for a living.
When Marty needed something he would “find where the money actually grew and it wasn’t in trees”, it was located in the Appalachian mountains growing in the shade and it was called Galax.”
Along with our history we have acquired a few facts and information for you.
- According to your website on this page http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5188147.pdf
- the annual income from Galax when the article was written in 2009 on quote “Harvest Revenue: Annual estimates from $10-25 million; harvesters receive from 2- 3 ¢ /leaf. ” This is a huge income base for our county and again according to these stats 99% of all harvest in the nation occurs in NC.
- The urban interface with the surrounding areas is far too integrated to simply “changed” There are many businesses like the Mt Mitchell golf course and homes that will be affected.
- There are many complicated boundaries that would need to be reviewed.
- Many people have expressed the idea that currently we could take any number of people to 100s of untouched and pristine wilderness areas where civilization rarely wonders to. This ideas among many have pressed or discontent to designate larger areas as “wilderness”
- The Black mountain range with approx. 12,473 acres is by all estimations of several experts including some old time forest service works is too small to designate “wilderness”.
- The overall cultural values in time honored traditions of picking things other than Galax like, berries, Ginseng etc that are now done with permits would cease as well as others like ramps, branch lettuce and huckleberries.
- Our Yancey and Mitchell county commissioners have passed resolutions against these changes.
- Approximately150-200 families or approx 450-900 people in Yancey county would directly be affected by this change. This estimate represents only the Galax small products community that we work directly with. This includes other Galax purchasers, check cashing stores, convenient stores, food outlets, landlords etc.. Please note our county has only 17,000 and this number represents 2.9-5.2 of our population could be affect directly by these changes
- All of our pickers buy permits from the Forest Service. Changing our mountains to “wilderness” not only affect us but this income and all other small products permits will affect the Forest service revenues.
- Permit Cost: $ 0.45/Lb. Permit Minimum Quantities: Dependent on permit length; 15 day permit 100 lbs. 30 day permit 200 lbs.
- Yancey county is among the poorest counties in the state with a annual income per capita. Please don’t add to this by making more people lose their hard earned income.
- Population
- 17,662 (2010-2014), rank #86 out of 100
- Population Growth
- -0.63% since 2000, rank #92out of 100
- Population Density:
- 56.40/sq mi, rank #75out of 100
- Median Household Income:
- $39,008 at 2010-2014—31.46% increase since 2000, rank #57
In brief summary we choose “Alternative D’ as our preferred choice of action on the section that is most important to us – The Black Mountains.
We would also invite you to further your understanding by taking more time to listen to those that live directly in the areas of intended change.
We believe we can offer better solutions to most issues that may have precipitated these ideas for changes to begin with.
In conclusion we would like to thank you for considering our points in helping to keep our mountains the way they are and thank you in advance for helping us sustain our way of life from the things “that only grow in the Appalachian Mountains”.
Sincerely
Angie Murphy
Murphy’s Greenery, Inc.
5040 State Highway 80 S
Burnsville, NC 28714
(828) 675-1351