Looking south.


On these ridgetop developments, interesting article about Madison County in the Christian Science Monitor: North Carolina's mountaintop homes stir debate. From the article:

But these scenic views come with other costs: Ridge-top building may cause downstream water pollution and wreck trout streams by causing too much silt to pour off denuded slopes. Others worry that as rooftops, decks, and greens poke out from the ridges, this pursuit of the perfect view may ruin the view for others - and compromise the region's most precious asset: its beauty.

(Via BlogAsheville)
Hear, hear. And it's not just rooftops and decks poking out from the ridges. Huge swaths of trees are removed, and that exposes a lot of bare soil from roadbuilding. Some ridgetops around here look scalped. A full page ad in the Asheville Citizen Times recently is touting a mountain top airport community near Burnsville. Hmmm.