For Immediate Release
Date: May 5, 1998

Contact: Mike Anderson
Grandfather Ranger District
704-652-2144

GRANDFATHER DISTRICT UNVEILS NEW EXHIBITS

To unveil several new national forest exhibits, an open house will be held

at the Grandfather District Ranger Station on June 16 from 2 to 4 p.m.

The station, which serves as an information center for people visiting the

National Forests in North Carolina, is located off Interstate-40 at Exit 90, 9

miles east of Marion.

"We'd like to invite the public to come out and see the completed exhibits

and meet some of those people who helped make it happen," said Grandfather

District ranger, Mike Anderson.

"These exhibits tell the story of the forest and forest management in

western North Carolina. Every exhibit offers something to touch or a game to

play," said Pat Momich, a U.S. Forest Service interpreter who designed the

exhibits. "For example, you can listen to a description of the first tract of

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national forest land in the East and enjoy dozens of historic photographs."

The popular orientation exhibit, "Where Can I Go From Here?" allows

visitors to push buttons for campgrounds, backcountry areas, and other

recreation sites and attractions. Lights on a map then show the location of

each site. The North Carolina Wildlife Federation funded the exhibit.

Another highlight is a touchscreen computer that describes what different

Forest Service employees do in the national forests. This "high-tech" exhibit

was made possible through a partnership with the North Carolina Forestry

Assocation, Willamette Industries, and the Southern Appalachain Multiple-Use

Council. Broyhill Furniture Industries donated a china cabinet, which is part

of an exhibit called "Could You Do Without Wood?"

Other exhibits focus on how people used the forest throughout history--from

Native Americans to early settlers to the people of today. The history

exhibits were produced as a cost-share project with the Mountain Gateway Museum

Service Center at Old Fort. Terrell Finley of the Mountain Gateway Museum

constructed the exhibit panels.

Trout Unlimited and the Cradle of Forestry Interpretive Association also

contributed toward completing the exhibit area.

The Grandfather District Ranger Station is open Monday through Friday,

8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Visitors to the ranger station can also browse in the nature

book store for a forest map or an educational gift. Recreation information is

available for the national forests and other areas in western North Carolina.

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