Residents are upset. Even the county manager is upset. The state is meeting resistance in its attempt to change the classification of streams in Transylvania County. State agents only want what’s best for trout. That would include a 25′ buffer in a locality where streams and springs are everywhere. Trout also, evidently, benefit from regulations that are “restrictive, cumbersome, and vague,” steep permitting fees, and $5000/day for noncompliance.
The humans are not rejoicing. They want to use their land. Some have threatened to shoot trespassing bureaucrats who come snooping on their private property in the name of testing the water. Transylvania County Manager Artie Wilson objected, saying 50% of the county is already protected public land. On behalf of the humans, the county has had a bill submitted in General Assembly, passed a resolution, and launched a lawsuit.
