NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – Public access to the eastern half of the Franklin State Forest has been suspended, effective immediately, according to the Tennessee Department of Agriculture Division of Forestry (TDF).
The closure comes after serious threats were made against visitors’ safety. TDF said that “criminals” have claimed that they have spiked areas in the forest where loggers are working on a harvest operation.
“Spiking is a form of forest industry sabotage where a metal rod or other material is hammered into a tree trunk either near the base of a tree where a logger or firefighter might cut, or higher up where it would affect a sawmill,” the TDF said. “Contact with the spike damages saw blades, can cause flying metal and wood pieces, and make chainsaws kickback, which can result in serious injuries or death to workers or wildland firefighters.”…