in the region is rapidly declining. Research is currently underway in releasing predator beetles that will, hopefully, eat enough adelgids to balance their population and allow the hemlocks to flourish. The area around the Black Mountains is also experiencing rapid population growth as retirees from other states pour into the region. Due to a lack of zoning laws, this has resulted in rapid development of ridgetop cabins, large second-homes on the lower ridges, and deforestation that threatens the natural beauty of the region. The Clean Smokestacks Act of 2002 (S.L. 2002–4), enacted by the North Carolina General Assembly, is credited with reducing the amount of particulate and ozone pollution that had once threatened the views in the Black Mountains and throughout the Appalachians. Nitrogen Oxide emissions have plummeted from over 245,000 tons a year in 1998 to under 25,000 by 2014. Sulfur dioxide emissions saw a 64% decline. Fine particulates emissions in the area are now less than 60% of the national standard. Views which had been reduced to less than 10 miles by the late 1990s due to chronically hazy conditions, have been restored to 39 miles and the number of clear days has substantially increased. Photo gallery References General sources Walter C. Biggs and James F. Parnell (1989). State Parks of North Carolina. John F. Blair. External links South Beyond 6000 in the Black Mountains – Site provided by the Carolina Mountain Club Blue Ridge Mountains Mountains, Black Subranges of the Appalachian Mountains Mountains of Yancey County, North Carolina Mountains of Buncombe County, North Carolina