ASHEVILLE, N.C.— Conservation groups sent a letter Tuesday urging the U.S. Forest Service to amend the Nantahala-Pisgah forest plan because of the tremendous damage from Hurricane Helene to North Carolina’s Nantahala and Pisgah national forests. Hurricane Helene devastated much of western North Carolina. In some areas, 30 inches of rain fell over three days, washing out roads and bridges and causing landslides and floods. Wind speeds in some places topped 90 miles per hour. …The Forest Service estimated the hurricane caused around 117,000 acres of vegetation loss across the two forests. …Federal law requires that forest plans be amended when forest conditions have “significantly changed.” In today’s letter, conservation groups explain that revising the Nantahala-Pisgah forest plan would allow the Forest Service to ensure rebuilding efforts are done in a way that strengthens the forests and the communities that rely on them. The groups also urged the agency to lower its logging objectives.