2023 CONSERVANCY NEWS JULY |
Happy July from TPC! The temperatures are high, the wildflowers are in bloom, and the Pisgah Ranger District is as busy as ever. Despite the summer heat, we’re still hard at work for the forest and all who share our love for this special place.
Read on to learn about current partnerships, check out our job openings, current and upcoming trail construction on the District, and more. Thank you for your support of TPC and Pisgah National Forest! Happy adventuring! Nina nina@pisgahconservancy.org |
Congratulations on 100 years, CMC! |
Thank you again to the Carolina Mountain Club for inviting us and dozens of other partner organizations to be part of their centennial celebration at the North Carolina Arboretum this past Sunday! We had a great time meeting new and old faces and sharing what we do with community members of all ages. |
Help us keep the Davidson River in Pisgah National Forest litter-free! Join the Pisgah River Rangers, the Pisgah Ranger District, and the Pisgah Chapter of Trout Unlimited on Wednesday, July 26 from 9:00 a.m. - noon for a river cleanup! Find more details and RSVP at https://volunteersignup.org/A74Q7. |
Craft Cocktails Raise Money for Pisgah |
Head to Ukiah Japanese Smokehouse in downtown Asheville this week to enjoy a ‘So Fresh So Green’ signature cocktail while supporting Pisgah! $1 from each drink sold from July 17-23 will be donated to TPC. Enjoy dinner favorites like oysters, hamachi, bao buns, ramen, and more, or try their mouth-watering Sunday brunch. While you’re there, congratulate Chef Michael Lewis and the Ukiah team for winning “Best Bite of the Day” at this year’s Heritage Fire Tour event in Asheville last weekend!
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Jeff's Trails Corner 7/19/2023 |
With a new trail currently under construction, another new trail construction project put out to bid, and the TPC trail crew out daily clearing trail, digging tread, and building trail bridges, July has been a busy and exciting month on the Pisgah. |
Local trail builders Trail Dynamics broke ground this month on the new Black Mountain Trailhead Connector trail. Part of a multiphase recreation improvement project whose end product will be a new, expanded trailhead for the Black Mountain and Sycamore Cove trail complex, this short trail will connect Thrift Cove to the newly constructed parking area just east of the Ranger Station. Currently graveled, the parking area will be paved, curbed, and striped in the coming year with design of the trailhead itself underway and construction to follow. Designed to accommodate two-way traffic and offer a welcoming portal into this iconic Pisgah trail complex, the .2 mile trail will also feature a bottomless culvert built over with high-quality drystone masonry spanning 10 feet that will be a signature trail structure with a classic stone arch bridge aesthetic. I am truly excited to see what Ed and his crew at Trail Dynamics construct over the coming weeks. This project is made possible by a number of great partners, with funding provided by grants through the National Forest Foundation, the Transylvania County Tourism Development Authority (TCTDA), and Asheville REI, and by generous funding from The Hub and Pisgah Tavern, whose regular contributions to TPC’s Pisgah Mountain Bike Trail Fund provides direct support to important projects like this one.
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| Make a Monthly Donation to Pisgah
Did you know you can set up a monthly donation to TPC? Simply visit our donation page and select “Show my support by making this a monthly donation.” Monthly donations are a convenient way to support our ongoing efforts in the Pisgah Ranger District and allow you to show your support throughout the year! |
We love seeing so many TPC license plates on the road. When you purchase or renew your TPC plate online or at your local license plate agency for just $30, $20 comes right back to Pisgah!
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We're Hiring!
We’re looking for three seasonal Trail Crew Members to join our team for a 10-week term this fall! This role will focus on repairing light to moderate trail damage resulting from Tropical Storm Fred across the Pisgah Ranger District. For position and application details, visit https://www.pisgahconservancy.org/about-us/job-openings.html. The deadline to apply is Friday, July 28.
| The RFP process is open for the new Searcy Creek Connector Trail (coming soon)!
TPC is pleased to announce a Request for Proposals for the Searcy Creek Connector Trail project! Part of the larger Butter Gap project, the Searcy Creek connector will be a new 1.15 mile trail linking FS Road 5095 with the top of Butter Gap trail and will provide for expanded trail connectivity, loop opportunities, and great trail experiences.
Please contact TPC Trail Specialist Jeff Maitz at Jeffrey.maitz@usda.gov or 828-877-3265 x237 if you'd like to receive the RFP package and bid on this exciting project. The RFP process for this project will remain open until July 24, 2023. |
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Last month also saw the announcement of our Request for Proposals for construction of the 1.15 mile Searcy Creek Connector Trail. Great thanks to the Fernandez Pave the Way Foundation for committing to fund half the cost of the project with the hope that other partners, foundations, and local businesses will work towards the gap. Part of the larger Butter Gap project, this trail will connect Forest Service Road 5095 to the top of Butter Gap trail opening up bigger loop opportunities in the complex and offering amazing scenery and terrain in the heart of Pisgah’s pluton country. Attention to all you professional trail builders out there, this request for proposals ends July 24th.
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The TPC Trail Crew has been carrying on the good work, with a variety of maintenance and improvement projects over the past month. They constructed a new foot-log style trail bridge on the Pink Beds loop trail replacing a bridge washed out by Tropical Storm Fred. They also improved a rather dangerous bridge on the Pilot Cove Slate Rock area, adding decking and a handrail to existing stringer logs on this bridge deep out in the woods. In addition to bridge work, the crew has done some heavy brushing on Flat Laurel Creek, landslide mitigation and brushing on Davidson River trail, and a number of trail logouts including clearing 40 trees from the entirety of South Mills River Trail, from the Pink Beds to Turkeypen.
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We are also in the process of hiring 3 new trail crew members to join the team for ten weeks from October to December. They will work as part of the TPC trail crew addressing trail damage on the District from Tropical Storm Fred. With this increased crew size for the five months of late Fall, we’ll be able to tackle some bigger projects. If you, or someone you know, has a love for laboring in the outdoors and experience working on a crew trail, please apply. The job announcement can be found on the TPC website and closes July 28th.
Our partner volunteer trail crews have also been doing great work out in the Forest. This month I would like to highlight some of the work performed by the Carolina Mountain Club (CMC), who just celebrated their 100th birthday this past Sunday at the NC Arboretum. Happy Birthday CMC!
Great thanks to CMC volunteers who have continued their work on Sam Knob Summit Trail. Beginning on Pisgah Project Day this past April, CMC have continued to improve the trail with big workdays over the past few months, restoring drainage, building stone and locust staircases, and clearly establishing the trail corridor in this high-use, well-loved area. Thanks also to Don Cooper, Rob Bolt, Jim Spicer and the rest of the CMC Pisgah Friday crew who completed construction of a really nice locust ladder staircase at the junction of Buck Springs trail and the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. Check out the before and after pictures on this one.
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Best to all of you and hope to see you out on the trail this summer. Thanks as always for your continued support of the Pisgah Conservancy and Pisgah National Forest. |
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