2023 CONSERVANCY NEWS NOVEMBER |
What are you thankful for? This is a common question this time of year, and it reminds us of the people and places that fill us with gratitude. Pisgah ranks high on our list for the endless beauty and adventure it provides, and we feel so fortunate to give back to the forest we all love.
This month we’re celebrating our Trail Crew’s recent and much-needed improvements to well-loved trails throughout the District, the start of contracted work on the new Searcy Creek Connector trail, the upcoming launch of our new NNIS (non-native invasive species) crew for its inaugural season, the start of reconstructing the Deep Gap shelter on the Art Loeb trail, and much more. Read Jeff’s Trails Corner below for the full update!
Our year-round efforts are made possible by your support, and thanks to the continued generosity of an anonymous donor, your year-end gift can have TWICE the impact for the Pisgah Ranger District! We have until December 31st to reach our goal of $20,000 - will you make a gift today? To make a year-end gift that will have twice the impact, you can: -
Visit us online (you can now donate with Apple Pay!)
- Mail your donation to 159 W. Main Street Unit 2138, Brevard, NC 28712-0019
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Give me a call at 828-782-1418 or send me an email at nina@pisgahconservancy.org
- Make a donation in the form of stock or retirement assets (please contact me for more details)
We're proud to know our work makes a difference for Pisgah and that it truly benefits everyone who visits this one-of-a-kind place. Happy holidays and happy adventuring, Nina |
As of November 8th, the following forest-wide fire restrictions are in effect through December 31st.
For the protection of public health and safety, the following acts are prohibited on all lands administered by the Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests.
Building, maintaining, attending or using a fire or campfire at trail shelters or outside of developed recreation sites. Possessing, discharging, or using any kind of firework or other pyrotechnic device. Violating North Carolina state law concerning burning, or any fire, for the purpose of preventing or restricting the spread of fires. The use of commercially available fuel stoves (portable gas camp stoves or grills) are allowed.
Campfires in a Forest Service provided metal fire pit, ring or grill at a eveloped recreation campground with a camp host are allowed. The campgrounds included are Balsam Lake Lodge, Curtis Creek Campground, Davidson River Campground, Kimsey Creek Group Camp, Lake Powhatan Campground, North Mills River Campground, Sunburst Campground, Standing Indian Campground, Wolf Ford Horsecamp. |
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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 a Living Wage Certified Employer! |
We’re proud to announce our Living Wage Employer certification through Just Economics, a 501(c)3 nonprofit based in Asheville that works to educate, advocate, and organize for a just and sustainable economy that works for all in WNC. |
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Light Up the Night Holiday Stroll in Brevard |
This year’s Light Up the Night celebration will be on Friday, December 1st from 4 - 8 p.m. This community event immerses visitors in an evening of wonder, featuring twinkling lights, illuminated snowflakes and beautifully decorated storefronts. Additional activities include the official tree-lighting ceremony, live music, performances, ice skating, hayrides, food trucks, festive downtown shopping and more. This will be a festive evening of free family fun!
While you’re out getting in the holiday spirit, stop by D.D. Bullwinkel’s Outdoors on Main Street to meet some of our team and get a fun holiday treat! |
Jeff's Trails Corner 11/15/2023 |
The TPC Trail Crew is now in full swing, accomplishing trail improvement projects across the District. Their central project for this fall’s 10-week season is the rehabilitation of the Art Loeb trail between Ivestor Gap and Tennent Mountain. Long degraded and severely entrenched, this section of trail is seeing a makeover at the hands of the TPC crew of 6 with the construction of a series of locust staircases lifting the trail tread above grade and allowing for the installation of multiple water diversions, a crucial element to any trail’s long-term sustainability. Now well underway, work on this project will continue throughout the rest of the year as the crew carries on up toward Tennent Mountain.
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In addition to their work in the high country, the crew has been busy elsewhere on the District. They performed heavy brushing, clearing out encroaching rhododendron and doghobble on the entirety of the South Mills River trail as part of a multiday push including an overnight work trip in the depths of the South Mills River complex. They also got into some heavy treadwork on the Coontree Loop, rebenching narrow, sloped, and rooty sections of the trail, and Looking Glass Rock trail, where they dug drainage diversions, closed down social trails, and brushed overgrown sections of trail. Additional work was completed on the Pink Beds loop trail, where the crew constructed and installed a series of bog bridges where drainage, given the topography, was not attainable. Their work thus far has been exemplary, a testament to what can be accomplished by a professional trail crew working full-time on the District.
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Shrimper Khare and his crew have begun work this past month on construction of the new Searcy Creek Connector trail. Beginning at the top of Searcy Creek Road (FS 5095), they have built approximately .4 miles of trail thus far, including the construction of a significant stone retaining wall where the trail crosses the base of a large rock slab. When they started work in late October, the fall foliage was at full peak with screaming reds and the ambient golden glow of turned beech and sugar maple. Now, with the leaves gone, the panoramas have opened up offering distance with big views of the multiple faces of Cedar Rock, Looking Glass Rock, and the long rise of the Pisgah Ledge and Blue Ridge Parkway. This route, and the Butter Gap project at large, could well be considered a tour of the plutons, in winter winding from view to view of the granitic upwellings that make this area of the Forest so unique. Many thanks to the Fernandez Pave the Way Foundation and The HUB and Pisgah Tavern for their financial contribution to this TPC contract. It is truly exciting to have broken ground on the first phase of this extensive trail improvement project.
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This month has also seen us preparing for exciting projects to come in 2024. We began work on the reconstruction of the Deep Gap Shelter on the Art Loeb trail, taking advantage of the fair fall weather to haul in 50 plus bags of concrete to pour footers for the posts. Dry as it is, and high upon the ridge, we were also forced to haul in the water necessary to mix the concrete, no small feat. Nestled high on the flank of Pilot Mountain, the Deep Gap shelter will be identical in design to the shelter we constructed last spring at Butter Gap. Now, with the footers poured, the stage is set for construction, which is scheduled for this coming February with support from a skilled visiting volunteer service group from the Conservative Anabaptist Service Program (CASP) whose annual service trips to Pisgah have become a rite of the season. We have also been preparing for the upcoming first season of TPC’s new Non-Native Invasive Species (NNIS) eradication crew, who will be focusing efforts on the Catheys Creek watershed. In collaboration with US Forest Service specialists, we are currently at work planning the project’s scope, strategy, methodology, and logistical needs while preparing for outreach and hiring in the months to come. Come this spring, we expect to have boots on the ground daily directly addressing the persistent and pernicious encroachment of non-native invasive plants on the Pisgah.
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Great thanks to all of those out there working hard to give back to our public lands. Spotlight this month on the Carolina Mountain Club’s (CMC) Pisgah Friday Crew, who are wrapping up their multi-week work at Barnett Branch replacing an ailing, maintenance-hungry boardwalk with more durable bog bridges. Many thanks, as well, to all of you for your continued support of The Pisgah Conservancy and Pisgah National Forest! Happy Thanksgiving!
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