“Summer greetings from TPC. Hot summer days, swimming holes, and afternoon storms are upon us and the forest is humming with activity as we all get outside to enjoy the many pleasures of summer in the mountains.” –Jeff Maitz, Chief Operating Officer and Program Director / Trail Specialist
North Slope Trail Bridge
Our Trail Crew has been working this past month constructing a new bridge on the North Slope trail to replace the one destroyed during Hurricane Helene. Thanks to assistance from the Pisgah Cowboys and a dozen volunteers on Pisgah Project Day, who cut up and hauled out the many pieces of the previous bridge, the crew was able to get started on this complex project with a clean slate.
With the site about a mile in on the trail, and positioned high on the loop, the crew had to transport tools and materials for abutments, sills, and decking utilizing our canycom trackhauler. And with the remoteness of the project and the length needed to cross the span, the only real choice for stringers was to use native materials.
After felling and peeling the forty-foot lengths, the crew utilized rigging to pull them into a position where they could align the two stringers properly on the sills and plane them in preparation for decking.
Building the entire bridge (sans decking) beforehand as a mock-up exercise allowed the crew to get the cuts and measurements right, an important factor considering the difficulty of doing this work with the stringers in place over an open span 15 feet off the ground.
With the site prepped and materials staged, the crew utilized a rigging setup to fly the stringers across the span and secure them on the sills and abutments. With decking and handrails installed, and approach ramps constructed, the crew has nearly completed the replacement of this significant bridge on North Slope, opening up safer access to this popular trail above Davidson River Campground.
Bradley Creek Trail
In addition to their work on North Slope, the crew was also able to repair a significant hole on Bradley Creek trail that was preventing equestrian access for the clearing of down trees on Bradley Creek and Riverside trails.
Our mini excavator was the right tool for the job, able to move significant material to fill a car-sized hole on this roadbed trail. Thank you again to the Glass Foundation for making the purchase of our very own mini excavator possible!
The crew also helped provide logistical support for CMC’s overnight work trip in collaboration with SAWS on Ivestor Gap in late June, transporting tools and gear via UTV for both staging and demobilization.
After some maintenance and improvements on our high-country trails, the crew will be moving to Buckhorn Gap trail in the coming weeks to work on more bridge construction projects. There is certainly no lack of trail bridges needing love in the wet coves of the Southern Appalachians.
Invasive Plant Management Crew Updates
Our Invasive Plant Management Crew has been busy chugging along on a wide variety of projects, treating at Catheys Creek, Kuykendall, the Davidson River corridor, North Mills River, Wash Creek Horse Camp, and the Ranger Station area.
They have begun the second phase of their project addressing kudzu on the Davidson River corridor, performing foliar treatments as a follow-up to the cut-stump treatments performed in February as part of a collaborative project with our colleagues at EcoForesters.
With the climbing vines now largely removed from the tree canopy, they can focus treatment on newly emergent ground level growth, making the job easier and more achievable as well as reducing the amount and broadcast area of herbicide during application.
The crew has also been contributing directly to Helene recovery projects, performing pre- and post-construction invasive plant treatments at large project sites involving ground disturbance on the Pisgah.
As these larger reconstruction projects hit the ground, it is crucial that they incorporate non-native invasive species (NNIS) control to prevent new routes of infestation into the forest.
As we know, the prevention of new infestations is key to successful management; there are plenty out there already, and any time we can prevent a potential infestation, it pays off tenfold in the long run.
The crew has been on top of this, with treatments performed at project sites on Avery Creek, Headwaters, and Turkey Pen roads, as well as the English Chapel bridge.
In another bit of exciting news in the context of preventing the spread of invasives, the Pisgah Ranger District just received delivery of a hot steam pressure washer. This piece of equipment will allow the U.S. Forest Service and its partners to properly clean and remove pernicious seeds from equipment used in projects on the District.
Utilizing a diesel heater to introduce high heat into a pressure washing system, this piece of equipment is significantly more effective in rendering potential hitchhiking seeds inert and preventing their spread.
As heavy work ramps up with Helene recovery, this equipment will help keep our mini excavator, trackhauler, and UTVs from inadvertently transporting invasive plant seeds to different locations in the forest and will mitigate the potential for new infestations from this vector.
Pisgah River Rangers Updates
Consistent summer programming is underway with our Pisgah River Rangers program, with the team delivering regular community education, constant watershed stewardship along the Davidson River, and some exciting new programs designed to engage and connect people with their local forests and waterways.
The snorkeling program has been a great success this summer with great community participation, as the Stillwater recreation area has become a unique venue for children and adults alike to begin direct guided exploration of our Southern Appalachian river ecosystems.
If you haven’t yet, be sure to join the Pisgah River Rangers this coming month before they finish their season in early August.
Here’s to a fine July in the Pisgah. Get outside and enjoy! And, as always, many thanks for your continued support of The Pisgah Conservancy and Pisgah National Forest!