Trail Crew Updates
The TPC Trail Crew continued work on Buckhorn Gap trail this month, focusing on sections of trail above and below Clawhammer Road.
On the multi-use section below Clawhammer, the crew utilized our mini-excavator to:
- Repair and improve 76 reverse grade dips
- Fix two sections of significant tread damage where small creeks swollen with Helene’s waters had scoured and pushed debris flows across the trail
They also worked on the short hike-only portion of the trail where they:
- Installed 5 native stone steps at its junction with the multi-use section
- Installed 18 new drains to keep water off the trail, preventing further erosion and future degradation
As part of this work, they also brushed out overgrown sections of the trail, opening up over 1 mile of trail on the western side of Buckhorn Gap.
The crew then began work on the section of multi-use trail to the east of Buckhorn Gap, an old roadbed connecting to South Mills River trail. While relatively little-used recreationally, this section of trail is extremely important logistically for the U.S. Forest Service.
It will serve as the access point for the upcoming suspension bridge replacement project on South Mills River trail at Wolf Ford. It will also provide continued access and a holding line for fire management activities on the District.
As such, our crew has begun heavy brushing on this section utilizing an excavator with a mowing attachment to reopen and widen the corridor. To date, we have completed just under one mile of trail.
With the corridor widened, we will then be able to utilize equipment to widen the trail bed, improve drainage, and prepare the route for contractors to transport materials needed to construct the new bridge at Wolf Ford in the coming years.
This work on Upper Buckhorn, and then the western portion of South Mills River, will continue on-and-off over the next year or so as the U.S. Forest Service gets closer to implementation on the suspension bridge replacement piece.
November will see us shift gears as we bring on 3 seasonal Trail Crew members in late October. Our first and primary focus will be the construction of a new 35-foot trail bridge on Avery Creek trail near its junction with Buckhorn Gap trail, along with associated turnpike construction, trail decommissioning, and streamside restoration.
Thank you to the Transylvania County Tourism Development Authority and Athletic Brewing Company’s Two for the Trails grant program for their generous support of this project!
From there, we will return to Buckhorn Gap trail just above its junction with Twin Falls where we will repair sections of severely entrenched trail through a combination of machine work and the construction of needed trail structures.
Before moving on from trails, I want to extend great thanks to the Back Country Horsemen of Pisgah (BCHP) whose volunteers have spent significant time and effort in the past two months working to clear downed trees on Bradley Creek and Riverside trails in the South Mills River area.
Their work in helping to restore user access to these trails, which were perhaps the most impacted by Helene on the Pisgah Ranger District, has been crucial and is greatly appreciated.
Invasive Plant Management Crew Updates
TPC’s Invasive Plant Management Crew has continued their work treating non-native invasive species (NNIS) infestations along Avery Creek Road and around the Pisgah Forest Stables this month.
They’ve also recently completed efforts to cut NNIS vines by hand near the forest entrance on 276. NNIS vines add excess stress for tree structures, weaken trees by blocking photosynthesis, and can lead to more damage during severe weather events.
They’re also preparing for their initial treatment at Davidson River Campground starting next month in conjunction with the campground’s temporary closure for major capital improvements focused on the campground bathhouses.
The crew’s treatments at the campground will be a major project and a primary focus for the next 6 months as we seek to take advantage of this temporary closure to make significant headway on the labor and time-intensive work involved with the initial treatment of a site of this scale.
In addition to their work managing NNIS on the District, the crew has begun to increase and diversify their role to include additional elements of broader ecosystems stewardship and restoration projects.
Although their primary focus will continue to be the management of NNIS, they will also be working to support more holistic vegetation management focused on delivering benefit to our watersheds and wildlife, including:
- Native plantings
- Livestaking
- Rain garden construction
- Streambank restoration
- Overall watershed stewardship
This is a natural progression that began with our work over the last several months stabilizing and revegetating slides post-Helene. Over the past month, the crew has been instrumental in finalizing plans and a timetable for stream restoration sites on the Yellowstone Prong, a key part of our overall Graveyard Fields project.
They have also worked with the District’s Fisheries Biologist to identify, map, coordinate, and prepare to implement livestaking projects at impacted streamside sites across the District. With the narrow window suitable for livestaking (typically January – February), this preliminary planning work is essential to successful implementation.
In addition, they are working with District staff on a project to repair and improve 8 existing rain gardens that have fallen into disrepair due to lack of maintenance. These rain gardens are essential in protecting watersheds and aquatic habitats adjacent to developed infrastructure as they act to collect runoff and, by slowing and filtering flows, prevent harmful chemical inputs (oil, gas, antifreeze, effluent, sediment, etc.) into key waterways. Waterways that will benefit from this project include North Mills River, Davidson River, Looking Glass Creek, and Bent Creek.
It has always been a primary goal of TPC to provide holistic support to the U.S. Forest Service in managing the Pisgah Ranger District, to be a Swiss army knife of sorts providing direct on-the-ground capacity to assist across the wide variety of program areas through which they serve the public.
I am proud to see our impact grow in both breadth and depth, and I’m excited to see what more our crews can accomplish for the benefit of Pisgah moving forward.
Many thanks for your continued support of The Pisgah Conservancy and Pisgah National Forest!