Happy September from our crew!
Your donations and license plate purchases help all of us at The Pisgah Conservancy continue our work to meet the greatest needs of the forest.
Keep reading to see the impact you’ve helped make, what’s coming up, and how you can get involved.
Highlights in this month’s newsletter:
- The Pisgah Project Bike Raffle is back! See the bike and get your tickets here.
- Volunteer with us this weekend for National Public Lands Day. Space is limited – see event details and register here.
- Significant trail improvements on Cat Gap Loop and Pink Beds Connector
- Invasive plant removal begins along Wash Creek Road
- RFP announcement: South Mills River Trail repairs
- Upper Falls Connector Trail construction in Graveyard Fields nears the finish line
Trails we’ve worked on in the past month:
- Cat Gap Loop Trail
- Pink Beds Connector
- Andy Cove Nature Trail
- Deer Lake Lodge Trail (removal of a large hazard tree from the trail corridor)
- Second Falls (Graveyard Fields)
- Sycamore Cove Loop
Trail Crew highlights
Over the past month, our Trail Crew has focused on the Cat Gap Loop and Pink Beds Connector trails, relocating sections of damaged and deteriorating trail and performing general trail improvements.
Cat Gap Loop Trail: Our crew finished an approximately 1,000-foot relocation of the trail just above its upper junction with John Rock trail. Those familiar with this trail will recall that this section of trail is a straight, steep fall-line gully that eroded a deep trench into the landscape.
Continuing on work begun by hardworking members of the Carolina Mountain Club, the crew closed out the old trail and hand-constructed a new section of trail with a more sustainable grade that allows for positive drainage across its entirety.
After completing this work, we moved several hundred feet downtrail to construct a series of large rock steps at an eroding drop-off in the trail to solidify the trail tread and provide for better user passage.
Pink Beds Connector Trail: Situated alongside South Mills River, this trail suffered direct damage from Helene, with short sections of the trail washed away by high waters. To address this damage and prevent potential future impacts, our crew hand-built 3 new sections of trail relocated up and away from the riverbanks.
With these relocations complete, our crew is now beginning construction of a 14-foot-long, footlog-style trail bridge and will return later this Fall to install another, larger trail bridge on this connector trail.
In the meantime, we are beginning work on Cove Creek and Caney Bottom trails.
Ecological Restoration Crew highlights
Our Ecological Restoration Crew made great headway this past month in their continuing invasive plant management efforts.
Initial treatments have been completed along Headwaters Road and its many spurs, where our crew identified and treated significant stands of kudzu and Japanese Spirea. They also completed a second year of treatments on kudzu infestations along the Davidson River corridor. Follow-up and continued maintenance are crucial to effective invasive plant control and are core to our invasive plant management philosophy.
With this work complete, our crew is moving over to the North Mills River Watershed to begin initial invasive plant treatments along Wash Creek Road using cut-stem methods to tackle thick infestations of mature autumn olive and other woody-stemmed invasives.
Pisgah River Rangers program highlights
Earlier this month, we said goodbye to Pisgah River Ranger interns Pen and Emma, who stayed on board to continue stewardship and education through Labor Day. With this extended program staffing, the Pisgah River Rangers hosted an additional public snorkeling program, more fish printing, and another Nature Journaling program!
Thanks to their hard work, stewardship impact numbers for the season have increased to:
- 1,875 pounds of trash removed
- 98 fire rings in sensitive riparian habitat removed
- 68 rock dams removed
The Pisgah River Rangers and Forest Service Fisheries Biologist Ivanna Knox have also hosted eight public snorkel programs with 117 total attendees. These free programs educate the public about our unique river ecosystems.
In the final month of the program season, the Pisgah River Rangers crew worked with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, Pisgah Trout Unlimited, Conserving Carolina, The Nature Conservancy, other partners, and volunteers to plant 1,000 nursery-raised Water Willow plants along the North Mills River.
They also supported Mills River Parks and Recreation at the grand reopening of the Mills River Blue Ridge Snorkel Trail site, where attendees got to snorkel, dip net, and learn about the amazing freshwater fish at this site.
Major project update: Upper Falls Connector Trail
Work on the Upper Falls Connector trail in Graveyard Fields is expected to conclude in early October. With trail tread construction and ford construction largely complete, boardwalk construction has begun with abutments set, stringer superstructures placed and fastened, and decking and curbing ready for installation.
The construction team will continue with bridge and boardwalk construction before working their way back out, fine-tuning the trail and installing rock armoring at select locations as they go.
Thank you to the supporters of TPC’s Graveyard Fields Fund and the Upper Falls Connector Project, including the Lastinger Family Foundation, Visit Haywood, Fernandez Pave the Way Foundation, Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, and the Community Foundation of Henderson County – Perry N. Rudnick Endowment.
Click here to learn more about the Upper Falls Connector Trail project.
Major Project Update: South Mills River Trail
We are excited to announce a Request-for-Proposals (RFP) for trail repairs on South Mills River Trail.
Beginning from Turkey Pen Gap Trailhead, this project consists of:
- Trail maintenance, trail widening, trail relocation, and armored ford construction on the first 4 miles of South Mills River Trail to its intersection with Cantrell Creek Trail
- New construction/relocation of a .25-mile segment of Bradley Creek Trail
Repair and improvements to these trails are crucial components of Hurricane Helene recovery on the Pisgah Ranger District that will provide more resilient trail infrastructure and allow reliable access for upcoming Forest Service contract work to replace 3 destroyed suspension bridges in the area.
Any professional trail builders who are interested in receiving the full RFP package for this project should request it by email at [email protected].
Join us for National Public Lands Day
We are hosting our first-ever event on National Public Lands Day this Saturday, September 26th!
National Public Lands Day has been celebrated since 1994, marking the 4th Saturday of September as the nation’s largest single-day volunteer event for public lands.
Our event features 9 different projects covering trail maintenance, invasive plant removal, and Ranger Station garden improvements.
Event details and registration: https://pisgahconservancy.org/event/national-public-lands-day-with-tpc/
The 2026 Pisgah Project Bike Raffle is here!
We are proud to announce the return of the Pisgah Project Bike Raffle. Now in its tenth consecutive year, the fundraiser continues its mission: to help improve and maintain Pisgah National Forest. See the full build details and purchase tickets here: https://bit.ly/4AbTRpP
The 2026 Pisgah Project Raffle Bike features a hand-built steel Hall Pass frame from REEB Cycles. Paired with Cane Creek Cycling Components’ HELM suspension fork and eeWing Titanium cranks, an Industry Nine carbon wheelset, and a carefully selected lineup of components from premium partners, this bike is built to explore Pisgah’s backroads and beyond — with durability, performance, and purpose at its core.
Whether you’re in it for the ride, the cause, or both, the 2026 Pisgah Project Bike Raffle offers a chance to win a one-of-a-kind backcountry machine and give back to the forest that makes it all possible. The winner will also receive a two-night stay at Pilot Cove!
Every ticket supports a healthier, more sustainable Pisgah. Don’t miss your chance to ride the unbeaten path.
Thank you to REEB Cycles, Cane Creek Cycling Components, Industry Nine, FOX Factory, Thomson, Wilderness Trail Bikes, RaceFace, Rockgeist, Pilot Cove, Stoker’s Studio, and Bikepacking.com for their generous support!
Staff update: Hailey Dansby, Community Outreach Coordinator
As the Pisgah River Rangers 2026 program season comes to an official close, we are thrilled to share that Hailey Dansby is now a year-round member of our team! After two incredible seasons as our Lead River Ranger, Hailey is now our full-time Community Outreach Coordinator. We are grateful for the passion and creativity Hailey will bring to this brand new role, and we are excited to expand our impact in the community.
Annual red spruce restoration meeting
In mid-September, members of our Ecological Restoration Crew attended the annual Southern Appalachian Spruce Restoration Initiative (SASRI) meeting at Roan Mountain State Park, where they learned about red spruce restoration efforts in the region.
Red spruce restoration is essential for conservation of rare high-elevation habitat that is home to endangered species like the Spruce Fir Moss Spider and Carolina Northern Flying Squirrel.
Attendees learned from Roan Mountain’s collaborative post-Helene restoration efforts, which provided valuable insights into TPC projects looking to restore habitat at sites like Graveyard Fields, Black Balsam, and Sam Knob in collaboration with the NC Wildlife Resources Commission.
Event recap: NC Hellbender Festival
Our Pisgah River Ranger crew traveled to Spruce Pine to join Forest Service Biologist Ivanna Knox and Appalachian Ranger District staff at the second annual NC Hellbender Festival. The festival brings conservation organizations, artisans, and salamander enthusiasts together to celebrate these imperiled animals with amazing adaptations.
Event recap: September’s Plants & Pints talk
September also saw Ecological Restoration Crew co-Lead Will Coffee and Lead River Ranger Hailey Dansby present a Plants & Pints talk on watershed health and aquatic insects in Pisgah.
More than 85 folks joined us at Oskar Blues Brewery to learn about native riparian plants and bugs and their ecosystem services.
Thanks to all who came out!