This Land, Your Land

A plan meant to guide management of the 50,814-acre Uwharrie National Forest for the next 15 years includes the objective of improving an average of 10 combined miles of substandard hiking, bike, horse or OVH trails each year until the maintenance backlog is depleted.

The U.S. Forest Service released the 140-page revised Uwharrie National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan earlier this week. The major themes of the plan are restoring the forest to a more natural ecological condition, managing cultural resources better, and providing outstanding and sustainable outdoor recreation opportunities that include excellent trails and facilities, according to a news release.

The first focus of work pertaining to outdoor recreation will be on "correcting long-standing problems with the trail systems in the Badin Lake Recreation Area to reduce impacts to water quality and cultural resources, and provide a better experience for users of the horse and OHV trails," the plan says. "Another recreation priority is completing the Uwharrie National Recreation Trail as opportunities become available."

The Badin Lake Recreation Area comprises five family-style campgrounds (including a horse camp), and five day use sites that offer access to the 5.6-mile Badin Lake Trail, 17 miles of OHV trails, picnic and swimming areas, a boat ramp and a shooting range.

The 20-mile Uwharrie National Recreation Trail offers a variety of scenery, streams and rocky terrain, and encompasses the 11.5-mile Dutchman's Creek Trail, a loop alternative to the longer footpath.

Improving the trail system is seen as a means of supporting growth of local tourism. The forest serves a growing area with a population of 6 million, and officials expect "more pressure from increasing recreational use in the future compared to other national forests in the region." In the meantime, forest officials hope to encourage more consistent use of existing facilities in the Uwharrie, including on weekdays, the plan says. Some facilities are full on weekends, but remain sparsely used during the week.

When improving trails or mitigating adverse impacts from trails throughout the forest, planners suggest creating loops through reroutes or connectors as a means of improving user experience and safety. "As trails are maintained, existing vistas should be maintained where appropriate to provide long-distance views, and opportunities for new vistas should be considered," the plan says.

The plan also looks at the 5,160-acre Birkhead Mountains Wilderness at the northern end of the forest, and calls for completing one condition assessment of the trails and dispersed campsites in the wilderness area over the course of the planning period. Objectives include developing a site-specific wilderness management guide, an emergency response plan, and a fire plan for the Birkhead Mountains Wilderness.

Other highlights of the plan, taken directly from the news release, include:

  - Restoring 100 acres of longleaf pine trees annually. The longleaf pine tree is native to the piedmont region of North Carolina. These restored acres will add to the Uwharrie National Forest's 3,000 acres of existing longleaf pine.
  - Restoring 200 acres of oak-hickory forests annually.
  - Restoring longleaf pine and oak-hickory forests will result in loblolly pine harvests that support the local economy.
  - Improving diversity and habitats for open woodland species such as the endangered Schweinitz's sunflower through increased use of prescribed fire. Prescribed fire is also critical for restoration and maintenance of longleaf pine woodlands.
  - Requiring equestrians and mountain bikers to stay on designated trails, after an initial collaborative trail-system design phase. Off-highway vehicles are currently restricted to designated trails. This will promote forest health by reducing erosion and sedimentation in streams as well as the impacts to rare species and archeological sites.
  - Sustaining stream systems and protecting water quality and aquatic biodiversity, including a goal to reintroduce endangered aquatic species. New standards for trails and an objective for road closures would reduce the potential for stream sedimentation from these sources.
  - Recognizing 34 unique or rare botanical, geological, archeological and/or recreational sites for special management of their rare attributes.
  - Mitigating vulnerability to a changing climate by restoring resilient native ecosystems including longleaf pine and oak-hickory forests, and reduce existing stresses like non-native species.

"People who work, play, or live in or near the Uwharrie NF were invited to participate in a series of public meetings and field trips," to help develop the management plan, the plan document says. Some who responded were interested primarily in conservation of native ecosystems, while others see the forest as a place to enjoy the variety of recreation available. Some look for ways the forest can provide economic benefits to local communities.

"It is a challenge to provide the kind of experience recreationists want while minimizing impacts to other forest resources and other forest users," the plan says.

The plan takes effect in about 30 days. An appeals process is outlined here (.pdf).

The annual Mother's Day weekend waterfall tour at DuPont State Recreational Forest is set for Saturday, May 12, and Sunday, May 13.

The 12-mile shuttle bus tour visits the forest's four most scenic sites: Triple Falls (below), High Falls, Bridal Veil Falls and Lake Julia. Visitors can get off and on buses at each stop. The tour takes three hours or longer, depending on how much time is spent at each stop.

"Tour de Falls is intended to provide families and those with limited hiking abilities a chance to see the beauty of DuPont Forest and some of the most spectacular waterfalls in the Southeast via shuttle buses," a news release says.

Buses will be available at the High Falls Access Area, 1300 Staton Road, Cedar Mountain (N35E11.356', W082E 37.425'), approximately every 40 minutes from 9 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

The 10,400-acre forest straddles the Transylvania/Henderson county line.

Volunteers on the buses and at each stop will provide information about the area's history and efforts to protect the forest's historical and natural resources.

Light refreshments will be available in the lodge overlooking Lake Julia, the last stop on the tour. Otherwise, visitors should bring water and snacks; there are no food concessions. Triple Falls and High Falls have covered shelters with picnic tables.

A donation of $6 for ages 6 to 17 and $12 for ages 18 and older is requested.

Friends of DuPont Forest, a non-profit organization that works with the state Forest Service and Department of Agriculture to "enrich the recreational experience and preserve the natural resources" in the forest, sponsors the tour each spring.

The Friends initiated a fall version of the tour last September.

Click on the photo of Triple Falls for more information about DuPont State Recreational Forest.

Goose Creek State Park's group campsite, below, is closed until further notice as a well serving the site is replaced by county water lines, Park Superintendent John Fullwood said yesterday.

The state parks website has a simple alert saying the group campground, which is usually open from mid-March through late November, is closed until further notice.

Fullwood said the last quarterly test sample from the site's well came back positive for bacteria. "We are working to run county water to this area of the park to supply a safe water source, and hopefully it will be completed by early June," he said in an email.

The walk-in group site accommodates up to 30 people. Parking and flush toilets are across the street. Goose Creek also has 19 walk-in primitive camping sites for tents.

Goose Creek State Park is about 10 miles east of Washington off of U.S. 264 in Beaufort County.

Group camping at Goose Creek State Park is suspended while a waterline is put in place.

The Arrowood Glade picnic area off U.S. 64 and Wayah Road near Franklin in the Nantahala National Forest may be closed because of lack of use, the U.S. Forest Service said in a news release today.

"Over the years, use of the Arrowood Glade picnic area has fallen off to the point where it is no longer viable for the agency to continue operating the facility as it has in the past," Nantahala District Ranger Mike Wilkins says in the release. "The Forest Service is considering re-opening the area to small groups, on a reservation-only basis for a fee, but we also want to hear ideas from the public and preferences for use of the aging facility."

The roadside attraction has fallen into disrepair in recent years, mostly due to a backlog of deferred maintenance. It was to open April 1 but remains closed. If the Forest Service decides to open the picnic area, "repairs to the bathrooms and other features will be considered," the release says.

The picnic area is a few miles east of Wayah Bald, a well-known day use site with a historic fire tower that provides panoramic views of the Smoky and Unicoi mountains, and picnic grounds.

If you have ideas or comments, mail them by June 15 to Wilkins at: Nantahala Ranger District, 90 Sloan Road, Franklin, NC 28734.

A spectacular late-spring showing of fireflies in Great Smoky Mountains National Park has become so popular a tourist attraction that the park will require reservations for visitors to see it beginning this year.

Each June, thousands of the Photinus carolinus, a firefly species that flashes synchronously, appear for a week or so near the Elkmont Campground. Last year, more than 7,000 people rode the shuttles required since 2005 from the Sugarlands Visitor Center parking area to Elkmont to view the fireflies, a park news release says.

This year, because people have begun to crowd the parking lot early each afternoon while awaiting the evening shuttles, visitors will need a ticket to board a shuttle. Tickets will have staggered arrival and boarding times to relieve congestion.

The firefly viewing this year is from Saturday, June 2, through Sunday, June 10.

Tickets - parking passes - are available through recreation.gov for $1.50 and cover a maximum of six people in a single passenger vehicle (less than 19 feet long). "Four passes for oversize vehicles, like a mini bus (19 to 30 feet in length and up to 24 persons), will also be available," the release says.

"Parking passes may also be obtained by calling 1-877-444-6777, but Park officials strongly encourage the use of the online process, because it provides far more information to visitors about what to expect when they arrive at the Park," the release says.

Shuttle rides, provided by the city of Gatlinburg, begin at 7 p.m. each evening and cost another $1 (the same as previous years), which will be collected onboard. The park says it makes no money from this event; the reservation fee covers costs.

For those who are late to hear about the new reservation system, 25 parking passes for each evening will be made available online at 10 a.m. the day before the event until 3:30 p.m. the day of the event, or until they run out.

The Forest Service announced the completion of a parking lot and the opening of the Catawba Falls area to the public this week.

Catawba Falls, a 100-foot lower and 70-foot upper falls on the Catawba River near Old Fort in the Pisgah National Forest, was acquired by the Foothills Conservancy in 2005 and 2007 after 20 years of work. The Forest Service bought the 88-acre tract in 2010.

The parking lot provides visitors easy access to the scenic waterway, the Forest Service news release says. Get directions to the area and more information about the waterfalls here.

Fort Macon State Park, home to the Civil War fortress located near Atlantic Beach, installed two new replica cannons this week, bringing to three the number of guns built for the park in a partnership between the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation and Wayne County Community College.

"The cannons will be star attractions later this month when the fort holds several events commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Fort Macon, when Union forces took the fort," the Carteret County News-Times said Wednesday.

The cannons, known as "32-pounders" because of the size of the shell they fire, are 20-foot-long, 4,200-pound replica weapons made with aluminum carriages instead of wooden bases, which quickly rot in the salted sea air. The first of three made was acquired in December 2010, and the park demonstrated its first working cannon the following month.

Commemorative events on April 21 and 22 will include a night cannonade at 8 p.m. Saturday re-enacting the continuous artillery fire that dispersed Federal soldiers who had been spotted on the beach, the News-Times said.

The cannons will be fired again at 10 a.m. on April 23 and 24, then at 4 p.m. on April 25, which is the actual anniversary of the Battle of Fort Macon.

Weekend events will also include flag talks, Civil War music, Civil War uniform talks, musket firing demonstrations, drills and children's activities put on by reenactors portraying soldiers of the North and South, according to the parks Web page (search with "April 2012" here for an event schedule).

The National Forest Service said today it is closing 12 campsites at its Mortimer Campground near Colletsville in Pisgah National Forest because of repeated flooding. Eleven other sites at the campground will remain open.

The campground is on Thorpe Creek near the Wilson Creek National Wild & Scenic River recreation area. The campground has showers and bathrooms, a picnic pavilion, hiking trails, and access to fishing. About 800 people stay at the campground annually, according to a news release.

Sites 1 to 11 on the lower loop and one of the walk-in sites will be closed. Three walk-in campsites near the picnic pavilion, and sites 12 to 19 will be open on a first come, first-served basis this season.

"It is well known that the Mortimer area has a long history of flooding," John Crockett, Grandfather District ranger, said in the news release. "In fact, the flood of 1940 leveled the town of Mortimer.

"I cannot, in good conscience, continue to allow visitors to stay in the lower portion of Mortimer Campground knowing that it's just a matter of time before another major flood hits the area."

The Wilson Creek corridor, a major access to Mortimer Campground, has had a history of recent flooding with several swift-water rescues for campers and residents along the Brown Mountain Beach Road, the news release says.

The views at Great Smoky Mountains National Park will get better this summer as park officials embark on "the first major vista-clearing initiative in decades."

Trees are to be cut from 34 of the most popular roadside vistas along the Park's main roads between April 1 and August 1, a news release says.

As the park has concentrated on forest renewal over the last 75 years, what were once scenic views have gradually become obscured. Meanwhile, "viewing scenery - scenic views" always tops surveys when park visitors are asked what they have planned for their stay.

The park plans to develop a seven-year cycle for thinning trees and leave lower-growing or shrubby species, like rhododendron and mountain laurel, uncut so they will eventually discourage the growth of taller trees.

No roads will be closed for the work, but affected overlooks will be closed as trees are cut down and trimmed.

Overlooks along these roads are slated for work:

* Newfound Gap Road.
* Clingmans Dome Road.
* East and West Foothills Parkway.
* Gatlinburg Bypass.
* Rich Mountain Road.
* Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail.
* Lakeview Drive.
* Cataloochee Road.

Off-highway vehicle trails in Uwharrie National Forest will open Friday, a couple of days earlier than scheduled, to accommodate riders for the full weekend of a local OHV expo, the National Forest Service said today.

The Badin Lake OHV Trail Complex comprises four trail systems covering 17 miles of the national forest near Badin Lake. Their normal season runs April 1 to December 15.

The Uwharrie OHV Jamboree will take place March 30 to April 1 at Scott Fields' Uwharrie Off-Road Training Center on N.C. 109 north of Troy in Eldorado. The free-admission event features vehicle dealers, parts stores, OHV clubs, a swap meet and much more, a Forest Service news release says.

The Forest Service expects the event to attract a large crowd to the area and the forest's OHV trails, the release says.

Uwharrie National Forest campgrounds are filling up as of Tuesday, but camping will be offered at the jamboree site.