Workshop helps woodland landowners better steward their forest

By the numbers

• 83% of forested land in North Carolina is privately owned • 69% of forestland in the western 23 counties is privately owned • 55% of all land in the western 23 counties is privately owned forest • 25% of all land in the western 23 counties is publicly owned forest • 20% of all land in the western 23 counties is not forested • 39% of all forest in the U.S. is owned by families, the largest of any ownership group • 29% of all forest in the U.S. is owned by the federal government

Source: U.S. Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis National Program and EcoForesters analysis of public data

A trailbuilding crew pulls back a mat

of leaves and roots. Pat Barcas photo

Private land, public impact

Workshop series helps woodland landowners better steward their forest

BY HOLLY KAYS OUTDOORS EDITOR

Usually, talk around conservation and forest management focuses on big chunks of public land like the Pisgah-Nantahala National Forest and Great Smoky Mountains National Park, not smaller parcels of private acreage. According to Lang Hornthal, co-executive director of the nonprofit EcoForesters, that needs to change — added together, those smaller parcels cover enormous swaths of land.

“In Western North Carolina almost 70% of forests are privately owned, so if we expect to have an impact on a landscape scale, we really need to engage this landowner base,” Hornthal said.

That’s just what Hornthal and his organization will attempt to do in a series of landowner workshops planned to impact 16 WNC counties over the next three to four years. The next one, targeted to landowners in Jackson and Swain counties, will take place 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28, at Southwestern Community College in Sylva.

Offered in partnership with Jackson County Cooperative Extension, the N.C. Forest Service and the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the program will start with a brief overview of the history and current state of WNC forests and the threats they face. Then the discussion will turn toward what healthy forests look like and how landowners can benefit from forest management planning. Speakers from Extension and the NCFS will present, and the agenda will include opportunities for landowners to speak one-on-one with forestry professionals, asking questions specific to their land and situation.

Nearly all public lands are required to undergo some form of land management planning, and while land trusts do not have any such requirement, the conservation easements that constitute their main conservation tool also act as a plan. Private landowners don’t have to create a management plan, and many of them don’t.

“Most don’t have a forest stewardship budget at all, and those that do, it’s never adequate,” Hornthal said. “That’s no fault of the landowner. That’s just how it has always been.”

But planning and active management are vital to maintaining forest health and protecting woodlands from the increasing threats they face. Development, climate change and the ongoing march of invasive species and diseases have already taken a heavy toll on North American forests, and these challenges aren’t going away anytime soon.

“I think there’s a predominant view that nature will always take care of itself,” Hornthal said. “And while I think that natural systems are very resilient and capable of doing so, humans have really kind of put some mud in the gears of their ability to do so. Given the pace of development and climate change and invasive species, nature is not able to recover like it normally would.”

Hornthal said EcoForesters’ goal is to help landowners take the next step in better managing their land, meeting them where they are in their land F

The EcoForesters crew enjoys a five-star view during a day on

the job. Pat Barcas photo

management journey. For some people, that first step might be simply learning about why forest planning is important. For others who are further down the path, it might be getting help writing a plan or learning where to find funding to help them implement an existing plan.

Because most forest landowners fall into older age groups, Hornthal said, there’s likely to be considerable turnover of forest ownership in the coming years — making planning efforts on private land even more important.

“If a landowner has a plan, and they either die or decide to hand down or sell their property, if they are able hand that new owner a plan the odds are that they are going to keep it like it is and make better decisions,” he said.

Good forest management is important not only for the specific piece of land in question, but also for the landscape as a whole. Quality habitat on private land can complement other types of habitat on nearby public land, and help provide corridors for wildlife species to move between conserved areas. Invasive species can also move between tracts, so preventing infestation on private land protects nearby public land, and vice versa.

This type of landscape-scale restoration will be EcoForesters’ focus over the next three years as it seeks to implement a $500,000 grant it received last year from the U.S. Forest Service’s State and Private Forestry Landscape Scale Restoration grant program. Through the grant, EcoForesters will work to implement goals in the N.C. Forest Action Plan, which identifies several rural areas in Western North Carolina as forest stewardship priorities. The project will fund planning and restoration for private landowners, help them gain access to cost-share funds and offer technical assistance.

The effort includes three separate project areas: the Sandy Mush project area in Buncombe, Madison and Haywood counties; the Cherokee project area on the Qualla Boundary and surrounding private lands in Jackson, Swain and Macon counties; and the Foothills project in McDowell, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba and Rutherford counties.

EcoForesters offered forest landowners workshops like the one coming up on Jan. 28 prior to receiving the grant, offering two such workshops each year before the Coronavirus Pandemic. However, the goal of the workshops fits cleanly with the goal of the grant, and EcoForesters expects to increase both total participation and the total number of events compared to the status quo prior to 2020. Hornthal said there will be “at least three” offered in 2023, with the next one likely to take place somewhere in the Foothills project area.

By the end of the three-year grant period ending June 30, 2025, EcoForesters aims to reach 20,000 landowners, with 5,000 of those “significantly engaged” in the forest planning process. It’s targeting 5,000 acres under new or revised forest management plans and 2,000 acres of forest stand improvement restoration. In addition, the nonprofit aims to achieve 1,000 acres of non-native invasive species control

“It’s exciting,” Hornthal said. “This is going to allow us to do a lot of the things we were already doing and have already proven to be important, just a little larger landscape and hopefully get more accomplished.”

Don’t live with pain, we have solutions.

Calling all forest landowners

A forest landowner workshop coming 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28, at Southwestern Community College in Sylva will give landowners a chance to learn principles and resources for stewarding their forest.

The nonprofit EcoForesters is offering the workshop in partnership with Jackson County Extension, the N.C. Forest Service and the Natural Resources Conservation Service, with sessions to cover how forests have become degraded over time and what can be done to restore them. Landowners will receive access to professionals, maps of their forest and information on cost share funding in a casual setting. Subjects will include information about forest management resources, tax incentives for forest management, cultivating non-timber forest products and how to enroll forests in carbon markets.

Free, with lunch provided, thanks to funding from the U.S. Forest Service Landscape Scale Restoration Grant. Snow date is Feb. 4. Register at ecoforesters.org/outreach-events.

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Joshua Johnson has been hired as the new lands specialist for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The Lands Office administers the park’s land protection program, which includes assessing land acquisition and protection matters; issuing rights-of-way and lands special use permits; maintaining park boundary markers; and working with park neighbors to address possible boundary encroachment concerns. The park shares 443 miles of boundary with more than 2,000 neighbors in Tennessee and North Carolina.

“Ensuring the protection of lands set aside for the public is a huge responsibility and I’m pleased to welcome Josh to oversee the program,” said Smokies Superintendent Cassius Cash. “The Lands Office is one of the most important and complex operations here at the park and Josh is uniquely qualified to lead it.”

A native Tennessean, Johnson holds a bachelor’s degree from Tusculum College in Greenville, Tennessee and has previously worked as a licensed real estate agent and GIS specialist.

Register for the Business of Farming Conference

The 20th annual Business of Farming Conference is coming up Saturday, Feb. 11, at the A-B Tech Conference Center in Buncombe County.

The conference focuses on the business side of farming, offering beginning and established farmers financial, legal, operational and marketing tools to improve farm businesses and make professional connections. Farmers and specialists will lead more than a dozen workshops, including seven new ones. These include “Intro to Land Access,” guidance for new or expanding farm businesses on buying or leasing land; “Planning for Long-term Farm Success,” strategies for improving quality of life as a farmer and plan for retirement; and “Farm Resiliency,” drawing from peer farmer experiences to prepare for and recover from adverse weather events.

The popular Grower-Buyer Meeting, in which farmers meet with chefs, grocers, wholesalers and other buyers to discuss their products and potential business relationships, will be held at lunchtime. Other networking opportunities include one-on-one sessions and an exhibitor hall. Embedded within the conference is the Farmers Market Summit, a chance for farmers market managers from across the region to come together for peersharing, technical assistance support and annual planning.

Organized by the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project. Register at asapconnections.org. Cost is $75 by Jan. 15 before rising to $95, with a discount for farm partners registering together and scholarships for limitedresource and BIPOC farmers. Cost includes locally sourced breakfast and lunch.

Meet the birds and trails of winter

Come out of hibernation to go hiking and birding this January with Haywood County Recreation. ■ A birding trip at 10 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 15, at Lake Junaluska will explore Western North Carolina’s premier birdwatching location; led by Kevin Burke. ■ Hike the Pink Beds loop on Sunday, Jan. 22. Located in the Transylvania County portion of the Pisgah National Forest; the hike is about 5 miles. ■ Explore Big East Fork and Shining Creek Saturday, Jan. 28, with a 4-5-mile hike in the Pisgah National Forest in Haywood County.

Sign up for any activity at haywoodcountync.gov/recreation.

Tie your own flies

Learn the art of Southern Appalachian fly tying with an eight-week course taught by local expert Ray Sugg.

Class will be held 6-8 p.m. Mondays Jan. 23 to March 13 at the Folkmoot Center in Waynesville. Offered through Haywood County Recreation, the course costs $30 for instruction, supplies and equipment. Sign up at haywoodcountync.gov/recreation.

Name the plants of winter

Learn about winter trees and mosses with a pair of upcoming full-day programs at Alarka Institute in Cowee. ■ On Saturday, Sept. 28, Alarka owners Brent and Angela Martin will lead a hike sharing techniques for identifying trees in wintertime. After spending the morning learning how to key twigs, the group will lead lunch and then take a walk in the woods to learn other tricks and techniques. The day will end with a cozy fire, beverages and toasted vegan marshmallows. ■ On Saturday, Feb. 4, botanist Ed Schwartzman will lead a winter workshop on mosses, which provide homes for countless invertebrate species and are the best erosion mitigators around.

Email blueyodel32@gmail.com to ask about discounts on the $65 price for each session. Sign up at alarkaexpeditions.com.

Brent Martin.

File photo

Smokies road closed for boulder installation

Cherokee Orchard Road and associated trailheads in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park are closed through Friday, Jan. 13, while crews install boulders along the road shoulders and remove hazard trees.

During this time, Twin Creeks Trail will be closed and there will be no access to Rainbow Falls and Trillium Gap trailheads from either Cherokee Orchard Road or Twin Creeks Trail.

The boulder placement is part of a larger project prevent roadside parking at popular trailheads. Vehicle parking on shoulders obstructs traffic flow and creates blind spots, causing safety hazards for visitors walking to or from their vehicles. It also impacts adjacent habitats, damages road edges, causes erosion and delays emergency response.

Families can visit Cataloochee Ski Area in Maggie Valley for a reduced cost on non-holiday Wednesdays starting Jan. 11.

On Family Days, a child 17 or under can receive a free lift ticket when accompanied by a parent who buys a full-price adult day lift ticket. This offer is not valid with any other program or discount, and regular rental and lesson rates apply.

For more information visit cataloochee.com.

A family enjoys a day on the slopes.

Cataloochee Ski Area photo Breathe, relax, and take in nature in this completely renovated 3 bed 2 bath pet friendly vacation home.

Enjoy being less than a mile form Dillsboro this little town loaded with local restaurants, shops, breweries, fishing, family friendly white water river trips and the Great Smokey Mountain Expressway train stop.

Book online at: cedarcoveretreat.com

Adventure safely

Be prepared in case something goes awry on your next outdoor excursion with a class offered 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28, at REI in Asheville.

Wilderness Survival: Ten Essentials will cover the 10 essentials for outdoor adventure and their practical applications. Participants will also learn about emergency priorities, how to make an emergency shelter, how to locate and access drinking water, and how to start a fire. This class is designed for anyone who spends time outside and wants to build their confidence with outdoor skills.

Cost is $79. The course will repeat Saturday, Feb. 25, and Sunday, March 26. Sign up at rei.com/events.

Set your racing goal for 2023

It’s not too early to start training for a big race in 2023, with race organizer Glory Hound Events already announcing several dates on its calendar this year. ■ The inaugural Land and Lake Relay will be held Saturday, March 4. This 63-mile race is set up for four-person and six-person teams, starting at Warren Wilson College in east Asheville and finishing at Fonta Flora Brewing at Lake James. Registration is limited to 60 teams. ■ The 16th annual Asheville Catholic School Shamrock 5K/10K will return Saturday, March 11, benefiting the O’Brien and William Edward Gibbs Memorial Scholarship Fund. Both races sold out last year, so early registration is encouraged. ■ The Gateway to the Smokies Half Marathon will return to its scenic course and festive start and finish in downtown Waynesville Saturday, April 1. The race will run alongside the Mighty 4-Miler to benefit the Riley Howell Foundation Fund. ■ The Fire Mountain Inferno will take place Saturday and Sunday, April 22-23, at the Fire Mountain Trails in Cherokee. The event will feature two days of enduro downhill racing. ■ The Strawberry Jam Half Marathon and 5K will return for its second year Saturday, May 20, at Darnell Farm in Bryson City. ■ The Lake Logan Multisport Festival is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 56, in Haywood County. This triathlon event will offer a choice of three races, a wetsuitlegal swim and the chance to see a bald eagle fly overhead.

For more information or to register, visit gloryhoundevents.com.

The Gateway to the Smokies Half Marathon.

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