Trail trees found by Mountain Stewards

near the sacred Kituhwa

Mound.

Cherokee Trails Project Uncovers Lost Cherokee Town

Protecting Forests for Lifewww.wildsouth.org (828) 258-2667

Spring/Summer 2010

Additional Discovery of Trails and 1837 Government Spy Mission

“Trails of the Middle, Valley and Out Town Cherokee Settlements” is a partner project of The Mountain Stewards and Wild South that aims to document the historic native trails that connect Western Northern Carolina.

The project is being finalized for pre-sentation to the Cherokee Preservation Foundation who funded the project and the Tribal Heritage Preservation Office who will manage the distribution and access to the work.

The project is multi-functional. The trails mapped across North Carolina’s Nantahala National Forest will mandate the U.S. Forest Service to protect and restore the histori-cal context of Cherokee trail corridors. The project also contains great potential for increased regional heritage tourism. Yet, while the project will yield very rare records and documents, they will not be made avail-able to the public because of their archaeo-logical, sacred or sensitive nature.

Most importantly, our work has intro-duced us to traditional Cherokee speakers who help us to gain a better understanding of the Cherokee worldview and the ecologi-

ply wagons could not cross. Once those trails were widened for trade and traders, the British Trojan Horse was established.

Today, we have a documented, expand-able base of intriguing Cherokee geography that can be used to teach children and design outdoor field trips. Fifteen major trails have been documented and mapped from the Balsams, Great Smoky, Blue Ridge, and Unaka Mountains.

During the process of researching thousands of maps and records, we uncov-ered some previously lost historical places and trails. “Tillinoah Old Town” has been identified as being on the upper headwa-ters of the Tuckasegee River. According to the Cherokee, the entire corridor of the Tuckasegee River had special significance in regards to their ancient legends about the area between the Balsam Mountains and Toxaway area.

This Tuckasegee corridor crossed the Blue Ridge near Cashiers and connected to the Lower Cherokee Towns including Keowee and the site of Fort Prince George. We found that a Lower Cherokee named Black Fox had a hunting camp on the Blue Ridge near Great Hogback Mountain. In addition, we discovered the first histori-cal reference to the Cowee Path following Green’s Creek.

Don Wells (left) and Robert Wells (right) of partner Mountain Stewards with Tom Belt (center), Cherokee

Language Revitalization Program talk trails.

“ The passes of the mountains will be noted and located by a judicious description, the character of the roads or trails by reference to their capability to serve the purposes of transportation designating those on the sketch that may serve as footpaths only, or as adaptable to which of whatever kind.”

~ Captain W. G. Williams, U.S. Army, 1837

cal paradise that was and is the greatest asset of Western North Carolina. The Cherokee language is the key to understanding the economy and philosophy of a life-style that was much different than that which evolved in Europe.

These Cherokee trails played a critical role in the European and Anglo-European’s idea of “Manifest Destiny.” The British saw it as the “American Canaan,” or European “Promised Land.” For thousands of years, the heart of the Cherokee Nation was a stronghold safely hidden beyond walls of high, barrier mountains accessible only by narrow trails that armies depending on sup-

SPYING on the CHEROKEE

Our research turned up some sensa-tional and previously unanalyzed history regarding Cherokee Removal. In 1837, the U.S. Army Topographical Engineers set up a base of covert operations to spy on the Cherokee Nation in preparation for removal.

The Army sent three undercover sur-veying teams to map the trails and mark out wagon roads for military use. They were to keep “voluminous notes” on everything they encountered, however trivial it might seem. They wrote down everything they saw or could find out about the Cherokees.

The Army wanted to know how many warriors could be assembled, where Indian houses were located, and whether the Cherokees were inclined to resist removal. It was proposed that special agents be sent into the “nation” to buy up all their corn “at any price” so they could starve them if they resisted being removed.

by Lamar Marshall, Wild South Cultural Heritage Director

At Wild South, we are stewards of that home, guardians and protectors of our forests. As a grassroots forest protection organization, we aim to get as many people as possible to join us in the work of preserving the legacy of our National Forests. Without our members, donors and volunteers, we could not do the work that needs doing. We depend on the financial support of many individuals and foun-dations. The contributions of time, effort, goods and services of our part-ners and volunteers are invaluable.

When we tend the health of our forests, we tend our human health by fostering the connection with our pri-meval home. That connection is where the work of forest protection begins. Whether it’s a hike in the woods, a birding trip to add another species to our life list, a dip into a secluded swim-ming hole on a hot July day, or just a few moments of solitude and stillness, by getting out there and into the for-est we learn to value what these wild places provide. If you’re like us, the more you get out there, the more you love it and want to share it.

By joining us on our educational hikes, volunteering for our various Helping Hands projects and getting involved in our conservation initiatives, you can help to improve the quality of our national legacy for everyone. Wild South offers plenty of ways to get folks out into the woods:

Wild WalksFrom hardwood forest ridge tops down

into the creek-carved depths of sandstone canyons, Wild South hikers explore the amazingly diverse natural and cultural his-tory that abides in the Bankhead National Forest (AL). To help our members and the public learn more about their forests on public lands and how they can help protect them, Wild South staff and volunteers lead hikes for adults and children in the Bankhead the first and last Saturdays of every month.

Rare plants, ancient eastern hem-lock forest, rock shelters used by Native Americans, wildlife of forest and stream, busted-up still sites and iron-laced sand-stone bluffs are some of the fascinating features of our Bankhead hikes. Instructors with interests such as geology, botany, medicinal plants and photography are invited to lead special hikes and workshops throughout the year.

Trail MaintenanceTrail work is a satisfying combination

of hiking, manual labor and camaraderie. As part of our Helping Hands volunteer program, Wild South contracts with the Bankhead District of the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to maintain two hiking trails in the Sipsey Wilderness, where only non-mecha-nized hand tools are allowed. We also helped develop the Payne Creek trail in the Payne Creek Demonstration Area and are respon-sible for the maintenance of this outdoor classroom trail as well. Volunteers make it possible for Wild South to care for these 8.5 miles of trail.

Glade RestorationThe sandstone and limestone glade

ecosystems that are scattered throughout the Bankhead National Forest are severely degraded due to the prevalence of loblolly pine plantations and the suppression of fire for so many decades. The restoration of these unique habitats is a goal of the Revised Land and Resource Management Plan. Wild South staff and Helping Hands volunteers provide labor for this restoration project.

Get Out There!

High school students from Falkville, AL experience the canyon at the end of the Payne Creek trail, part of the recently opened Payne Creek Outdoor Classroom.

The forest draws us like a magnet – away from our computers, out of the climate-controlled space of our houses and offices, off the roads and out of our cars.

Instead of asphalt, carpet, or concrete, we find soil and duff beneath our feet. The air we breathe in the forest is the oxygen-rich exhalations of trees, not automobile exhaust or industrial fumes. Sunlight filters through myriad hues of green. Bird song and water music fill the air. The trees shelter and embrace us, awakening a sleeping ancient memory. We are home.

Salamanders are among the many creatures to be seen on our Wild Walks in the Bankhead.

Program Manager Mark Kolinski and volunteers Frank Beyer and Larry Boroff put the crosscut to work on a downed tree across Sipsey Wilderness trail 203.

Alabama’s largest tuliptree in Bee Branch canyon in the

Sipsey Wilderness

Restoration MonitoringEvery few months, the USFS and Wild

South organize multi-party field tours to representative sites in the Bankhead, includ-ing loblolly pine plantations that are being restored to various native forest types as part of the Bankhead Forest Health and Restoration Project. These sites are moni-tored to ensure that management practices are moving the stands toward their desired future condition and to observe the effects of the thinning and prescribed burning treatments. Representatives from the aca-demic community, the Bankhead Liaison Panel, and organizations like The Nature Conservancy attend these monitoring tours, and the public is invited to participate in this collaborative approach to forest restora-tion on public lands.

Trash PickupDump sites and garbage strewn along

roadsides, trails, and at campsites are a constant and shameful problem in the Bankhead. In addition to including trash pick-up in all our hikes and volunteer proj-ects, Wild South schedules one or two trash pick-up days a year in which trucks and trailers are heaped high with garbage and hauled away. This is another of our Helping Hands volunteer projects.

Into the WildMany of you may be asking,

“Are any of these great outdoor programs available in my neck of the woods?” The answer is there certainly could be. We are fortu-nate to have the resources and staff necessary to do these amazing pro-grams in Alabama. But, elsewhere we rely on our supporters and dedi-cated volunteers to get others into the wild.

If you are interested in leading hikes, teaching outdoor skills, shar-ing your knowledge about a special place or coordinating volunteer work days on our public lands we want to hear from you. We need volunteers in all of the states where we work who are willing to share outdoor experiences with others on our behalf.

Many of you are passionate about the outdoors because of your connection to it. The best way to ensure these places that inspire you are protected is to get out there with others and share those con-nections. To volunteer please email general@wildsouth.org and enter in the subject line: Volunteer.

Non-Native Plant Species

InventoryFunded by a Wilderness

Stewardship Challenge grant from The National Forest Foundation, Wild South is performing a walk-ing inventory of the non-native invasive plant species in the 26,000-acre Sipsey Wilderness. Volunteers are trained for this project, in which all the trails, year-round streams and historical roads in the Sipsey Wilderness are surveyed. This is the perfect opportunity to get off trail and experience those parts of the Sipsey you’ve never seen.

Canyon MappingAnother way to see parts of the

Bankhead that few people do is to vol-unteer to assist with our canyon survey project. This ambitious five-year-old initiative, consistently supported by the National Forest Foundation, aims to identify and map all areas of the Bankhead that qualify for protection by the USFS as canyon corridors. Doing this requires a walking survey of every stream and drain in every 6th level watershed in the Bankhead. If you’re in good physi-cal condition, enjoy hiking off-trail, and don’t mind occasional heavy bushwhack-ing, this adventure might be for you!

Wild South volunteer Bob Boyer on non-native invasive plant survey in the Sipsey Wilderness.

Dr. Jim Lacefield explains Bankhead geology on one of our natural history hikes.

Fall Creek Falls in the Sipsey Wilderness, a popular Wild South hike destination. Photo by Cynthia Volin

by Mark Kolinski – Alabama Program Manager, and Janice Barrett – Wild South Outreach Coordinator

Wild South’s Helping Hands Program is funded in part by a grant from The National Forest Foundation, a grant from the general fund of the Walker

Area Community Foundation, the Legacy Environmental Education mini-grant, and by Wild South’s individual donors.

Wild South’s work is helping preserve ecosystems. What are your favorite wild places? “

from the Directorby Tracy Davids – Executive Director

Wild South Quarterly is published quarterly by Wild South, a nonprofit organization working to preserve and restore native wildlands in the Southern Appalachian region.

Contents copyright 2010 Wild South. Wild South Quarterly is printed on 100% post-consumer waste, pro-cessed chlorine free paper. Printed with soy-based inks.

Membership to Wild South is free. With a donation of $30 or more you will receive a subscription to the Wild South Quarterly, as well as action alerts and our e-Zine via e-mail. To become a member, please complete the membership form on the back page, or visit www.wildsouth.org. Send comments to general@wildsouth.org

Joe Bernardo, PhDRob CoxTravis McDowellMitch Orland

Greg PrestonMark ShelleyRenee TaylorButch Walker

Wild South Board:

Go to www.wildsouth.org to learn how your business can

help support Wild South.

Wild South Home Office:16 Eagle St., Suite 200 Asheville, NC 28801 (828) 258-2667

Wild South Alabama Office:11312 AL Hwy 33, Suite 1 Moulton, AL 35650 (256) 974-6166

Janice BarrettTracy DavidsMark Kolinski

Lamar MarshallBen Prater

Wild South Staff:

Dr. Charles BordenBrent O’ConnorWalter DanielsJonathan Stang

Billy ShawRandy TalleyRay Vaughn

Advisory Board:

Wild South Quarterly EditorChris Joyell

Wild South would like to thank The Green Sage for their

generous support.

a Wild South t-shirt, mug, etc.

Tracy: What advice do you have for folks considering a first time gift, or folks increasing their current gift to Wild South?

Tom: Go to Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest and see the massive poplar and hemlocks (my favorite tree). What motivates me is knowing that Wild South’s work is helping us preserve entire ecosystems so that in a hundred years old growth forests won’t be isolated islands but perhaps, dare I say, common place in our collectively owned public lands.

So, why do you support Wild South?What are your conservation values and

favorite wild places? Your thoughts and feedback can help us to shape the way Wild South expands our reach to build a brighter tomorrow for our forests, our waters, our wildlife and our children. Please share them with me via email at tracy@wildsouth.org.

I look forward to hearing from you and hope that Wild South’s mission and work continue to inspire you as they do Tom and his family. Thank you.

My husband and I contribute because the staff, board and members collectively protect the places we love. We visit public lands weekly to think in solitude, adjust our attitudes and reconnect with the real world — playing in rivers and observing other crea-tures, climbing mountains and seeing vast stretches of untouched nature.

These experiences feed our souls and keep us going. As Director of Wild South, I see first-hand how our team works tirelessly and effectively to ensure that the Southeast’s last remaining wild places stay that way.

But, why do you support Wild South?We wonder about this question all the

time as we think about ways to meaningfully involve more people in our work, attract new supporters and encourage current donors to expand their giving. So, I started asking. Recently I spoke with one of our long-time supporters, Tom Dudley, an attorney from Greenville, SC and a generous monthly donor. Here’s what he had to say.

Tracy Davids: Tom, what attracted you to Wild South?

Tom Dudley: The first time I read Wild Mountain Times (a publication of the Southern Appalachian Biodiversity Project back in the day) I wanted to find out more about the organization. I wrote to your Campaign Coordinator that I wanted to help out.

In 2002, he called for my help to legally challenge gold mine permits issued in the Sumter National Forest, SC. I met with staff to prepare pre-hearing briefs and was so excited to do something more than just support the organization financially. My family considers themselves a part of the Wild South “team” and they refer to it as that – a “team.”

Tracy: How has the organization changed since then?

Tom: The change I’ve seen that impresses me the most is that the Forest Service proac-tively seeks Wild South’s input before plans or actions are taken. To earn the respect of that agency to the degree that they seek out cooperation speaks volumes of the respect Wild South has earned.

The proactive grassroots efforts to shape policies with science and public input makes Wild South a voice for the public that deservedly has to be dealt with – for example your work on the Globe Forest Campaign. It is easy to sit back and complain or file lawsuits challenging government action after the fact. So there has been a shift from chal-lenging government action after actions are in the pipeline to seeking protection for areas before logging or action it planned.

Tracy: What factors influenced your decision to make monthly contribu-tions to Wild South?

Tom: Deciding to go to a monthly contribu-tion schedule was easy. With online bank-ing it’s so simple to set a goal and meet it; plus, I’m saving PAPER and therefore trees. Monthly as opposed to yearly contributions provide predictability in covering the finan-cial side of Wild South so that the work that generated the respect I mentioned earlier can be done, like green salamander surveys!

Tracy: What should Wild South do to thank donors?

Tom: I think the typical donor to Wild South isn’t expecting a thank you outside of con-tinuing the preservation of our public lands. Honestly, I’d hate for tokens of appreciation to take away from the business of running the organization. I would gladly pay extra for

Not only do I work for Wild South, I am a contributing member.

Wild South’s work is helping preserve ecosystems. What are your favorite wild places?

Vilsack OKs ‘Roadless Area’ Projects

In March, Agriculture Secretary

Tom Vilsack approved 14 projects allowing road

construction in national forest roadless areas, most of which had to be granted under the 1872 law governing hardrock mining. Twelve of the projects — nine in Nevada, two in Utah and one in Washington — allow for the exploration of minerals in inventoried roadless areas and therefore are governed by the 1872 law, the department said.

“USDA is committed to protecting roadless areas in our National Forests because of the critical importance of these areas to our natural resources, wildlife, and outdoor recreation,” Vilsack said in a statement. “While the decisions announced today allow for mineral exploration in roadless areas, not only does USDA have limited authority to approve or disapprove these activities, but these actions are con-sistent with the 2001 Roadless Rule.”

The 2001 Roadless Rule granted blanket protection to about 58 million acres of national forests nationwide but has been mired in legal battles ever since President Clinton put it in place just before leaving office.

National

Wild South Joins Forever Green Tennessee

Forever Green Tennessee is a cam-

paign to “Restore the Tennessee Real Estate

Transfer Funds” in June 2010. These funds dedicate approximately $20 Million per year for Tennessee land acquisition and conservation, which have leveraged invest-ments from numerous sources including federal, city and county, non-governmental organizations and private philanthropy.

To date, approximately 240,000 acres have been acquired. These places make our communities more livable, more attrac-tive to industry and tourism. Conservation projects make our environment healthier and our economy stronger. 51 organiza-tions support our efforts, and their mem-berships combined represent tens of thou-sands of conscientious Tennesseans.

Tennessee

Forest Service Withdraws Decision on Upper

Chatooga River Boating

The Forest Service has decided to

withdraw their deci-sions on recreation uses on

the upper Chattooga River in the Sumter, Chattahoochee and Nantahala national forests. The agency will conduct an analy-sis and issue a new decision later this year.

The decisions, announced in August 2009, would have, among other things, allowed limited boating on the main stem upper Chattooga River. Five appeals were filed as part of the Forest Service’s plan-ning process. The Southern Region grant-ed a stay while the appeals were under review, preserving the status quo on the river (meaning no boating is allowed above the Highway 28 bridge). That condition remains unchanged.

During the appeal process, the Forest Service discovered some inconsistencies between various components of the deci-sion documents. While none of the appel-lants raised these inconsistencies in their appeals, the Forest Service decided to vol-untarily withdraw the decisions.

GA/NC/SC

Clinch Coalition Stops Timber Sale

Recently, the Clinch Coalition

worked with the Forest Service to stop log-

ging on the Batman timber sale on High Knob. Members of the coalition’s Forest Watch team were making a routine visit to the site when they discovered heavy equip-ment churning up mud on deeply rutted Forest Service roads, releasing sediment into nearby streams.

Only a few days earlier the logging crew had informed the Forest Service that it was voluntarily suspending operations on the site because of extremely wet ground con-ditions, so the discovery came as a surprise. Clinch Coalition members alerted the Forest Service and Clinch Ranger District staff members arrived soon thereafter, ordering the operator to cease work and to take corrective action to stop the erosion.

Although Best Management Practices (BMPs) are required on all National Forest logging operations they are sometimes ignored. Had BMPs been employed on the Batman timber tract, the erosion and release of sediment into our streams could have been prevented.

Virginia

New Bankhead Ranger Arrives

The Bankhead National Forest finally has a new

district ranger. Alabama native Elrand Denson assumed the post March 1, replacing Glen Gaines, who transferred last summer to a regional posi-tion with the U.S. Forest Service. Denson, a 19-year veteran of the Forest Service, has most recently served as a district ranger in Missouri and is a graduate of Alabama A&M University. He also holds a master’s degree in natural resource management from George Mason University in Virginia.

Ranger Denson will soon get a thorough initiation into the collaborative nature of the Bankhead Forest Health and Restoration Project when he joins Wild South, rep-resentatives from the Bankhead Liaison Panel and district personnel in a monitoring tour of restoration sites where the desired future condition is hardwood forest. The discussion on this field trip will center on appropriate silvicultural treatments for these types of stands and is a response to a recent controversial timber sale.

Alabama

”

Direction and standards for the management of the

endangered Indiana bat were established in

August of 2000. Since then, additional information has become available regard-ing desirable habitat elements for the species. This new knowledge is enabling the USFS to more clearly define desired conditions, establish more appropriate monitoring and allow greater management flexibility in certain situations.

The Forest Service has worked togeth-er with the Fish and Wildlife Service in crafting this amended language to ensure this plan amendment will be equally pro-tective of the Indiana bat as the current direction. Wild South will be filing com-ments to ensure pro-tection for the bat and its habitat.

North Carolina

Forest Service Revisits Indiana Bat Protections

WILD SOUTH NEWS&UPDATESCompiled by Wild South Volunteers

Learn More Visit WildSouth.org

What do flowers, honey, and stuffy noses have in common? Well…they all involve pollen.

What is pollen? Have you ever noticed the yellow “dust” that covers our houses, our cars, or lakes and ponds in the spring? That yellow “dust” is pollen and this time of year we see it everywhere.

Pollen is what flowering plants use to reproduce or make more plants. Pollen is made by male parts of plants and is trans-ferred to female parts of plants to make seeds which can then grow into new plants. This process is called fertilization and helps to ensure that new plants are healthy and better adapted to their environment.

But plants don’t move around like animals so how does pollen get from a male flower to a female flower? The answer to that ques-tion is the reason we see pollen all over the ground and other surfaces during the spring. This pollen is being spread by the wind. Other plants rely on animals such as insects to help transport pollen to the right place.

The way pollen gets from one place to another is called pollination. Pollination hap-pens in many different ways. Many plants have beautiful flowers with bright colors, sugary nectar, or sweet smells to attract pollinating

insects, birds, or small mammals. These animals help move pollen around.

Some insects like Honeybees use pollen and nectar to make honey to feed their young. We eat this honey too. But, pollinators don’t just give us sweet treats like honey. Without pollinators most of the fruits and vegetables we eat everyday would not exist. And none of the grains or seeds we eat would be around either. Animals and plants need each other to sur-vive and pollinators play an important role in nature for all of us to benefit.

But, sometimes pollen can cause prob-lems. Do any of you or your friends have allergies? Some people are sensitive to pollen and can be allergic. When people with aller-gies breathe in pollen they might sneeze, get a stuffy nose, or itchy eyes. Fortunately, for people with allergies pollen is only around for a short time. But, the next time you see yellow dust on your front porch, hear a friend sneeze, or hear bees buzzing think of pollen and remember the wonderful things pollen makes possible.

Tales of PollinationMany flowers are adapted to suit specific

pollinators. Look at the flower below and guess what might pollinate it…any ideas? Well, this flower is the native crane-fly orchid found across the Southeast and it has a remarkable pollination story. It is pollinated by moths that are attracted to its pale color in the moonlight and its sweet nectar stored in “spurs” on each flower.

When the moth lands on the flower to take a sip of the nectar the flower bends and “SPLAT” a sticky sac of pollen called a pollinium smacks the moth right in the eye where its sticks. The moth then flies off with

pollen stuck on its head. Unable to resist the nectar the moth will then fly over to another crane-fly orchid flower. If this flower has already lost its pollen sac it will receive the one stuck to the moth’s head fertilizing that flower to make seeds. It may sound funny but it’s true.

The Possibilities of Pollen

Rockhouses shel-ter mysteries. Some cathedral-like and big as a house, some lowly and discreet, these openings at the base of sandstone bluffs hold the secrets of ancient and extinct animal spe-cies and the archaeological past of our human ancestors. For millions of years animals and, later, humans found refuge from preda-tors and the elements in these rock shelters. Certain plants called filmy ferns have also found refuge there.

On the far southern edge of the Cumberland Plateau, as far west as the Southern Appalachian Mountains reach, rockhouses have provided habitat for filmy ferns for at least thirty-five million years. The canyons of the Warrior Mountains of north Alabama, which include the Bankhead National Forest and the Sipsey Wilderness, are among the few places on earth these ferns are found.

Filmy ferns are believed to be relics of fern species that thrived in the eastern part of the North American continent when the cli-mate was much hotter and the land was cov-ered by tropical and subtropical forests. Then the climate began to cool and most subtropi-cal plants migrated south. The Carboniferous sandstone made it possible for some popula-

tions of fern to remain and evolve into filmy ferns. All of the filmy ferns’ modern relatives are tropi-

cal species. Many of them live on tree bark in the Amazon rain forest.

Filmy ferns’ requirements are extremely specific; they cannot tolerate long periods of dryness and, as a general rule, freezing tem-peratures. Sandstone absorbs a remarkable amount of water then slowly and constantly releases it through evaporation. The constant emission of moisture in the summer, thermal radiation of stored heat in the winter, and the shade of narrow, deep sandstone canyons provide the perfect environment for ferns that are hiding out from cold, dryness, and sunlight.

While the recesses of sand-stone rock shelters provided the foundation for their survival, the ferns also had to make radical adaptations. They became very small and sacrificed their ability to produce spores. These translucent ferns are only a few cell lay-ers thick and are extremely efficient at photo-synthesis. Living in such dim sunlight, almost all the filmy fern’s energy is devoted to photo-synthesis. No one knows how these mysterious ferns spread from one rock shelter to another.

There are very few places on earth that some species of filmy fern are found. In North Alabama, Bosch’s filmy fern (Trichomanes boschi-anum) is the most noticeable. It grows in small, shaggy colonies in the most shaded recesses of rock shelters in the Bankhead National Forest. Much more rare and secretive is Taylor’s filmy fern (Hymenophyllum tayloriae), a tiny wisp of fern that is known to exist in only two loca-tions: a site in the Sipsey Wilderness and a site in South Carolina. It clings to life in narrow

fissures in sandstone. “Many people are aware that

the canyons of the Bankhead National Forest are refuges for remnants of Ice Age forest plants such as Eastern hemlock and sweet birch trees that thrived here dur-ing colder parts of Earth’s history,” says Dr. Jim Lacefield, author of

Lost Worlds in Alabama’s Rocks. “However, very few people are aware that these same canyons hide remnants of tropical forests from many millions of years farther back in time when Alabama was much warmer. Both of these plant groups hide away in these shady canyons waiting for Alabama’s land-scape and climate to return to some ‘once or future stage’ that will release them from their austere refuge in the deep shade.”

Alabama’s Rare Filmy Ferns by Janice BarrettSpecies

spotlight

Wild South’sNATURE Rangers

sticky pollen

moth lands here

By Janice Barrett, Wild South Outreach Coordinator

Trichomanes boschianum

It is well understood that by maintaining and promoting native intact forest ecosys-tems we will continue to reap the benefits of ecological services provided by our forests. Ecological services include clean air, clean water, carbon sequestration, and even climate change mitigation. All of life and our human economies ultimately depend on healthy eco-logical functions and the services they provide.

Since the change in administration in Washington, “restoration” and “collaboration” have become the new buzzwords at the U.S. Forest Service (USFS). Under the leader-ship of Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Undersecretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and Environment Harris Sherman, and new Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell, there are initiatives afoot that have the poten-tial to institutionalize management principles that benefit overall ecosystem health.

USFS is now considering a change in the rules by which National Forest Management Plans are constructed and implemented. In the spirit of collaboration, the agency has held national and regional public meet-ings to receive input in this process. Wild South and its partner organizations, notably the Southern Appalachian Forest Coalition (SAFC), have been vocal in these meetings, lobbying for ecological restoration principles and sound science to play a strong role in rule planning.

Equally important as a good planning rule is the budget structure to implement it. An Integrated Resource Restoration line item has been proposed to the National Forest System Appropriations budget. SAFC, Wild South, and others have submitted comments to Secretary Vilsack supporting the proposal to change the budget structure for national

forest projects and shift the emphasis to maintaining and restoring the integrity of forest ecosystems and watersheds. Our com-ments stressed accountability, transparency, and the importance of appropriate and effec-tive indicators in monitoring performance in restoration activities.

USFS has also initiated the National Collaboration Cadre, facilitated by a group of

community members and Forest Service professionals with diverse experience in collaboration and restoration. Its stated purpose is to “further ecological restoration activi-ties” in the Southern Appalachian ecosystem and develop a frame-work for a collaborative action plan. Wild South has participated in the Cadre’s discussions this spring, sharing restoration experi-ences in the Bankhead National Forest over the past ten years.

As a Bankhead Liaison Panel member, Wild South has led the monitoring of restoration projects, and we continue to advocate for policy and practices that benefit ecosystem health. With the restora-tion of 80,000 acres of loblolly pine

plantations in the Bankhead, long term moni-toring is essential to adaptive management.

Educating the public about restoration in national forests is an important part of the Wild South mission. We have collabo-rated with the USFS in the development of the first of three public demonstration areas in the Bankhead — the Payne Creek Outdoor Classroom had its grand opening in April. This interpretive area showcases a typical loblolly plant-ing, which is being restored to a short-leaf pine woodland through thinning, planting and pre-scribed burning

Ecological restoration is at the core of Wild South’s vision for southern forests. We envision a world where communities value the native ecosystems of the Southern Appalachians and work to protect and restore them. In practice, we believe that ecological restoration is central to

Restoration Rules!The goal of ecological restoration is to enhance ecological integrity

by restoring natural processes and the resiliency of ecosystems.

What is Ecological Restoration?

According to the Society of Ecological Restoration (SER), the inter-national authority on the subject, “eco-logical restoration is the process of assist-ing the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, or destroyed.”

SER goes on to explain that, “Ecological restoration is an intentional activity that initiates or accelerates the recovery of an ecosystem with respect to its health, integrity and sustainability.” To learn more about SER and ecological restoration visit www.ser.org.

Logging site conditions following a thinning operation.

Discussing hardwood restoration with Bankhead District personnel.

by Mark Kolinski – Alabama Program Manager, and Ben Prater – Conservation Director

the role of ecosystem management on public lands in the Southeast.

By embracing protection and restoration as the primary tools by which healthy ecosys-tems are maintained, land managers foster a culture of preservation that promotes a sus-tainable human relationship with the environ-ment. This relationship builds the foundation of strong communities that are socially, eco-nomically, and ecologically healthy.

Examining a restoration site following a prescribed burn.

Learn More Visit WildSouth.org

Wild South 16 Eagle Street, Suite 200 Asheville, NC 28801

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Nonprofit Org.

U.S. Postage

PAIDAsheville, NC

Permit No. 269

Cherokee Trails Project :: Reports from the Field :: Alabama’s Filmy FernsThe Possibilities of Pollen :: Restoration Rules! :: Roadless Area Projects OK’dINSIDE:

Spring/Summer 2010

(828) 258-2667www.wildsouth.orgProtecting Forests for Life

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Tennessee Senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker have introduced legislation that would add almost 20,000 acres of wilderness to the Cherokee National Forest across six East Tennessee counties.

The areas involved include:• 9,038 acres in the newly created Upper Bald

River Wilderness in Monroe County.• 348 acres added to Big Frog Wilderness in

Polk County.• 966 acres added to Little Frog Wilderness in

Polk County.• 2,922 acres added to Sampson Mountain

Wilderness in Washington and Unicoi counties.

• 4,446 acres added to the Big Laurel Branch Wilderness in Carter and Johnson counties.

• 1,836 acres added to the Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness in Monroe County.

Wilderness protection is reserved for federal lands that rank high in scenery, bio-logical diversity and recreational opportuni-ties. Once added to the National Wilderness Preservation System, the areas are protected in perpetuity from logging, mining and road building but remain open to traditional recreational activities such as hunting, fish-ing, hiking and horseback riding on existing trails and roads.

The bill would not affect privately owned lands or make changes to public access.

Show your support for this important legislation by writing your Congressional Representative and Senators, and urging them to join Senators Alexander and Corker in protecting some of Tennessee’s most out-standing examples of wilderness.

Send checks to: Wild South, 11312 AL Hwy 33, Suite 1, Moulton, AL 35650

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