The air is misty and quiet, with only birdsong and sunlight filtering through the canopy. The ground is spongy with a thick mat of spruce needles falling year after year. Lean in to smell the sap of one of the towering trees, and a flood of winter memories will engulf your thoughts no matter the season. This is the spruce-fir forest, and it’s magical.
You can spot red spruce on most of the hikes in our area, dark green clusters on the hillsides in the distance, some alone along the trails, standing watch. You may spot a few young ones attempting regeneration. If they can survive fall leaf drop, they’ll have a fighting chance, but most are crushed or crowded out by an unrelenting canopy.
Recently we returned to a site near Black Balsam down Flat Laurel Branch trail, where in September of 2017 we planted 900 of our red spruce trees. The trail is not an easy one, often just a narrow path following a rocky stream bed into the back country. That year, volunteers carried young trees in on foot and with horses, some trekking 14 miles in a day with trips back and forth from the staging area. It was an emotional moment to find that spot again and witness the growth and vitality of those trees nearly seven years later. According to U.S. Forest Service officials, 98 percent of the trees from that planting survived.
With our greenhouse facility under construction, we are propagating red spruce on a smaller scale this year, including seeds from Ruby the Capitol Christmas Tree. We’re also making plans for future plantings, and our next effort will occur this fall at Graveyard Fields, one of the most popular hiking destinations along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Razed by fires multiple times throughout the last two centuries, the site is reportedly named for the stumps of trees that resembled gravestones overgrown with moss. The combination of logging, fires, and floods changed the soil profile, slowing regrowth of forests. A multi-year project is underway to repair washed-out trails and restore native plants.
In late June, we met with our Southern Appalachian Spruce Restoration Initiative (SASRI) partners at Graveyard Fields to talk through the logistics of the planting. With no roads to the area, access is tricky. The 5.5-mile hike to the planting site includes a steep climb that will prevent us from easily hiking trees in on foot, so we will use UTVs (utility task vehicles) for transport. This project is specifically targeted to increase habitat for the federally listed Carolina northern flying squirrel, which we know is nearby, as well as the saw-whet owl and various other species. It will span 7 to 10 years and add approximately 10,000 trees.
Also in late June, we participated in a field trip for a group of 30 forest ecologists attending the North American Forest Ecology Workshop in Asheville. Kelly Holdbrooks, Rachael Dickson, a silviculturist with the U.S. Forest Service, and Chris Kelly, a biologist with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, led the hike to two red spruce plantings near Black Balsam, where they discussed propagation, partnerships within SASRI, and the importance of increasing habitat for federally and state listed species. Chris Maier, a biologist with the U.S. Forest Service Department of Research & Development also participated and discussed his research on growth and water use in spruce seedlings.
Later this month regional geneticists with the U.S. Forest Service will visit SHR to plan how they can contribute to red spruce restoration and strengthen the partnership between SHR and USFS. The new greenhouse will play a crucial role in regional native plant restoration projects as we work with partners to target species threatened due to climate change. Resiliency and adaptive management will be guideposts for restoration here in one of the most biologically diverse areas in the world.
As more and more specialists become involved, restoration efforts will become more efficient and effective. High visibility projects involving multiple partners across state lines and in all sectors also establish a template and set of priorities for future restoration efforts. They form a new model that accomplishes goals along a streamlined and accelerated timeline in order to combat ever increasing threats of climate change. Restoration projects at sites such as Graveyard Fields have the potential to inspire, educate, and increase awareness for the millions of people who visit, hike, and bike the Blue Ridge Parkway. We are proud to be a part of this work.