Southern Highlands Reserve is proud to support the work of the Southern Appalachian Spruce Restoration Initiative (SASRI), a collaborative effort to restore red spruce (Picea rubens) ecosystems across the high-elevation landscapes of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. Once widespread above 4,500 feet, red spruce forests were heavily impacted by logging and acid deposition over the past century. Today, SASRI partners — including the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission — are working to reverse that loss through seedling propagation, outplanting, and long-term monitoring. Southern Highlands Reserve has propagated hundreds of red spruce seedlings in support of these restoration efforts.
This effort is especially important because of the devastation wrought by Hurricane Helene across Western North Carolina, which was felt deeply in our region’s most ecologically sensitive landscapes — including the high-elevation spruce-fir forests of Roan Mountain and surrounding ridgelines. We will share updates on this work as it progresses throughout 2026.