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The problem gets less attention than in the West, but still occurs.
Photo Courtesy of the U.S. Forest Service
While the dramatic forest conflagrations out west grab headlines every year, our woodlands here in the Blue Ridge region are also increasingly susceptible to wildfires and resulting threats to expanding communities nearby. Last fall, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) said its Southern District (west to Texas and south to Florida) was its top priority for fire response, with at least 15,700 wildfires burning more than half a million acres since January 2023.
In western North Carolina, the agency has initiated the Grandfather, Appalachian and Pisgah Restoration Project to reduce wildfire risk and restore fire-adapted sections of the Pisgah National Forest. Managers will use controlled burns, timber harvesting and other methods including planting and improving stands of oak and southern yellow pine, removing invasive vines and creating small canopy gaps to allow sunlight to the forest floor so native plants can thrive.
The USFS has worked with many stakeholders throughout the planning process, including private landholders, The Nature Conservancy and other nonprofits, state and federal agencies and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Josh Kelly, a biologist with Mountain True, says his organization generally supports controlled burns, but is concerned about the proposed level and location of timber harvests, including over 10,000 acres in cove forests and about 1,500 acres in the Appalachian Trail Corridor.
The USFS is finalizing its environmental assessment for the restoration project and expects to publish it next year.
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The story above first appeared in our November / December 2024 issue.
