Pisgah National Forest Grandfather, Appalachian, and Pisgah (GAP) restoration project. © Dennis Oakley
The economic and physical wellbeing of Western North Carolinians is closely tied to Pisgah National Forest. That’s why it is critically important that people familiarize themselves with and comment on the Grandfather, Appalachian and Pisgah (GAP) restoration project. Named for three ranger districts in the forest, this project brought together the community and more than 20 organizations to use a combination of controlled burning and thinning to reduce wildfire risk and improve the forest.
Raise your Voice
The GAP draft Environmental Assessment is open for a public comment period until August 12.
Go to the project page to see official documents and comment.
TNC has been a partner in the GAP planning process. It fits into our efforts to work in the Appalachians on a landscape scale—improving forest management for the good of both people and nature. TNC helped to conduct the project analysis, which is focused on portions of the forest that are both fire-adapted and at high-risk of wildfire. We have gathered and analyzed data to plan an informed burn plan for this project.
Prior to European settlement, the region’s oak/hickory forests burned regularly. Indigenous people lit those fires to improve habitat. The region’s Scots Irish settlers followed suit. That changed in the last century with fire being excluded from the forest and all fires being suppressed.
Pisgah Forest, like the rest of the Southern Appalachians, is out of kilter. A century worth of fire suppression has set the stage for damaging wildfires that could harm the forest and pose substantial risk to human communities.
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Today’s Pisgah Forest is changing. Mast-producing trees like oaks and hickories are being replaced with maples and poplars, which provide autumn color but little else, especially for wildlife. Maples and poplar are particularly bad in light of a changing climate. They use up to four times as much water as oaks and hickories, and they are also less resilient to hotter temperatures.
The GAP project will improve habitat for a wide range of animals, including wild turkey, bobwhite quail and grouse. It will also remove fuel that has been built up due to fire suppression. TNC is excited that this project proposes up to 18,000 acres of controlled burns annually for the next ten years and that it combines controlled burning with much needed mechanical treatment to get more sunlight to the forest floor. This sunlight is critical for oak regeneration.
Wildlife at Pisgah National Forest
Animals that will benefit from the GAP restoration project.
Wild Turkey
The wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) is a ground-dwelling game bird that flocks in winter. At night and when they feel threatened, turkeys fly to roost in trees. They like a mixture of forests and openings, including agricultural areas. Turkeys are attracted to recently burned areas to forage and dust. Occasional control burning can maintain optimal turkey nesting structure, diverse foods, and brooding cover in hardwood forests with a broken canopy that allows sunlight to come in.
Bobwhite Quail
Bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus) is a ground-dwelling bird that will fly if threatened. They require an open landscape for population maintenance; control burning helps maintain the landscape clear.
Bees
Pisgah National Forest is a great place for pollinators. Honey bees, bumble bees, mason bees, sweat bees, and more inhabit this site. Bees have declined about 50% over the past 120 years and are a key spice to recover. Bees pollinate approximately 70% of the 100 crop species that feed 90% of the world. Greater species richness and abundance occur in forest openings, oak-pine savanna, and woodland, which are maintained by overstory reduction and frequent controlled burning.
White-tailed Deer
White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are the most popular game species in North America. Deer are concentrate selectors, foraging primarily on select plants and plant parts, including forbs and leaves of brambles, vines, shrubs, and trees. They also eat various hard, fleshy fruits and mushrooms. Fire maintains forage within the reach of deer and stimulates seed bank germination.
At TNC, we’ve long recognized that we can only achieve meaningful outcomes through a large scale, collaborative approach coupled with out-of-the-box thinking. The GAP project does just that. We hope you’ll choose to support this work, as doing nothing would have a serious implications. Visit the GAP story map for more information, and share your thoughts with the Forest Service here.
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