2023 CONSERVANCY NEWS AUGUST |
Happy August from TPC! We’ve been busy working on the trails, hiring seasonal trail crew members for the fall, kicking off our annual Pisgah Project bike raffle fundraiser with Cane Creek, wrapping up the Pisgah River Rangers’ fifth season, and so much more.
Read on to see what we’ve been up to on-the-ground, learn about current partnerships and upcoming events, and more. Your support makes all of our work possible. Please consider making a donation to support our efforts on the Pisgah Ranger District today! Happy adventuring! Nina nina@pisgahconservancy.org |
Pisgah Project 2023 is here! |
For the seventh year in a row, Cane Creek Cycling Components has brought together a group of premium cycling component manufacturers to build an iconic, one-of-a-kind mountain bike. By purchasing a ticket for just $30 you're directly supporting our mission, and you might just be our lucky winner!
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This year's bike has an MSRP of more than $11,500 and was built with premium alternative components sourced from local Southeast cycling manufacturers and global partnering companies who truly care about a healthy and sustainable Pisgah National Forest. The winner will also receive a two-night stay at Pilot Cove, which directly borders the Pisgah Ranger District at the Highway 276 gateway and offers unrivaled access to Pisgah's renowned trails, roadways, rock walls, and trophy waters.
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Make a Monthly Donation to Pisgah
Did you know you can set up a monthly donation to TPC? Simply visit our donation page and select “Show my support by making this a monthly donation.” Monthly donations are a convenient way to support our ongoing efforts in the Pisgah Ranger District and allow you to show your support throughout the year! |
We love seeing so many TPC license plates on the road. When you purchase or renew your TPC plate online or at your local license plate agency for just $30, $20 comes right back to Pisgah!
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Mast General Store Friends Day - Save The Date |
Mast General Store’s annual Friends Day fundraiser will return on Saturday, September 9th and TPC will be the nonprofit partner for the Asheville and Hendersonville stores again this year! 10% of the day’s sales will be donated and customers will have the option to round up their total for an additional donation all weekend. |
Join the Southern Appalachian Wilderness Stewards in helping to maintain our beautiful wild spaces in Shining Rock Wilderness. No prior experience needed - adults and children are welcome. Volunteers will be trimming back overgrown brush along the trail to help keep it clear. There will be an optional hike up to Black Balsam after the work day. To sign up or receive more information, please contact SAWS Wilderness Ranger Blake Garrison at blakegarrison@wildernessstewards.org or (423) 488-8299.
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Jeff's Trails Corner 8/16/2023 |
Here’s to August with its warm temperatures, afternoon thunderstorms, and busy summer trailheads. It is a great time to hike a trail, find a swimming hole, and enjoy green summer’s end with some time in the Forest before the start of the school year and autumn’s inevitable arrival.
TPC’s trail crew has had a quite a productive month completing a variety of trail maintenance and improvement projects across the Pisgah. As any high elevation Pisgah hiker knows, summer growth up high can be overwhelming, obscuring the trail corridor, prickling hikers with brier and blackberry, and soaking them with morning dew. High country brushing and weed eating was a priority this past month with the crew brushing out the entirety of Flat Laurel Creek and Sam Knob trail as well as sections of the Art Loeb from Ivestor Gap back towards Black Balsam Knob. In addition, they have cleared blowdowns on a number of trails, dug out new reverse grade dips with the Bobcat trail machine on Buckhorn Gap trail below Clawhammer road, installed a foot log crossing on a section of Fork Mountain washed out by Tropical Storm Fred, and performed basic trail maintenance and treadwork on Pink Beds Loop, Mullinax, Davidson River trail, Bridges Camp Gap, and Greasy Cove trails. Currently they are focused on repairing damage to Buckhorn Gap trail as it approaches Twin Falls. In addition to regular maintenance activities like brushing and drainage improvements, they are working to improve the various creek crossings and are constructing a new trail bridge across the Henry Branch of Avery creek at the trail’s most challenging crossing.
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We are also excitedly preparing for this fall when we will be bringing on three additional full-time trail crew workers to join the crew for a ten-week term from October to December. This additional capacity will allow the crew to tackle bigger projects and perform maintenance on hard-to-reach, remote sections of our trail system that don’t receive regular work. Stay tuned this fall to hear more about the specific projects and great work that this crew will be carrying out.
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Simon Farr, our TPC Trails and Recreation Technician, joined crew leaders from the Carolina Mountain Club, Back Country Horsemen of Pisgah, and Southern Appalachian Wilderness Stewards on an overnight volunteer work trip focusing on trail maintenance in the Shining Rock Wilderness last month. An excellent example of teamwork and collaboration, this project was organized by the Carolina Mountain Club in partnership with the Back Country Horsemen of Pisgah, with logistical support from TPC and the USFS. Simon and Blake Garrison, the SAWS wilderness ranger for Shining Rock and Middle Prong, each provided additional leadership for the work trip, joining leaders from CMC and BCHP to instruct and lead participating volunteers in crosscut work, tread maintenance, and brushing on Art Loeb, Ivestor Gap, and Fork Mountain trails. Great work was accomplished with 24 hearty souls participating this year in what will likely become an annual event. Great thanks to CMC and BCHP for their work and leadership on this project.
The Pisgah River Rangers team just wrapped up a successful fifth season providing outreach and education, restoring habitat, and assisting with cleanup efforts along the Davidson River corridor. In just two and a half months, interns delivered nearly 30 formal education programs to community members, engaged more than 1,700 forest visitors, and reached over 170,000 people on Facebook. Their on-the-ground work consisted of remediating 40 illegal campsites along vital waterways, dismantling 32 rock structures from rivers, and removing close to 200 pounds of trash from streams, picnic areas, and hiking trails. Thanks to our 2023 River Rangers Rachel, Skylar, Maddie, Autumn, and K’nai for a great season and good luck in all your future endeavors!
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Be sure to get out and enjoy the last weeks of summer in the Pisgah. Whether hiking, fishing, birding, biking, riding, or whatever your preferred pursuit, Pisgah offers riches to us all. Great thanks to you all for your continued support of The Pisgah Conservancy and Pisgah National Forest! |
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