Goats used to preserve mountain “balds”
The origins of these balds is considered mysterious. Also mysterious is why they’re suddenly going away.
The Knoxville News Sentinel’s Morgan Simmons reports that research involving goats at Roan Mountain might provide some answers.
Here’s a quote:
Peter D. Weigl, an ecologist at Wake Forest University, argues that the balds were created by the harsh climate during the last Ice Age and that the openings were maintained by now-extinct herbivores such as mammoths, mastodons and tapirs that went up on the mountain to graze.
As these species vanished, the balds attracted elk and bison, which in turn were followed by domesticated livestock belonging to European settlers.
Until a few decades ago, livestock still grazed on Roan Mountain. Even today, the Forest Service has a grazing allotment for Watusi cattle, an African breed, on Big Hump Mountain at the east end of Roan Mountain near U.S. 19E.
“Roan Mountain’s balds are much more ancient and pristine than other Southern Appalachian balds,” said Gary Kauffman, an ecologist for the national forests in North Carolina. “They’ve been closing in dramatically over the last 100 years, and we’re not sure why. We need to explore all types of vegetative management to get a handle on that.”
Tags: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Knoxville News-Sentinel
Related posts:
