The Southern Highland Reader

ROBBINSVILLE-Zelerie Rose at the Graham Star writes that $120,000 of funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act supports a program to control invasive plant species and support habitat of two federally-listed endangered species along the Cheoah River.

Here’s a clip from Rose’s story:

The three-year project started this fall, involves nine miles of river and will protect the Virginia Spiraea, a federally-threatened shrub, and the Appalachian Elktoe, a federally-endangered mussel.

The treatment of the non-native species such as mimosa, Oriental bittersweet, yam, privet, Japanese honeysuckle, princess tree, kudzu, and multiflora rose, is the collaborative effort of Western North Carolina Alliance, the Cherokee Environmental Natural Resource Office, and North Carolina National Forests.

“Our job is to work with the various organizations involved in the project and educate them about non-native invasive plants,” said Bob Gale, ecologist for WNC Alliance. “These plants were introduced both intentionally and accidentally and have no natural controls limiting their spread. Left untreated they can threaten or endanger native habitats and native wildlife species.”

Read the story from the Graham Star here.

FRANKLIN–On Saturday, November 7, come celebrate ten years of stewardship on the Land Trust for the Little Tennessee’s Tessentee property in Otto. The Celebration begins at 11:00 and continues until 4:00 and includes music by the Frog Town 5, tours of the property, annual conservation award presentation, and demonstrations by Cherokee artisans and others. All activities are FREE for the entire

Tessentee Bottomland Preserve. Ralph Preston photo.

family, and food may be purchased on-site from Big Mountain BB-Q. In November of 1999 LTLT purchased 60 acres at the confluence of Tessentee Creek and the Little Tennessee River. This was the first land protected on the free-flowing Little Tennessee, and now a decade later – with 30 land protection projects – more than 5200 acres and 35 miles of river frontage have been conserved.

LTLT’s purchase of the Tessentee Bottomland Preserve not only launched an extraordinary river corridor conservation initiative, it also created a laboratory for land restoration and stewardship in the valley. At Tessentee LTLT purchased an old dairy farm with diverse soils, abundant water, and an historic farmstead. LTLT conducted a detailed inventory and sought expert advice in developing a management plan to restore the rich and diverse natural and cultural heritage resources found here in the heart of the upper Little Tennessee River Valley.

The riverbanks have been stabilized and reforested, and a wetland area has been partially restored. LTLT began their invasive exotic plant control program at Tessentee and initiated the long process of converting fescue pastures to more diverse grassland habitats and open woodlands.

At Tessentee LTLT first began its collaboration with Cherokee artisans in the management and harvest of rivercane. This collaboration has expanded to the establishment of experimental plantations of butternut and white oak for production of other traditional artisan materials. The Tessentee Preserve is stop #53 on the NC Birding Trail with the preserve’s bird list at 115 species and butterfly list at 42 species and counting. Here one can hike the most extensive trail system found on any LTLT property. Volunteers have also helped to restore the historic farmstead – by restoring the apple house, smoke house, and in recent months the foundation of the historic farmhouse.

Now a decade later, the Tessentee Preserve is a rich mosaic of wildlife and plant habitats, and it serves as a microcosm of LTLT’s stewardship and restoration work in this historic valley. It is a wonderful place to walk and to appreciate the extraordinary richness and diversity of the upper Little Tennessee.

GSMNP–A Tennessee man has a date with a magistrate after his pit bull severely injured a deer near Elkmont last week.

The unleashed 100 lb. dog attacked a mature 130 lb. buck, and the deer was so badly wounded that it had to be euthanized.

A news report is here, but the online National Parks Traveler goes into more depth, discussing past incidents:

An excerpt:

A … spokesman at the park said such incidents are fairly rare in the Smokies, and described another situation several years ago that illustrates the value in the “leash law” for protecting pets as well as wildlife. In that case the dog was riding in the bed of a pickup truck which was being driven through the Cades Cove area.

The dog spotted a black bear, jumped out of the truck, and headed for the bear, which was large enough that it wasn’t intimidated by the dog. A chase ensured, and the dog became the prey, running back toward the owner, who had stopped his truck alongside the road. In this case, the pursuing bear reportedly broke off the chase when the dog ran into a group of people who had gathered to watch the action. That case fortunately ended without further incident for both the dog and the bear, but this one could have taken a nasty turn.

Read the post here.

ROBBINSVILLE–Former Madison County state legislator Herbert Hyde once said he got into politics for the same reason he mows his grass: to protect children from snakes.

Well, sadly, times are a’changin’ — at least according to some Robbinsvillians, who say the government is to blame for this year’s upward trend in timber rattler sightings and bites. The feds, they say (President Obama himself, no doubt), have been releasing extra snakes into the woods to protect them from extinction.

Snake (l), Feds.

Graham Star editor James Budd wrote about it last month. Here’s an excerpt:

“It’s a lie,” [State biologist Mike] Carraway said. “It’s an absolute lie.”

Carraway used to be stationed in Andrews and served Graham County in the early ‘80s.

He heard the same rumors back then.

“Some people even say we used a helicopter to drop them,” Carraway said.

Shot down by the wildlife folks, I then focused on the U.S. Forest Service …

Read Budd’s piece here, which he wraps up by noting that rattlesnakes are nowhere near endangered.

BALSAM–Kids are naturally curious and love to learn about animals. Birds hold a special fascination since they can fly and sing and many are brightly colored. As a parent, grandparent, or sibling it should be easy and fun to nurture a young child’s wildlife wonderment. One way to feed kid’s curiosity about nature is to answer simple wildlife questions.

If a child asks how birds fly, which bird’s eggs are blue, or what that red bird’s name is in the yard, we adults should seek out answers (with the child’s help) through observation and research. By simple bird watching and with the right trade tools (like a regional field guide and a pair of binoculars) bird species can be found and identified just about anywhere.

As talented songsters, birds are music to most ears, and this provides another tool for teaching bird discovery. Playing chirpy songs in your car or computer is as easy as picking up a bird song tape at the library or book store (try Peterson’s guide to Eastern Birds on CD if you live here). Kids love to imitate sounds, so don’t be surprised if your budding bird song mimic can call a feathered friend into your yard in no time at all.

Here are some birding activities guaranteed to nurture young naturalists:

• Make a bird feeder and add seeds -watch the feeder and identify all birds that come to it (using a journal for entries)
• Make a bird house using wood & natural objects, check it in springtime for eggs & young (don’t check a bird house too often, every 3-4 days is best)
• Use tape-recorded bird calls (like a screech owl) to call in feathery neighbors
• Place a bird bath in the yard; heat the bath in winter for year round enjoyment
• Find and identify 5-10 birds (using your eyes and ears to locate a bird) while on a nature outing, camp out, or a simple walk
• Create crafts together using bird silhouettes; glue store-bought feathers to bird drawings; create masks with bird feathers; design a bird costume; and paint birds of all colors on paper
• Sprinkle bird seed on a back deck or in the yard (watch out- sunflower and millet seeds may sprout in the grass)
• Listen to bird songs and write words to what they are saying (example: a cardinal says ‘birdie birdie birdie” and a wren sounds like “cheeseburger, cheeseburger, cheeseburger”)
• Find bird photos on the Internet; make flash cards out of the printouts
• Construct a wildlife blind in the woods (for kids to hide in) to encourage bird watching – birds may come pretty close not knowing a human is in there. Photograph birds from the wildlife blind
• Participate in one or more citizen science projects like the Great Backyard Bird Count, Project Feeder Watch, and the Christmas Bird Count.

As a child grows, the passion for birds may also grow, especially with the involvement of an enthusiastic mentor. By nurturing a budding birder, parents can easily guide children to learn about conservation, ecology, and our environment. Furthermore, the presence or absence of birds can signal environmental well being or distress, so paying attention to avian wildlife promotes stewardship and responsibility, something we want our children to have for their own fantastic futures. Do it for your child, the birds, and to have fun. Happy bird watching, singing, and craft making!

Blair Ogburn is a naturalist at the Balsam Mountain Trust. She, her husband John, and their son Sam live near Willets

GSMNP-In response to a growing concern about a new malady that has killed an estimated 400,000 bats in the Northeast, managers at Great Smoky Mountains National Park have closed all of its caves to public entry until further notice.

According to biologists from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, a condition called White-nose Syndrome (WNS) is taking a heavy toll on bats that hibernate in caves and mines in nine states from Virginia north to New Hampshire. WNS is named for a white fungus that shows up on the faces of bats, including the endangered Indiana Bat. The Indiana bat has been recorded in the Park and is among several species of special concern relative to this disease.

The disease causes bats to come out of hibernation severely underweight to the point that they often starve before the insects on which they feed emerge in the spring. Once a colony is infected with the fungus, it spreads rapidly and may kill up to 90% of the bats within that cave in one season.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Wildlife Biologist, Bill Stiver said, “Biologists are still uncertain about the cause of WNS in bats. However, it is believed to be transmitted from bat to bat but also may be inadvertently transported from cave to cave by humans. It has not yet arrived in Tennessee or North Carolina, so we are closing all our caves to reduce the odds of the fungus hitching a ride to our protected caves on a caver coming from a state where it is already established.

“The Park is closing its caves in response to a recommendation from the Fish and Wildlife Service.” Stiver continued, “That closure advice does not apply to commercial tourist caves, but Fish and Wildlife is planning on working with commercial operators to minimize potential for spread from those sources. There is no known human health risk related to WNS.”

Park managers say that the Smokies has 17 caves and two mine complexes that are now closed under the advisory and that a permit has always been required to enter them. No permits will be issued and violators face fines of up to $5,000 or six months imprisonment.

More information on the disease and this closure is available at the Park website: http://www.nps.gov/grsm/naturescience/caves.htm

BALSAM-This community near the Jackson/Haywood County line at Balsam Gap has a long history, steeped in, among many other things, bear hunting.

The tradition of hunting bears with hounds is as old as the first arrival here of the Scots-Irish, and Balsam, located near the confluence of the Plott Balsam mountains and the Richland Balsams, is adjacent some of the broadest, most rugged expanses of forestland in the region.

It is traditional bear hunting territory.

The hunting of black bear is carefully regulated, though, and as bear populations revive, and as private development concerns continue to encroach on areas that hunters have long considered “theirs”, some hunters have begun to test those regulations.

The NC Wildlife Resources Commission is searching for those responsible for bear poaching recently in the Balsam area, where a bear carcass, minus its head and paws, was recently found dumped alongside a road.

It wasn’t the first such incident.

“To just come and make a trophy out of it leave the rest to rot that’s … wrong isn’t even the word to describe it,” Balsam resident Sonny Bryson told Asheville’s WLOS television.