PrimalNature.org
An Old-Growth Discovery in Pisgah National Forest
August 19 Rob Messick and Tom Kenney visited a candidate old-growth site on the north side of Woods Mountain in McDowell County, North Carolina. They found a possible five hundred or more acres of what they report to be class A old growth. There were no signs of direct human disruption in the various communities they visited, though Messick notes that many of the upland areas would not meet the US Forest Services "'Region 8 Guidance' criteria due to natural conditions." Clearly meeting USFS criteria, were one upland tributary with "robust" old growth, and two pockets of rich cove forest, which Messick describes in some detail. "There was a band of Dry Oak Heath between [the two]. The lower occurrence had a moist rock outcrop area near the streambed, with numerous herbs and ferns (along with deer browse, black bear claw marks on some tree boles, and at least one species of salamander in crevasses of down wood). The upland area had much rock outcrop and rocky soil. . . Even with widely distributed trees, one basal area reading there was 130 square feet per acre. Snail shells were found in the upland Rich Cove area as well." The largest tree that Messick and Kenney discovered was a hollow but living Tulip Poplar, which measured 139 cm in diameter at breast height.
Source: Rob Messick, Personal communication, August 23, 2007.
--posted August 24, 2007