Public Lands
There are over 1.6 million acres of national forests in Western North Carolina. From its founding, MountainTrue has stayed committed to the protection of our public lands and forests by helping to shape the Nantahala-Pisgah National Forest Management Plan and advocating for our national, state, county and city parks.
Forest Management Plan
MountainTrue works to help shape the National Forest Service’s Forest Plan for the Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests. MountainTrue and its members advocate for conservation and sustainable public access through our participation in coalitions such as the Conservation & Recreation Coalition and the Nantahala-Pisgah Partnership.
Why Does This Matter?
Forest Keeper Volunteers
MountainTrue’s volunteer base of Forest Keepers works to keep WNC forests and public lands protected and healthy. The Forest Keepers’ work begins at the intersection of environmental science and environmental stewardship. This group collaborates with other non-profits in North Carolina to promote active stewardship in protecting, managing and maintaining the forest of Southern Appalachia. Forest Keeper volunteers work in conjunction with North Carolina Forest Service, Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, Hemlock Restoration Initiative, Appalachian Trail Conservancy, and the City of Asheville Parks and Recreation Department as the eyes, ears and helping hands of the forest.
The Forest Keepers protect, manage, and maintain the health of our Southern Appalachian forests through volunteer workdays, hosting skills workshops and giving science presentations. Forest Keepers have the opportunity to work within our forests and network with other people in Western North Carolina who are dedicated to forest protection and ecosystem vitality. This dedicated group of volunteers does hands on work through projects like hemlock restoration workdays, Richmond Hill Park non-native invasive removal, Sandy Bottom wetlands restoration, OM Sanctuary restoration and our annual bioblitz. For more information about the Forest Keeper Volunteers and to get involved, contact Bob Gale at bob@mountaintrue.org or Josh Kelly at josh@mountaintrue.org.
Annual Bioblitz
MountainTrue conducts an annual bioblitz every year in an area of our WNC public lands. A bioblitz is a biological inventory of an ecosystem in order to record all the living species within a particular area. MountainTrue staff, scientists, wildlife experts, naturalists and community volunteers gather together and explore a selected area to catalogue living species and learn more about our unique mountain ecosystems.
Our first bioblitz was conducted in 2016 on Bluff Mountain. Read more!
Public Lands News
MountainTrue and Mainspring to Host Blackrock BioBlitz at Pinnacle Park in Sylva
On June 2, MountainTrue and Mainspring Conservation Trust will sponsor the Blackrock BioBlitz, a citizen-science program that will pair residents with more than a dozen expert naturalists to document the diverse natural communities of Sylva’s Pinnacle Park and its highest point, Blackrock Mountain.
Series of Expert Panels to Discuss Future of Nantahala & Pisgah National Forests in Sylva, Boone, Brevard and Andrews this March
Experts representing a diverse group of conservation, recreation and business interests will take part in a series of special panel events on the future of the Nantahala-Pisgah National Forests this March. The panels, which will be held in Sylva, Boone, Brevard, and Andrews, will present visions for a win-win forest management plan that allows all interests to co-exist and thrive in Western North Carolina’s national forests.
Deciding the Next 15 Years for Western NC’s Forests: The Nantahala-Pisgah Forest Management Plan
Everyone who loves Western NC’s national forests has an issue they care about in the forest management plan expected to be released this year. So how do we find common ground and make a plan that works for all of us? Find out what the forest management plan is and why it matters for our region, and don’t miss our forest panel events this March in Sylva, Boone, Brevard and Andrews.
MountainTrue Defends Old-Growth Forest in Jackson County
Because old-growth trees like those in the Mossy Oak Project are so rare, so ecologically valuable and take hundreds of years to form, MountainTrue believes that existing old growth on public land should be protected from logging. That’s where we come in. Our Public Lands staff reviews all timber projects in Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests for the presence of old growth.
Fires Creek Tract Acquired For Permanent Conservation In Nantahala National Forest!
MountainTrue is thrilled to celebrate victory in a successful campaign to protect a 50-acre inholding within the Fires Creek watershed in Cherokee and Clay counties for permanent conservation as part of the Nantahala National Forest. We thank the Mainspring Conservation Trust and Fred and Alice Stanback for purchasing this stretch of forest, which will have a tremendous impact in protecting wildlife, water quality, recreation and wilderness in our public lands.