BIRDS
Hurricane Recovery in the Roan Highlands by Chris Kelly, Western Region Bird and Carolina Northern Flying Squirrel Biologist
R oan Mountain and its unique inhabitants took a direct hit from Hurricane Helene, and natural resource managers are worried. In early December 2024, forest managers, wildlife biol- ogists, and botanists from the U.S. Forest Service, North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, Southern Appalachian High- lands Conservancy, and Appalachian Trail Conservancy visited Roan Mountain to assess the damage. Winds of up to 100 miles per hour had leveled patches of forest, especially on ridge tops and east and south-facing slopes. Unfortunately, high quality older Fraser fir stands toppled in the storm, while younger firs sustained less damage. Numerous federally and state listed ani- mal and plant species inhabit the cool, moist, dark conifer forests at Roan Mountain. The extensive canopy loss could change the face of Roan for centuries. Blowdown areas will be prone to soil desiccation and wildfire. Shaded, mossy rock outcrops inhabited by the endangered spruce-fir moss spider now sit under direct sunlight. Carolina northern flying squirrels lost den trees as well as a reliable food source: the truffles that grow symbiotically with the roots of Roan’s conifer trees. Just how much is too much for an already imperiled species? It is hard to measure, but biologists can conduct bioacoustic or radio-telemetry surveys of the flying squirrels, bioacoustic sur- veys for northern saw-whet owls, and rock outcrop surveys for the spiders. Initially, the team is focused on abating short-term risk of intense wildfire in this ecosystem. Unlike oak forests, spruce-fir forests are not adapted to fire. In fact, intense fires can inhibit germination of conifer seeds. Managers may enact burn bans around developed and undeveloped camp sites and the Appalachian Trail, construct fire control lines, and manually remove some of the fallen timber. The local land trust, Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy, is looking into wildfire risk reduction options on its land holdings and on private lands situ- ated downslope of Roan’s conifer forests. Where possible, some fallen trees may be limbed to bring tree trunks into contact with the forest floor, creating coarse woody debris and moist micro- habitat for salamanders, small mammals, and invertebrates. Biol- ogists will post artificial dens (wood boxes) for flying squirrels and eventually plant conifer seedlings. Recovery from Helene will be the primary topic of the annual Roan Mountain Steward- ship Committee meeting in Asheville in January 2025. Though it will take an enormous amount of work and require novel solu- tions, partners are committed to the recovery of Roan Mountain’s unique forests.
CHRIS KELLY/NCWRC
GOOGLE EARTH
GOOGLE EARTH
Top: Extensive blowdown in the spruce-fir forest along the trail to Roan High Bluff. Middle: Satellite imagery of Roan Mountain, October 2023. Note extensive conifer forest south/southwest of the “loop road”, this image is oriented north. Bottom: Satellite imagery of Roan Mountain, October 2024, post-Helene. Note the patchwork pattern of blow- downs in the conifer forest south/southwest of the “loop road”.
20 2024 Wildlife Diversity Program Annual Report
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs