Tag: North Carolina

Seeing the Rich Understory of Appalachian Forests for the First Time

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
On Tuesday, May 3, nine Ukrainians gathered in the lobby of an Asheville, North Carolina, hotel. The group included business people, economists, foresters, scientists, and scholars, and was part of an international forestry program that was designed to show the U.S. system of harvesting, using, and managing non-timber forest products, or NTFPs. “NTFPs include hundreds…  More 

The Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
Much of what we know today about the hydrology of forested watersheds was learned through early research at the U.S. Forest Service Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory (Coweeta). Established in 1933 as the Coweeta Experimental Forest, the laboratory represents the longest continuous environmental study on any landscape in North America, as well as one of the oldest…  More 

Helping African American Rural Landowners Keep Family Forests

by Adapted from article by Josh McDaniel in February 2016 Issue of Leaves of Change  • 
After the Civil War, African Americans were deeded or bought property across the South, but at that time they often lacked the money for — or were denied access to — legal resources. As a result, much of this land was passed down through the generations without the benefit of a written will or title and…  More 

Bent Creek Experimental Forest: First in the East

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
  After World War I, when the Forest Service sought to establish an experimental station on a site that represented the diversity of the Southern Appalachian Mountains, the Bent Creek area of western North Carolina seemed the logical choice. Named for a bend in the creek near the French Broad River, Bent Creek typified the upland hardwood…  More 

First Release in the Carolinas of New Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Predator

by Bryan Mudder, SRS Forestry Technician  • 
On Friday last week, U.S. Forest Service scientists with the Southern Research Station and Forest Health Protection released just over 1200 Laricobius osakensis beetles on eastern hemlock trees in North and South Carolina. Reared at University of Tennessee Knoxville’s Lindsay Young Beneficial Insects Lab, the predator beetles are natural enemies of the hemlock woolly adelgid, an…  More 

Conserving the South’s Forests in a Rapidly Changing Future

by Zoё Hoyle, SRS Science Delivery  • 
Ensuring the sustainability of the world’s forest ecosystems in these times of rapid environmental, economic, social, and political change presents considerable challenges. In particular, rapid and unprecedented change portends a future where many of the principles and conditions that we’ve relied on to guide future management may never exist again, rendering traditional approaches to forest…  More 

New Forest Service/NCSU Partnership Provides Research Experience to Undergraduates

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Delivery  • 
A new partnership between the U.S. Forest Service and North Carolina State University’s College of Natural Resources brings undergraduate students from historically black colleges and universities together for a summer research and mentoring program. In summer 2015, three students participated in the program. “This internship helped me broaden my possibilities for the future,” said Rayquan, one…  More 

Children Discover Native Pollinators at BugFest

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Delivery  • 
On September 19, 2015, almost 32,000 kids and adults gathered at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh to celebrate BugFest. The free event featured over 100 bug-related exhibits, crafts, games, and activities, and a number of presentations. The U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station’s (SRS) booth “Buggy About Pollinators” was a big…  More 

The Bottomland Forests of the East Coast’s Albemarle Sound

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Delivery  • 
The Albemarle Sound watershed stretches 6 million acres along the North Carolina and Virginia borders. “The Sound contains some of the largest areas of bottomland hardwood habitat in the eastern United States,” says U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS) research ecologist Anita Rose. “In a variety of ways, both nature and people depend on…  More 

Protecting Water Quality in North Carolina’s Neuse River Basin

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Delivery  • 
The Neuse River begins in the Piedmont region of North Carolina, and much of its 275-mile journey to the Atlantic Ocean is through forests that are managed for timber. A new study by U.S. Forest Service researchers evaluates Best Management Practices (BMPs) for silviculture operations to see whether water quality in the Neuse River Basin…  More