Friends of Schenck Forest

From left, CNR Forest Managers, Garrett Sumner and John Sanders with their work crew students, Austin Davis, Cassidy McCarty, Gabe Dawkins, Brenden Eatmon, Matthew Richards and Noah Shumway at Schenck Forest today, celebrating the end of the semester and bid farewell to some of the graduating work crew members.

Congratulations to NCSU Forestry club for winning first place at ROLLEO! This past weekend NCSU Forestry club hosted Rolleo, their annual forestry and timbersports competition at Schenck Memorial Forest.

NC State College of Natural Resources NC State University NCSU Timbersports Club

PRESS RELEASE


Sept. 6, 2023

Michele Walker, (919) 814-6660



N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation Seeks Public Input on Pisgah View State Park Master Plan
Public Meeting Planned for Candler, NC



Raleigh, N.C.—The N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation is seeking public input on the Pisgah View State Park Master Plan. The Master Plan will be a 20-year plan that covers the entire state park, which contains over 1,600 acres spanning Buncombe and Haywood counties and is sited within the Spring Mountain range and Southern Appalachian escarpment, an ecologically significant region.



Pisgah View is the 35th state park added to the North Carolina State Parks System, and the tenth state park in the mountain region of North Carolina.



Equinox Environmental in Asheville is working with the Division and the public to develop the master plan, initially identifying both the recreation, educational and conservation needs for the park. Stakeholder input is ongoing, and the open house-style public meeting will allow feedback from the community.



The public meeting will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 26 from 4 to 7 p.m. (drop in at any time), at the Upper Hominy Volunteer Fire & Rescue Department, 1795 Pisgah Highway in Candler. Members of the public are encouraged to attend and can expect to spend 20-30 minutes to review, discuss and weigh in on their preferred recreational amenities for the park.

Amenities that may be considered for the master plan include guided educational programs, visitor gathering and event spaces, restaurant, wedding venue, cabin rentals/retreat facilities, picnic shelters, day use areas, tent campground areas, equestrian camping, equestrian trails, hiking trails and mountain biking trails, and interpretation/education areas. The long-range goal is to connect the Pisgah View State Park to the Blue Ridge Parkway, Pisgah National Forest, and the Mountains-to-Sea State Trail system and provide a wildlife corridor.

An online public survey is available for those who cannot attend the public meeting. Interested citizens can take the survey by visiting https://www.ncparks.gov/Pisgah-view-state-park/future-development.



About North Carolina State Parks
North Carolina State Parks manages more than 250,000 acres of iconic landscape within North Carolina’s state parks, state recreation areas and state natural areas. It administers the N.C Parks and Recreation Trust Fund, including its local grants program, as well as a state trails program, North Carolina Natural and Scenic Rivers and more, all with a mission dedicated to conservation, recreation and education. The state parks system welcomes more than 19.8 million visitors annually.



About the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
The N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR) manages, promotes, and enhances the things that people love about North Carolina – its diverse arts and culture, rich history, and spectacular natural areas. Through its programs, the department enhances education, stimulates economic development, improves public health, expands accessibility, and strengthens community resiliency.

The department manages over 100 locations across the state, including 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, five science museums, four aquariums, 35 state parks, four recreation areas, dozens of state trails and natural areas, the N.C. Zoo, the N.C Symphony, the State Library, the State Archives, the N.C. Arts Council, the African American Heritage Commission, the American Indian Heritage Commission, the State Historic Preservation Office, the Office of State Archaeology, the Highway Historical Markers program, the N.C. Land and Water Fund, and the Natural Heritage Program. For more information, please visit www.ncdcr.gov.



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N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources

109 E. Jones Street | Raleigh, N.C. | 27601

[email protected] | ncdcr.gov

"The hemlock woolly adelgid is an invasive forest insect threatening the sustainability of eastern hemlock in eastern North America." Learn how researchers are working towards increasing sunlight for the hemlock to build tolerance for this invasive insect.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378112723006084

Dear Schenck Users,

We hope you're doing well and enjoying Schenck's beautiful trails. We want to let you know about some upcoming maintenance work that will be taking place on the trail bridges in the coming weeks.

A local Boy Scout is organizing a service project at Schenck. The project aims to enhance the safety and usability of the trail bridges, including cleaning, repairing damaged boards, and adding traction plates for improved stability. The work will be on Saturdays beginning September 9th and concluding on or before September 30, 2023.

During the scheduled work days, there may be some minor disruption to hikers using the bridges, but this work should not prohibit anyone from using the forest.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the upcoming maintenance work, don't hesitate to contact us directly via email at [email protected].

Thank you for your continued support and understanding as we strive to maintain and improve the Schenck trails for everyone's enjoyment.

Forest Assets Team

Today, we wrapped up a two-day cleaning event at Schenck Forest, hosted by our own NCSU Forest Manager, Garrett Sumner. Garrett Sumner, an NCSU Forest Management alumni, joined NCSU as a Forest Manager and Silviculturist in December 2022.

We want to thank all our volunteers who supported the event with their time and energy to keep our forest clean. We were able to fill in the potholes on the main road with gravel and remove most of the rotten wood and logs laying around various sheds and alongside the trails. The forest looks so much better!

We are back in a prescribed fire season and watching closely for a window to burn at Schenck Forest. As of now the conditions are right for a controlled burn at the Schenck tomorrow, March 1st, 2023.

Note that this is highly weather dependent and can change at any time.

If you happen to be in the forest at that time, please pay attention to forest management personnel and avoid any trails within our work area.
After the fire, we will be happy to discuss and answer any questions.

Prescribed burns on Schenck Forest have been performed in the past and are a useful tool in managing the forest for multiple benefits (research, recreation, wildlife, timber, aesthetics, etc.).

Prescribed Fire Overview

Prescribed fire is the planned use of fire under predetermined weather and fuel parameters to obtain specific management objectives; also known as "controlled" burning. Prescribed burning is a critical management tool that benefits North Carolina's forests, wildlife and environment, and also helps reduce the impact of wildfire hazards. Prescribed fire is especially important in North Carolina due to the large amount of land lying in the Wildland/Urban Interface (WUI).

The Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) is the area where structures and other human development meet or intermingle with undeveloped wildland, forest or vegetative fuels. North Carolina has more WUI acres than any other state in the country and our growth increases this acreage every year.

The N.C. General Assembly recognized the importance of prescribed burning in the N.C. Prescribed Burning Act (GS 113-60).

If you have any questions or concerns about prescribed fire please contact:

John Sanders ([email protected])- Forest Manager, NC State

Garrett Sumner ([email protected])- Forest Manager, NC State

Robert Mickler ([email protected]) – Burn Boss, NC State

Dr. Joseph Roise ([email protected])- Professor of Forestry, NC State; Southern Fire Exchange

*http://ncforestservice.gov/fire_control/fc_prescribedfire.htm

CNR Forest Assets is doing a Precommercial Thinning on the Schenck Forest starting from the end of this week and is scheduled to be completed between January and May of 2023. This operation will have little to no impact on most activities for users while in the forest.

Pre-commercial thinning (PCT) is the removal of selected trees from young stands to allow more space for crop trees. This treatment improves the health and productivity of the stand, and also provides a great opportunity for our students to gain hands-on experience with this common stand treatment.

Please see the document for more information on the Schenck Forest Precommercial Thinning plan and a map for a view of the area of operation.

You can email us at [email protected] for any questions or information.

https://news.ncsu.edu/2022/10/schenck-forest-cultivates-students-of-nature/

Schenck Forest Cultivates Students of Nature Schenck Forest is one of 10 NC State-managed forest properties. Learn more about the people who protect and conserve the forest while enjoying its natural assets.