This Land, Your Land

Work to enhance safety at Dry Falls will close the Nantahala National Forest site's namesake trail and parking lot this spring and summer, the USDA Forest Service said today.

Dry Falls is a 75-foot roadside cascade on U.S. 64 in the Cullasaja Gorge between Cullasaja Falls and Bridal Veil Falls near Highlands. A wide, easy trail allows visitors to walk behind Dry Falls.

The $466,000 project will reconstruct and replace the entire walking path. The work will remove tripping hazards and protect water quality through drainage control measures, a news release says.

Nantahala District Ranger Mike Wilkins said this is the first major work on the Dry Falls trail in more than 30 years.

The construction project, which is funded by Federal Highways Grant of $208,000 and matching agency funds of $258,000, is to begin in early April and conclude by September.

The parking lot at Dry Falls was resurfaced in 2008, work that also required closing the site for several weeks during the season.

The National Forest Service has announced plans for prescribed burns in Burke and Haywood county locations in the Pisgah National Forest in the next few weeks.

The Haywood County burn is to include two projects covering about 950 acres near Harmon Den (home to a horse camp closed for the season) and the Max Patch bald. These include aproximately 500 acres between Harmon Den Road and Cherry Creek Trail, and about 450 acres between Max Patch Road and Buckeye Ridge Horse Trail.

The Burke County project is to burn approximately 1,250 acres near near Dobson Knob south of Forest Service Road 106 to Black Fork and Yellow Fork Creek.

The fires are to be set between now and "early December," weather permitting, the Forest Service says in a news release

Prescribed burns reduce the buildup of dead wood, shrubs and other vegetation, and decrease the chance of severe wildfire, the release says.

"Numerous native plants and animals need fire in their habitats to reduce competition from invading species, and to add nutrients back into the soil," according to the Forest Service. "Prescribed burning also helps support strategic goals of restoring ecological systems to their natural resilience, restoring native vegetation, and protecting people and resources from catastrophic fires."

The threat of bear activity that closed several campgrounds near Mount Mitchell has abated and the recreation areas have reopened, the Forest Service said Monday.

The following were to reopen by the end of the day:

* Briar Bottom Campground.
* Black Mountain Campground.
* Neals Creek Road.
* Buncombe Horse Trail - from Forest Service Road 472 to the intersection the Big Tom Gap trail (TR 1918).
* Mt. Mitchell Trail - from Black Mountain Campground to Mt. Mitchell State Park.
* Mountain to Sea Trail - From N.C. 128 to Black Mountain Campground.
* Higgins Bald Trail (TR 1908).

Camping at Mount Mitchell State Park has been suspended at least through August 29 because of black bear activity, the state Division of Parks and Recreation said today.

Bears have been reported rummaging for food in the campground area, and similar activity has prompted the U.S. Forest Service to close campgrounds and trails in the adjacent Pisgah National Forest, a news release says.

The National Forest Service closed the Black Mountain Campground, Briar Bottom Group Campground, Forest Service Road 472 and Neals Creek Road today, and previously closed the Mount Mitchell Trail between Black Mountain Campground and Mount Mitchell State Park, and portions of the Buncombe Horse Trail and the Higgins Bald Trail.

The Mount Mitchell campground has nine tent-only sites.

Closing the campground will likely encourage bears to abandon the area to seek natural food sources, the state says.

The '60s are long gone, man. The guys growing ganga out in the woods are gangsters not hippies, the National Forest Service warns in a news release.

While only a fraction of National Forest System lands are affected by illegal marijuana cultivation, the Forest Service says the safety risks are real. As soon as you become aware that you have come upon a cultivation site, back out immediately. Never engage the growers, as these are extremely dangerous people, the release says.

In addition to the danger to people who find marijuana patches in the woods, the pot plots themselves cause extensive and long-term damage to the forests and to supplies of public drinking water for hundreds of miles. Growers damage the land when they clear it for planting and then spoil it with herbicides and other chemicals, and they often dam creeks and siphon water for irrigation.

National Forests in North Carolina conserve more than 1.2 million acres for recreation and forestry research in four forests (below): the Nantahala and Pisgah in the mountains, the Uwharrie in the state's Piedmont, and the Croatan at the coast. Another 43,000 acres in the state are set aside in Bladen Lakes and DuPont State Forests, in seven Educational State Forests and in eight research forests operated by N.C. State University.

In the year ending October 30, the Forest Service found more than 38,200 marijuana plants in national forests here, including a large seizure in the Pisgah National Forest near Hot Springs, Forest Service spokesman Stevin Westcott told The News & Observer. They found 3,010 plants the year before.

The release provides these clues that you may have come across a marijuana cultivation site:

* Sometimes marijuana smells like a skunk on hot days.
* Hoses or drip lines located in unusual or unexpected places.
* A well-used trail where there shouldn’t be one.
* People standing along roads without vehicles present, or in areas where loitering appears unusual.
* Camps containing cooking and sleeping areas with food, fertilizer, weapons, garbage, rat poison and/or dead animals.
* Small propane bottles, used to avoid the detection of wood smoke.
* Individuals armed with rifles out of hunting season.

So, stay safe in the woods. If you stumble upon a pot patch, leave the way you came in, the Forest Service says, making as little noise as possible. Report as much information as you can to local law enforcement or any uniformed member of the Forest Service.

The National Forest Service recently announced its plan to increase or establish fees at several day-use sites in each of the four National Forests in North Carolina.

"Public input is welcomed, and will be evaluated by a regional advisory board this fall before any changes are approved by the Regional Forester," news releases from the Forest Service say. "Fee changes are being considered due to the increasing costs of operating and maintaining recreation facilities, and to enable the Forest Service to add amenities requested by forest visitors at various recreation sites."

In addition to individual day-use areas, the Forest Service is proposing a change in the cost of seasonal passes for OHV trail complexes in all national forests within North Carolina.

News releases for the individual forests (below) detail the amount of the fee increases. Approved changes would go into effect for the 2011 recreation season.

The site in the Croatan National Forest being considered for a fee increase is Black Swamp OHV Trail Complex.

Sites in the Nantahala National Forest being considered for fee increases include Wayehutta OHV Trail Complex, Dirty John Shooting Range, Panthertop Shooting Range and Jackrabbit Recreation Area (swimming beach). New fees are being proposed at Moss Knob Shooting Range and Wine Spring Horse Camp.

Sites in the Pisgah National Forest being considered for fee increases are Brown Mountain OHV Trail Complex, Sliding Rock Recreation Area and Roan Mountain Recreation Area. A new restroom is being installed at Wolf Ford Recreation Area, with a new fee being proposed there.

Sites in the Uwharrie National Forest being considered for fee increases include Badin Lake OHV Trail Complex and Canebrake Horse Camp. Some trails at Badin Lake OHV Trail Complex are being improved with Recovery Act funds, but will still have significant and recurring maintenance needs.

Comments should be mailed by July 30 to USDA Forest Service, National Forests in North Carolina, ATTN: Recreation Fee Proposals, 160A Zillicoa Street, Asheville NC 28801, or e-mailed to comments-southern-north-carolina@fs.fed.us with “Recreation Fees” in the subject line.