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The Botanical Gardens at Asheville, Wednesday, time TBA. Trip Leader: Jay Krancheck. Strolling through this collection of plants native to the Southern Appalachian mountains, you will learn about this area’s natural history, neutral floras, and natural community delineation, and visit examples of some unique natural communities including a rock outcrop and bog.
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Cataloochee Valley Elk Viewing, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, NC.Wednesday, 2:30-7:30 pm. Trip Leader: Joe Yarkovich, NPS. Elk once roamed the southern Appalachian Mountains until they were eliminated from the region by over-hunting and loss of habitat. The experimental release of elk into Great Smoky Mountains National Park began in 2001. During this trip, you will hear a presentation on the elk reintroduction, as well as black bear and wild hog management in the park. Elk, wild turkey, and white-tailed deer may all be sighted. Binoculars strongly recommended. Driving along a narrow, dirt road required. Maximum of 20 participants.
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Ecology and Management of Southern Appalachian Hardwood Forest: A Research Perspective, Bent Creek Experimental Forest, Asheville, NC. Wednesday, 1:00-5:00 pm. Trip leaders: Cathryn Greenberg, Henry McNab, Tara Keyser, David Loftis. Participants will get an overview of the ecology of southern Appalachian hardwood forest ecosystems and learn about the research program in ecology and silviculture at the Bent Creek Experimental Forest. The group will learn how forest composition changes over moisture and fertility gradients. They will also view a demonstration of different forest management practices and learn how each affects forest regeneration, wildlife, and forest food resources such as fleshy fruit and hard mast.
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Birding at Beaverlake Bird Sanctuary, Asheville, NC. Saturday, 7:30 am-11:30 am. Trip Leader: Marilyn Westphal, Kitty Reynolds, UNCA. Owned and operated by the Elisha Mitchell Audubon Society, Beaverlake was scheduled to be a strip mall until the local Audubon chapter and nearby homeowners bought the property and turned it into a bird sanctuary. We will look for early spring migrants, including the white-throated sparrow and yellow-throated warbler. Easy, level walking. Comfortable shoes and binoculars are strongly recommended. Maximum of 20 participants.
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Management and Science in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, NC. Saturday, 8:30 am-2:30 pm. Trip leaders: Paul Super & Joseph Yarkovich, NPS. Starting at Cataloochee Valley and heading to Purchase Knob, this trip will include searching for some of the 31 species of salamander found in the Smokies and discussions of research in the Smokies and wildlife management practices in the park. Comfortable walking shoes and binoculars recommended. Maximum of 20 participants.
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Early Spring Herping at Sandy Bottom Wetlands, Asheville, NC. Saturday, 8:00 am-12:00 pm. Trip leader: Jim Petranka, UNCA. Sandy Bottom is a small floodplain wetlands complex that supports an exceptionally high diversity of amphibians. We will search the site for herps that include the four-toed salamander, mud salamander, mole salamander, and bog turtle. We will also search aquatic habitats for amphibian eggs and larvae. Maximum of 20 participants.
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Pteridophytes and Bryophytes of Panthertown Valley, Jackson Co., NC. Saturday, 8:00 am-3:00 pm. Trip Leaders: Paul Davison, UNA, Duke Rankin, USFS. This 6,295-acre tract within the Nantahala National Forest is distinguished by its broad flat valley floor flanked by granite cliffs abruptly rising 200 to 300 feet. These granite domes with exposed rock are uncommon in the southern Appalachians and offer spectacular open vistas. The area is home to many rare species and natural communities. This trip will include a hike to Schoolhouse Falls to see relictual rockhouse fern gametophytes and rare and fascinating mosses and liverworts, with other stops at Little Green Mountain rock outcrop and Warden Falls. Moderate hiking. Van transportation limited to 15 participants.
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Balsam Crest, Blue Ridge Parkway, Asheville south to Balsam Gap. Saturday, 8:30 am-2:30 pm. Trip leader: Dan Pittillo. This driving/hiking tour will take us along the Blue Ridge Parkway as it crosses the crest of the Balsams between Asheville at NC 191 and Balsam Gap. Flatlanders will appreciate the montane climate and elevation impacts on weather (be sure to dress for cold temperatures). We will stop to view plant communities and breathtaking vistas, hiking at Flat Laurel Gap Paleoecological site, Black Balsam Knob grass & heath bald (discussing burn history), and Red Bank Cove, a rich cove forest where early spring ephemerals may be spotted. Maximum of 15 participants.
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Don't Fall off the Outcrop! Jackson & Macon counties. Saturday, 8:00 am-2:30 pm. Trip leader: Gary Wein. We will visit several high-elevation rock outcrops such as Cedar Cliffs, Laurel Knob, Satulah Mountain, and Little Scaly Mountain. Plant communities include acidic and mafic rock outcrops, heath balds, and a 390 year old dwarf montane white oak forest. Come prepared for stunning views and a discussion of the state of conservation in western North Carolina!
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Kituhwa & Cowee Historical Cherokee Mound and Town Sites, Bryson City & Franklin, NC. Saturday, 8:30 am-3:30 pm. Trip Leaders: Jane Eastman, David Cozzo, Tom Belt, WCU. We will visit two sites that are very significant places in Cherokee culture and history: Kituhwa, the Mother Town, and Cowee, a large and important eighteenth-century economic and diplomatic center. Tour leaders will provide perspectives on the cultural, archaeological, and ethnobiological aspects of these two former Cherokee town sites. Van transportation limited to 15 people.
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