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 TNC-NC Stewardship Assistant Mamie Colburn produced a short video about a fire-adapted plant, mountain golden heather (Hudsonia montana), that was found to be thriving after wildfires on Shortoff Mountain in the Grandfather Ranger District. In the video, FLN partners, US Forest Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and The Nature Conservancy documented their persistence following spring fires. This scrubby little plant clings to the rocks almost as close to the edge of a cliff as one can get. Shortoff Mountain has burned on average at least once every decade for hundreds of years. Its prominent rock outcrops, Table Mountain pine, and bunchgrasses are adapted to the frequent lightning-ignited fires. The little plant they were looking for, Hudsonia, is no different. It thrives in this fire-adapted ecosystem and has found its niche, only growing in two counties in North Carolina. In past years there have been dramatic increases in the plants post-fire. Watch at: https://grandfatherrestorationproject.wordpress.com/2017/12/21/thriving-after-fire-rare-plants-and-the-biologists-who-search-for-them/  The Nature Conservancy of South Carolina along with Consortium of Appalachian Fire Managers and Scientists (CAFMS) will be hosting a Prescribed Fire Training Exchange (TREX) from October 29 through November 9, 2018.
The TREX will be based out of Pickens County, SC in the Southern Blue Ridge Escarpment Landscape and operate on mostly public lands in South Carolina and North Carolina. The Southern Blue Ridge TREX will be managed as an incident- participants will be on a burn team and will assist with preparing, scouting, briefing, igniting, holding, mop-up, and patrol on numerous controlled burns in the area. We will also complete pre- and post-fire monitoring, train with equipment, practice fireline leadership skills and learn about local fire ecology and fire management. There will be field trips to past burns, areas burned in recent wildfires and presentations from local community members, scientists, land managers and practitioners. General TREX Information https://www.conservationgateway.org/ConservationPractices/FireLandscapes/HabitatProtectionandRestoration/Training/TrainingExchanges/Pages/fire-training-exchanges.aspx If you have questions, please feel free to drop Helen Mohr a line at helen@cafms.org or hmohr@fs.fed.us Or Tom Dooley, tdooley@tnc.org An All Lands Approach to Burning Across the SBRE: Know Your Neighbor!
Greenville Water Operations Facility 517 West Washington Street Greenville, SC 29601 October 19, 2017 Meeting 9:30 AM-3:30 PM Registration begins at 9:00 AM Goals for Meeting: The purpose of the Southern Blue Ridge Escarpment (SBRE) Landscape Meeting is to connect partners across the two-states of NC and SC to discuss and coordinate controlled burning efforts. This particular meeting will focus on developing a landscape approach to burning across the SBRE through knowing your neighbor and thinking outside the box to overcome barriers. We will also outline ideas for how to share resources to accomplish our goals. Please RSVP to Emily Oakman at eoakman@g.clemson.edu no later than EOB Tuesday, October 10. . News from the Field
North Carolina: In an article about the forest rebounding after wildfire, Torry Nergart of the Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy talks about working to make a trail through the area a Fire Learning Trail. SBR FLN partners first developed this enhanced interpretive tool for a trail in Pisgah National Forest near the Linville Gorge Wilderness Area. (See the Webinars section below for information about the SBR FLN webinar on the Fire Learning Trail.) All Over: Check out the FAC Net blog for a round-up of FAC Net—and TREX—projects on last month’s National Wildfire Community Preparedness Day. Webinars June 9 The Fire Learning Trail 10:00 Pacific / 11:00 Mountain / noon Central / 1:00 Eastern Jenifer Bunty will be the presenter on this Southern Blue Ridge FLN webinar about this joint outreach project by between The Nature Conservancy, USDA Forest Service and the Consortium of Appalachian Fire Managers and Scientists. Details: http://www.conservationgateway.org/ConservationPractices/FireLandscapes/FireLearningNetwork/NetworkProducts/Pages/SBR-Webinar-FireLearningTrail-2017.aspx Partners of the Southern Blue Ridge Fire Learning are recognized in the recent issue of Smoky Mountain Living magazine. The article by Don Hendershot is entitled "A Perfect Storm or the New Norm". To see the multi-page spread and read the article, click on the link below. The article is also available at smliv.com.
SOUTH CAROLINA: THE LAST OF THE STORIES FROM THE POST-FIRE MEDIA TOUR HOSTED BY THE SOUTHERN BLUE RIDGE ESCARPMENT LANDSCAPE IS OUT NOW. THE GREENVILLE JOURNAL ARTICLE “LAST FALL’S FIRE GIVES BIRTH TO A SPRING TRANSFORMATION FOR TABLE ROCK, PINNACLE MOUNTAIN” NICELY COVERS THE ROLE OF FIRE IN THIS LANDSCAPE, AS WELL AS PLANS FOR UPCOMING CONTROLLED BURNS. FOR MORE, CONTACT KRISTEN AUSTIN (KAUSTIN@TNC.ORG).
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