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Volume 10, Issue 2 August 2012
The Little River
Watermark Membership Newsletter for Friends of DuPont Forest
Bev Parlier Friends of DuPont Forest President
A lot has been happening with the Friends of DuPont Forest since our last newsletter was issued in the spring.
At the Annual Meeting of FODF on April 24, 2012, President Kent Wilcox gave a slide presentation on the history of Du-Pont Forest, from its prehistoric use as hunting grounds for the Cherokee nation to its current position as the only State Recreational Forest in the U.S. Nine nominees were elected to the Board for a three-year term. Outgoing Board members Lynn Horton and John Williams were thanked for their ser-vice. Forest Supervisor David Brown gave a report that in-cluded information about visitation, volunteer hours, trail im-provements and events. Awards were presented to FODF members who have volunteered 30 or more hours for the NC Forest Service.
Introducing your FODF Officers for 2012: President-Bev Par-lier, who lives in Rosman, NC. Bev is a hiker and mountain biker and has been a FODF member about 10 years. She has served on the FODF Board for 2 terms in the past. Bev is a member of the Trails committee and helps with the Parking Lot Host Program. Vice President-Fred Roane, lives in Hen-dersonville, NC and is serving his second term on the FODF Board. He is an instructor for Muddy Sneakers. Secretary-Lee Lindsay lives in Columbus, NC and is an equestrian and is serving her second term on the FODF Board. Treasurer- Chris McDonnell lives in Flat Rock, NC. He is an avid hiker and is beginning his second term on the Board. Board members are: Rella Allred - Saluda, NC, Dan Bresnahan - Cedar Mountain, NC, Lyle Burgmann - Simpson-ville, SC, Dick Childs - Easley, SC, Jerry Clouse - Brevard, NC, Tom Fanslow - Hendersonville, NC, Devin Gentry - Brevard, NC, Mel-ody Heltman - Hendersonville, NC, Gwen Hill - Hendersonville, NC, Helen Lee - Cedar Mountain, NC, Stephanie Morrow - Waynes-ville, NC, Chuck Ramsey - Pisgah Forest, NC, Aleen Steinberg - Cedar Mountain, NC, Kent Wilcox - Cedar Mountain, NC & Camille Ziegler - Brevard, NC.
On May 12 and 13 Tour de Falls was held. A total of 525 people visited the forest on the bus tour. That Sunday was a rainy day, but people still exited the buses with a big smile on their faces! DuPont Trails Day was held June 2nd. FODF had a trail work crew, park-ing lot hosts in most of the lots, and a hotdog cookout for all afterwards. Our new 2012 maps are a big hit. So far this year, over 200 have been sold.
The Trails committee hosts trail workdays the second Saturday of each month. “Social trails” which destroy the flora and disrupt the water quality in the forest, have been closed off. The July workday was corridor clearing for a trail from High Falls parking lot to near the Triple falls-High Falls trail intersection. This trail will enable hikers to avoid a road walk, and keep the Buck Forest road clear for vehicles.
I am looking forward to working on trails that will promote connectivity in the forest. Con-necting trails will provide alternate loops, and distance users can avoid congested areas, and stay off the dangerous roadways.
Much has been happening in the forest this summer. Be sure to check out the upcoming FODF fall events.
See you on the trails ~
Inside this issue:
New of the Forest 2-3
Duke Energy Upgrades 4
Hiking Challenge
Parking Lot Hosts 5
Three Hikes ~ Three Lakes Hike
Calendar of Events 6
Litter Pick Up Award
Board Member Remembered 7
DuPont Trails Day 8-9
Membership Form 10
President’s Corner Bev Parlier, FODF President
Current photo of the future Welcome Center
Forest Staff – Management Forester, Brian Schneider is resigning his DSRF position effective July 31, 2012. Brian has accepted a teaching position at Haywood Community College in Clyde, NC. We wish Brian the best in this new endeavor. Brian did a great job of setting up and managing a timber sale during the past year. He was also responsible for preparing an updated forest trails map and for completing our forest man-agement plan that was approved in June 2011. Susan Fay is our newest staff member. She started July 9 as the Holmes Educational State Forest (HESF) Supervisor. She will be working with Education Ranger, Tim Fleming to main-tain that 235 acre forest and deliver environmental education programs to hundreds of school, camp, scout, etc. groups each year. HESF, though smaller than DSRF, has a lot to offer. They have a convenient picnic area, a great diversity of plants and wildlife, a small informative forestry center and single track trails for hikers only. Ken Gonyo is a volunteer that has put in lots of hours at DSRF and also at Holmes Educational State Forest (HESF) this summer. Ken has filled numerous empty slots in the FODF host schedule, many times working a double shift on Saturday or Sunday. Ken participated in a wildflower hike ear-lier this year at HESF and observed lots of multiflora rose bushes. He is working with the Holmes staff to remove this desirable invasive species. Ken is but one example of the efforts of hundreds of other volunteers that contribute time to make improvements to en-hance the visitor experience. All of our volunteers are valued and appreciated, including the FODF trail crew, Tour de Falls volunteers, litter pick up detail, parking lot hosts and regular office and facility workers.
Visitation – Traffic counters installed last winter reveal a higher level of visitation than had been previously estimated. The car counts will be evaluated and compared with the previ-ous method of estimating visitor levels. According to the counters, we had 162,000 visits from January through June this year. A previous estimate for a 12 month period (July 2010-June 2011) was 188,000. There has been a marked increase in visitation because of articles in publications like Bike Magazine, Our State magazine and publicity (national and international) associated with the release of The Hunger Games.
News About the Forest David R. Brown, DSRF Forest Supervisor
Galax – Galax growing along the new segment of Grassy Creek Trail
Restrooms – The public restrooms at the High Falls access area have
been a welcome addition to the forest.
Indian Pipe – Indian pipes growing next to a white pine cone
An exit survey has been implemented to develop a visitor profile and gain a better understanding of who is using the forest, what they think of the trails and facilities and the kind of experience visitors are seeking. This survey is being conducted throughout the summer and fall and will conclude this winter. Welcome Center – There is a renewed push to get the Welcome Center completed using private funds. This is not as simple as one might think. General Statutes require plans to be prepared by a registered architect or licensed engineer and approved by the Office of State Construction. Capital improvement projects must be approved by the Office of State Budget Management and the General Assembly prior to initiation. The approval we were granted for the first phase (structural stabilization and drying-in of the cabin and construction of new public restrooms) was limited to only what those specific appropriations could fiscally accomplish. Anything beyond will require approval as a subsequent phase. I will continue to work on this with support from the NCDA&CS En-gineering Section.
Page 2
Trail Improvements – A $40,380 trail maintenance contract was completed by Trail Dynamics, LLC in May. The contract involved seven trails totaling 8.75 miles. Eroded areas were reconstructed, trail drainage was improved and unsustainable segments were re-routed. FODF funded the improvements. Two additional trail projects are going out for bids this summer. The contract will include a trail connecting Briery Fork Trail to Tur-key Knob Road and extending High Falls Trail from Triple Falls Trail to the High Falls access area. The High Falls extension will get hikers off the gravel road and immediately into the woods from the parking lot.
Cooperation – It takes everybody working together to maintain 82 miles
of forest roads and trails. John Williams (left) and Kenneth Blazer (right)
represented two of the groups that worked on DuPont Trails Day.
DuPont Trails Day – Kemp Davis and Camille Ziegler team up to
clear vegetation along Pine Tree Trail on June 2.
News About the Forest Cont.. David R. Brown, DSRF Forest Supervisor
Fairy-Wand – Fairy-wands (also called devil’s bit) growing along
Reasonover Creek Trail
Public Safety – There have been 19 forest incidents recorded in 2012, as of July 18. Two of the incidents were life-treating medical calls. There were ten other medical calls involving serious trauma. There were four law enforcement incidents, two lost person searches and an incident involving a car and motorcycle. Most medical calls have occurred on Sunday afternoons. Weekday calls generally occur around noon. Visit the forest with safety in mind. Summertime visitors must
watch out for afternoon thunderstorms. There is little one can do
to substantially reduce risk if caught outside in a thunderstorm.
Picnic shelters and gazebos are not safe retreats during a thun-
derstorm. For the best protection, return to the parking lot and wait
out the storm in a fully enclosed metal-topped vehicle.
Be sure and carry plenty of drinking water when using the trails on
hot summer days. Stay within your comfort level and don’t extend
beyond the level of exercise you are accustomed to. If you are
prone to heat stress avoid visiting in the middle of the day, or
postpone your visit until cooler weather.
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DID YOU KNOW? FODF has over 350 memberships. Some of these memberships include families and house-holds so that our entire membership number is many times that. We now have members in 13 states including: NC, SC, GA, FL, VT, NJ, OH, SD, TX, CA, PA, LA, and TN. Stephanie Morrow, Membership Chair.
All pictures on page 2-3 are courtesy of David Brown
Construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2013. Although installation of the new conductor is expensive, it is preferable to installing a third row of towers along the 22 mile route. This project will not require any increase in the width of the right-of-way through DuPont Forest or removal of additional trees along the route.
A somewhat less-noticeable component of this project has been the appearance of numbered signs along some roads and trails in DuPont Forest, as shown in figure 2. When the signs first appeared, some speculated that they were sites for lots in a new development and others speculated that they marked the route for a long-distance marathon. In actuality, the numbers indicate the location of specific high-voltage transmission tow-ers, for example tower 142, as shown in figure 3.
Please visit the Duke Energy website for additional information on the 230kv Transmission Line Project (http://www.duke-energy.com/about-us/electric-transmission-projects/caesar.asp)
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If you would like to share a photo, story, event or news about your DuPont State Forest
experience, e-mail your information to Nancy Black, Newsletter Editor at [email protected]
Duke Energy Upgrades Kent Wilcox, FODF Board Member
Many people who have driven through DuPont Forest on Staton Road in the past year have wondered what Duke Energy is do-ing with the high-voltage transmission lines that run through DuPont State Recreational Forest. Tons of gravel have been spread along the road under the wires and construction trucks are parked along the road almost every day. There have been rumors that a third row of towers is being installed. To get the facts, I contacted Construction Manager Jim Hollifield with As-surance Plus, who is working with Duke Energy on the project.
Jim told me that the access road was resurfaced with gravel to support trucks that were transporting heavy equipment for the project. The road was re-graded and improvements were made to prevent serious erosion problems caused in the past by water runoff during heavy rains. Consequently, the section of Conser-vation Road under the transmission wires in DuPont Forest is no longer a huge mud hole after a rainstorm.
The primary purpose of the construction project is to meet in-creased electrical load capacity requirements. This is accom-plished by replacing the conductor (wires) and a minimum num-ber of towers where necessary. The tricky part is finding a place to put the wires when the old towers are removed. The solution is to install temporary structures to hold the wires until the new towers are built. Thus, the rumor that a third row of towers is being installed is partially true, but only for a brief time. As shown in figure 1, the single pole on the far left is the temporary structure for the three wires that will be installed on the new tower next to it. After the wires are transferred, the single pole will be removed.
The 230,000 volt Caesar transmission line in DuPont Forest extends 22 miles from the Shiloh Switching Station in Travelers Rest, SC to at a sub-station in Pisgah Forest, NC. To meet the increasing demand for electric power in western NC, Duke En-ergy is replacing the high-voltage transmission line with new wires that will carry more current. Both the existing and new wires use aluminum as the conductor, but the new wires have a different core material that can support more aluminum. These wires are not insulated, so don’t go near any wire that comes down in a storm.
Figure 1. High voltage transmission lines in DuPont Forest
Figure 2. Numbered signs near Staton Road
Figure 3. Numbered sign on tower for high-voltage transmission line
All pictures on this page are courtesy of Kent Wilcox
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Three Generations Complete Hiking Challenge Chris McDonnell, FODF Treasurer
Inspired by the possibility of earning a ‘White Squirrel Patch’ while attending the first annual Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy's
Oktoberfest atop Bearwallow Mountain, 6 year old Ben Clayton convinced his dad Joseph Clayton and his grandfather & FODF Mem-
ber Ben McKenney, to join him in taking the CMLC HIKING CHALLENGE. Always ready for a challenge, little Ben set out to complete
all eight hikes during the month of June, before turning seven in August, and they completed the last of the hikes on Thursday, June
27th! Two of the hike challenges are located in the DuPont State Recreational Forest. Ben said the last hike at East Fork Headwaters
- Foothills Trail “was really, really hard, but I am glad I will get the patch.”
With the Hunger Games being filmed here, we have seen a large increase in visitors visiting the DuPont State Recreational Forest. In May, June and July, it was very busy for our Parking Lot Hosts both at Hooker Falls parking lot and at High Falls parking lot. Our volunteers gave out information about the For-est, directions to the waterfalls, sold our new trail maps and had cold water available on many of those hot days.
We are currently looking for Parking Lot Hosts to cover week-end shifts. If you have a couple of hours to spare and would like to volunteer to be a host at one of these information shel-ters, we still have weekend shift openings available in August, September and in October.
If you would like to be a Host contact
Donna at [email protected] for Aug,
Bev at [email protected] for Sept,
Helen at [email protected] for Oct.
A BIG THANK YOU for all of the Volunteers who have steeped up to
be a Parking Lot Host.
Ben McKenney, Ben Clayton & Joseph Clayton—Summer 2012 6 year old Ben Clayton
Ken Gonyo volunteering to host at the High Falls Parking Lot.
Eddie & Jo Leach hosting the Hooker Falls Parking Lot
Parking Lot Hosts Needed Helen Lee, FODF Board Member
Pictures courtesy of Bev Parlier
Date Event Contact Phone (828) Limit
Monthly Trail Work Days Rella Allred 749-5626 None
Volunteer Work Days to maintain trails in DuPont State Recreational Forest are scheduled the 2nd Saturday of each month
August 18 Botanical Walk at Guion Farm
Members will be sent via e-mail for time and location of hike.
August 25 Three Falls - Three Lakes Hike Chris McDonnell 698-2929 25
Moderate 5-mile hike led by Jan Tenderholt. Meet at Hooker Falls parking lot at 9:00
Sept 22 Litter Pick-up Peg Bresnahan 877-6431 None
Join the Litter-Haters! Meet at Lake Imaging parking lot at 9:00 AM
Sept 25 Friends of DuPont Forest Board Meeting Bev Parlier 883-9278
To be held at WCCA, Hendersonville NC. 6:30pm
Sept 29 ADYC (another danged yellow composite) Wildflower Hike Fred Roane 595-4181 20
It's Fall and now the yellows and the asters are leading the wildflower show. Fawn Lake lot, 10:00.
Oct 6 FODF Canoe Day Lee Lindsay 894-0733 Members
Canoes and snacks provided for/by FODF members at Lake Julia. Meet at Fawn Lake parking lot between 9-4:00
Oct 13 Tour de Falls (Check website for updates.) Volunteers needed. Chris McDonnell 692-2929 Open to
Oct 14 Tour de Falls Public
Oct 20 Stone Mountain Hike -- Highest point in DuPont Chris McDonnell 692-2929 25
Difficult 4-mile hike. Guion Farm parking lot at 9:00
Oct 27 Moonlight Hike -- Cedar Rock Bev Parlier 883-9278 25
Bring headlamp or flashlight. Corn Mill Shoals -- 6:00 p.m.
Nov 10 Litter Pick-up Peg Bresnahan 877-6431 None
Join the Litter-Haters! Meet at Lake Imaging parking lot at 9:00 AM
Nov 17 Geology Hike Aleen Steinberg 885-2477 25
Jim Reynolds will lead this outing. Meeting place and time TBD.
Nov 27 Friends of DuPont Forest Board Meeting Bev Parlier 883-9278
Meet at 6:30 at Guion Farm
Dec 8 History/Cemetery Hike -- Thomas Cemetery Fred Roane 595-4181 25
There's a lot of history in "Them Thar Hills". What do we know about our early settlers? Guion Farm parking lot at 10:00
Three Falls ~ Three Lakes Hike Planned Chris McDonnell, FODF Treasurer
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On Saturday, August 25 at 9:00am, FODF will sponsor a 5 mile moderate hike, led by Jan Tenderholt. This hike will take you to three
waterfalls & three lakes. If you’re interested, call Chris McDonnell at (828)692-2929 to register. Wear comfortable hiking shoes and
bring water and a light snack. The hike will leave from the Hooker Falls Parking lot at 9:00a.m.
FODF received a plaque and two green jazzy-looking decal stars with the number 10 on them from the DOT. The plaque reads: 'North Carolina Department of Trans-portation recognizes Friends of DuPont Forest for outstanding public stewardship and commitment to protecting North Carolina's environment by participating in the Adopt-A-Highway program for 10 consecutive years, 2002-2012.' The slogan 'mean about clean' is also on the plaque. The stars will be fixed to the large orange signs reading 'Litter Pick-Up in Progress' posted at each end of our adopted site. Litter Haters go out in whatever weather except thunder and lightning, five times a year, more if needed. No matter how many loyal and determined volunteers show up, the roadsides along Cascade Lake Road to Staton Road, Staton or DuPont, (depending whether it's Transylvania or Henderson County), to a spot beyond Lake Imaging parking lot, are covered. If enough volunteers show up, High Falls, Hooker and Lake Imaging parking lots and the gravel part of Cascade Lake Road are included. If even more enthusiastic Litter Haters appear, the gravel part of Sky Valley Road that leads to Guion Farm and onward are also included. Sadly, more visitors mean more litter. On the July 21st pick-up, from Hooker Falls parking lot to Lake Imaging alone, ten dirty diapers, besides the normal beer cans, beer bottles, cream soda and plastic were collected. A full set of keys was found on Sky Valley Road, large pieces of metal on Cascade Lake Road, hunks of board, pieces of Styrofoam besides the normal dreck. Normally, FODF schedules five pick-ups a year. We may have to add more. Anyone who cares about the health of our roadsides is welcomed to join us. The next sched-uled pick-up is Saturday, September 22nd 9 a.m. at the Lake Imaging parking lot. Sturdy shoes, long pants and a cap are recommended. We provide orange vests, grabbers for picking up the litter, gloves and the orange bags. Someone is con-stantly driving the route to check on the volunteers. Questions or comments? Email Peg & Dan Bresnahan at [email protected] or phone 828-884-6806.
Litter Haters Earn Well Deserved Award Peg Bresnahan, FODF member
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JOHN CARNEY
Dec 19, 1938 - May 15, 2012
John was a past Vice President of Friends of DuPont Forest 2007-2009 and an active member of the Pisgah Chapter of Trout Unlimited. He was involved in the petroglyph project at DuPont and was Chair of the History committee. He loved ex-ploring the remains of home sites & graves sites in the forest, interviewed many past landowners and their families, re-searched many deed records and loved “putting the puzzle together, one piece at a time” as he would say. John left a wonderful legacy of the DuPont State Recreational Forest and will be greatly missed.
Board Member Remembered
Page 8
DuPont Trail Days—2012 Rella Allred, FODF Board Member
DuPont Trails Day on June 2nd was a huge success! A big THANK YOU goes out to parking lot hosts - Lynn Harton at Corn Mill Shoals parking lot, Aleen Steinberg at the Hooker Falls parking lot, Nancy Finkell and Cheryl Calvert at the Lake Imaging parking lot, Suzanne Childs at High Falls parking lot & Paula Price, Barb Southerland & Sue Strain at the Fawn Lake parking lot.
The hosts took in a little over $500 in map sales and donations. Suz-anne Childs had the highest number of map sales at 17, and Paula Price, Barb Southerland & Sue Strain were the fastest when they sold six within the first hour. Rella was trail boss and coordinated the crew on Pine Tree Trail and Woody Keene headed up the SORBA crew on Holly Trail. Another big thanks goes to Lee Lindsay and Melody Heltman for organizing and cooking the hot dog lunch.
Woody Keene and some of the SORBA (Southern Off-road Bikers Assoc.) crew went out the day before to prepare for the work to be done on Holly Trail. On Saturday there were about 15 SORBA mem-bers working on the trail. That crew worked most of the day Saturday improving the lower end of Holly Trail.
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The FODF Trail crew split, to work on trimming and clearing water drains from each end of Pine Tree Trail. John Williams headed up one crew and Camille Ziegler led the other. Trail crew workers were Laura Williams, Jeff and Carmen Durham, Cathie Campbell, Kemp Davis, Dick Childs, and Ken Blazer. Lyle and Molly Bergmann helped deliver, set up and take down tents for the parking lot hosts, as well as working on the trail crew. Dick Childs, Aleen Steinberg and John Williams also carpooled participants up to the picnic at High Falls shelter from the parking area. Rella Allred helped Forest Supervisor, David Brown, organize the trail crews and assist the parking lot hosts. Bev Parlier organized the parking lot hosts and prepared the materials for each site as well as overseeing the event. Participants represented moun-tain bikers, hikers and equestrians who enjoy and help maintain the unsurpassed trail system at DuPont Recreational Forest. Lee Lindsay and Melody Heltman organized and cooked a terrific hot dog lunch which was very much appreciated. Everyone pitched in where they were needed to accomplish a great DuPont Trails Day.
Keep up to date with events sponsored by the Friends of
DuPont Forest by going to www.dupontforest.com.
DuPont Trail Days Cont... Rella Allred, FODF Board Member
All pictures on page 8-9 are courtesy of Tom & Bev Parlier
Friends of DuPont Forest
PO Box 2107
Brevard, NC 28712
FODF Board of Directors Bev Parlier, President Fred Roane, Vice President Chris McDonnell, Treasurer Lee Lindsey, Secretary Rella Allred Dan Bresnahan Lyle Burgmann Dick Childs Jerry Clouse Tom Fanslow Devin Gentry Melody Heltman Gwen Hill Helen Lee Stephanie Morrow Chuck Ramsey Aleen Steinberg Kent Wilcox Camille Ziegler
FODF Board of Directors
Membership Get Involved
○ Friend (1 Year) $25 I would like to volunteer
○ Family (1 Year) $35 ○ Trail Building & Work Crew
Donate at a level of $50 or more, receive a free Friends of DuPont Forest T-shirt ( S, M, L, XL, XXL ) Circle one ○ Adopt-a-Hwy Litter Pick-Up
○ Partner (1 Year) $50 ○ Special Events (Tour de Falls, Canoe Day, etc)
○ Supporter (1 Year) $100 ○ Special Forest Interest/Educational Programs
○ Hooker Falls Contributor (1 Year) $ 250 ○ Membership Services
○ Triple Falls Contributor (1 Year) $ 500 ○ Parking Lot Greeters
○ High Falls Contributor (1 Year) $1000 ○ Grant Writing
○ Forest Angel (1 Year) $1001+ ○ DuPont State Forest History Program
○ Additional Donation $___________________ ○ Fundraising Efforts
○ I’ve already joined online through dupontforest.com ○ Other ___________________________________________
Save the stamps. Please E-mail my newsletter to the E-mail address listed below
Name ______________________________________________ Address___________________________________________________
(Please print clearly)
City ________________________________________________ State___________ ZIP_______________________________________
Phone (_______)_____________________________________ E-mail ____________________________________________________
Mail this form to: Friends of DuPont Forest ~ P.O. Box 2107 ~ Brevard, NC 28712
Tour de Falls
10/13 - 10/14
We need lots of
volunteers so if
you can help out
call
Chris McDonnell
(828) 692-2929.
