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What follows is a presentation of transcribed notes from
the early field trips that evolved into The Forests of the Central Appalachians
Project. These notes are presented with all their warts and omissions (especially punctuation!). Where clarification is needed, this is bracketed. 1)
Monterey Mtn.-3880 ft. asl-Scarlet Oak, White Ash, Witch Hazel, few small Black
Locust, Elderberry, Sugar Maple, American Basswood 2) Top
of Allegheny Mtn.-4330 ft. asl-Black Locust, Sugar Maple, Mountain Maple,
Yellow Birch, Striped Maple, Hawthorn, White Ash, Red Maple, Scarlet Oak, Red
Oak (?),Black Cherry, Beech, Chestnut Oak (?) 3) Slab
Camp Run (from Rt. 55) ~3500 ft. asl.-Beech,
Sugar Maple, large Red Oaks, Red Spruce, Red Maple, Yellow Birch, Hawthorn,
Black Cherry, Mtn. Laurel, June Berry, Big-toothed Aspen*, Trembling Aspen (one
small plant), Hemlock, Blueberries, Black Locust(small), Lots of Lycopodia. A
small, fast flowing stream has what appears to Water Stonewort (Callitriche
stagnalis?), On [ Rt.] 55 there was a large Fraser Magnolia. We also saw a
small (~16") green snake which we took to be the northern Smooth Green
Snake. In a peculiar incident it was perched upon by a Fritillary butterfly!
1: First
Inventories
9-1-89 Trip to Va.-West Va. Line
9-21-89 Trip to Bratton's Run, Flood Plain Mesic Forest
Tuliptree, White Oak, Black Oak, Black
Birch, Hemlock, White Pine, Pitch Pine, [Flowering] Dogwood, Spice Bush
[Drawing of Flower] Flower in bloom with almost perfoliate leaf-in boggy area of deep shade
I identified this as a grass of parnassus (Parnassia asarifolia).
Kelley (Sup.)[ G.W. Forest Supervisor ] believes regeneration will improve stand, but can't give a reason except "research." Access Road (System Road) Cost is in Environ "Assessment", but temp. roads not (part of $2500 total! ). They also couldn't explain the occur. of clearcut on other side of stream except that it is intended to increase the edge. Estimate a culvert and bridge necessary to get logs across. Their best answer to justify the Cal. Timber Sale is that it's in the plan!
The dominant tree throughout appears to be Northern Red Oak. On the NW side of Pompey Mtn Shagbark Hickory is very common with Red Oak. The area is mesic. The soil development on granitic rocks favors moisture retention so that many moisture-loving species occur in the herbaceous layer. There are Jack-in -the- Pulpit and many members of the Lily Family, especially large Red Trillium, Solomon's Seal, Clintonia borealis, and perhaps False Hellebore (?). Umbelliferae of various types occur with Meadow Parsnip nearly everywhere. Wood Betony is common (Red). Understory consists of Witch Hazel, Striped Maple and Deciduous Holly (?) perhaps Ilex Montana. Ribes is also common. Toward Mt. Pleasant Wild Lily of the Valley, Maianthemum canadense? becomes increasingly common & forms mats with moss. Here Indian Cucumber Root occurs also. The top of Pompey is a park-like ("Orchard") old growth krumholtz of Northern Red Oak with many dead snags and down wood. In places the shrub layer becomes ericaceous with Pinxter or R. roseum asalea, Huckleberry, Mtn. Laurel (often very large) and Rhododendron. This growth extends to the top of Mt. Pleasant. On the way up I noted Viburnum alnifolium (?) and Virginia Saxifrage, the latter in bloom. Yellow Birch also appears with the ever present Black Birch. On top of Mt. Pleasant there are only a few contorted Red Oak with a complex shrub layer Of Rhododendron, Hawthorn, Choke Cherry, Mountain Ash, Hazel, Witch Hazel. Sedum telephioides and Saxifraga michauxii were noted. Although Clintonia borealis had gone to seed at 3500' it was still blooming on top of Mt. Pleasant. Mt. Maple also occurs. The return part of the loop on the N western side of Mt. Pleasant is through a cool mesic forest with abundant Hickories of different species and varieties (Pignut, Shagbark), Sugar & Red Maple, Basswood & scattered Yellow Birch. As elsewhere Red Oak is common. On Pompey we saw a Rose-breasted Grossbeak singing.
Gus and I did a loop from Hog Camp Gap to Cow Camp Gap-down Little Cove Creek and return to Hog Camp Gap via the North Fork of the Buffalo. We saw no stands of virgin timber along Little Cove Creek but a number of very large trees Oak Ash and Tulip & others. The area is very mesic with abundant plants such as jewelweed, Laportia etc. Tuliptree is confined to elevations of about 2500'. We saw few Chestnut Oaks but some large ones along lower reaches of the Buffalo near Little Cove Creek. The whole area is wild and rocky and very mesic.
1, Note Bracken & hay-scented Ferns Teaberry Columbine on edge of Red Spruce-White Pine Stand near picnic ground. We noted Sambucus pubens & the largest American Chestnut I ever saw a healthy 35', 6" dbh tree although the species isn't common here. We also saw Oxalis montana in bloom, Trillium (not in bloom), Arrowleaf Tearthumb (Polgonum sagittatum) abundant in beaver meadow. We also saw Interrupted and Cinnamon Ferns there.
Banks of Blackwater River Complex shrub community Spirae [ Spiraea ] alba, Speckled Alder- Viburnum recognitum (Smooth Arrowhead) Viburnum trilobum- Sambucus-Cornus(?) Also Sagittaria on mud flats (in bloom), Loosestrife (fringed?) Lysimachia ciliata (?), American Brooklime (Veronica americana)
Dolly Sods-a horizontal talus surface dominantly vegetated by heath plants-Blueberries, Huckleberries, some Mountain Laurel, Azalea (?), Rhododendron Mountain Hollys ( Ilex montana & Nemopanthus mucronata) are abundant as are Speckled Alder, Glade St Johns wort, Black Cherry, Trembling & Big Toothed Aspens, Witch hazel, Wild Raisin Red Spruce, June Berry & Red Maple Some scattered Northern Red Oak A very few Black Locust Planted Red Pines Also some Yellow Birch. Hawthorn is common. Fire Cherry appears common also Noted Narrow leaved Gentian in bloom.
- We (Mike Jones & I) hiked from RT 56 to the top of the Priest (3000 + vertical feet in 5 mi) We noted the largely mesic forest below 2000 ft-Tuliptree,Northern Red Oak White Ash White Oak, Black Gum, Beech White Pine Hophornbeam etc. There noted some Bloodroot, Stellaria & Dentaria in bloom Tuliptree appears confined below 2500 ft elevation There are large tracts of Chestnut oak with Mt Laurel & Rhododendron understory at mid elevations (2000-3000 ft). Above this there is increasing Northern Red Oak with perhaps some Black Oak. On top there is a contorted orchard type Northern Red Oak forest with no Chestnut Oak but with scattered Yellow Birch. Black Birch occurs at all elevations but is most abundant at low elevations It was ~10o : colder on top and we saw no flowers in bloom there. The most common maple appears to be Red Maple at all elevations with a little Sugar Maple. Pignut Hickory with slightly shaggy bark [ Carya ovalis ? ] is common and there is some Mockernut at lower elevations. There is scattered Black Cherry and Black Locust. There's Va Pine at lower elevations and some Pitch Pine.
Noted mesic northern hardwoods just above S.L. Drive with Sugar Maple, White Ash, Northern Red Oak, White Oak. As we climbed oaks became more abundant with dominantly Northern Red Oak but with some Chestnut Oak. Then we saw Balsam Fir which increased toward the top. on top very contorted "orchard" oaks (Mostly Northern Red but some Chestnut) and Yellow Birch Understory of Balsam Fir Witchhazel, Hazlenut, Hawthorn, Mtn Ash etc. Black Birch is omnipresent but Yellow Birch appears more abundant and increases toward the top. There is also some Black Cherry Red Maple. There is also scattered Hemlock and Mtn Laurel is present at all elevations in the understory. Striped Maple is also present at all elevations.
"Virgin Timber along N. Fork Anthony Very large White Oak with almost as large White Pine and Hemlock in a weakly mesic setting. Red Maple and some Beech, smaller trees, Mt Laurel Blue Beech, lots of Hawthorn in understory. The forest is on gentle slope above the stream (not on flood plain). It is very open with little ground cover -which consists partly of Blueberry and Huckleberry some nice down trees with growths of moisture-loving plants.
*White Pine Black Cherry Northern Red Oak
*Hemlock Sassafras Striped Maple
*White Oak Blue Beech
Black Oak Redbud
*White Ash *Ninebark
Shagbark Smooth Alder
Pignut Black Walnut
Tuliptree *Black Birch
Red Maple Black Haw
*Sugar Maple *Rhododendron
Cucumber Magnolia Mtn Laurel
*Buckeye (in bloom) St Johns wort
*Beech Witchhazel
Slippery Elm Flowering Dogwood
Black locust Alt. Leaf Dogwood
Sycamore Panicled Dogwood
Basswood *Spicebush
Gus, Mike and Steve Krichbaum and I. Observed Turkey Beard (in bloom) for first time on steep SW(?) facing gorge side in small oak and laurel woods We also observed a lance-leaved Phlox, perhaps the rare Phlox buckley Also observed Scutellaria serrata (Showy skullcap) in bloom along Run.
Noted good reproduction of Balsam Fir and all-age presence with minimal browsing by deer. However- saw not a single sign of Yew. Identified Ilex collina along Shavers Fork near Cheat Bridge.
s along FDR 315 Rich mesic bottom and flood plain Tuliptree, Cucumber Magnolia (some large) White (?) Basswood, Black Birch, White Ash, Red Maple, White Pine with understory Smooth Alder, Blackhaw Viburnum Witch Hazel, Spice Bush Shining Sumac, Beaked Hazel, Maple Leaf Viburnum, Mt Laurel, some Rhododendron. Abundant Fox Grape (V. lambrusca [labrusca]) Skunk Cabbage, Very large Poison Ivy.
- Trip by Mike, Steve and I to top of Little Bald Knob of Shenandoah Mtn
*noted Witch Hazel, Fetterbush, Laurel, Black Birch, Striped Maple Black Cherry Chestnut (sprouts and saplings) present at all elevations from N. River Valley bottom to 4300 ft top. Saw no Rhododendron, Yellow birch or Beech anywhere. Bear Oak is also present at most elevations. Table Mtn Pine is very abundant beginning at midslope dry, rocky sites. Chestnut Oak is very abundant to about 3500 ft (or less) when it drops out and Northern Red Oak (and some Black Oak) takes over On the high slopes there is Northern Red Oak "orchard" with many ferns grasses, sedges etc. Heaths (Laurel, huckleberries, blueberries, azaleas are present throughout most of the forest in abundance. However in "shoots" or moist scars the forest is very mesic and much American Basswood occurs. The top consists of thick shrub thicket of Hazel Laurel, Fetterbush, several species of huckleberries (in good fruit now!) azaleas with some Menziesia, chokeberries, Bear Oak and stunted Northern Red Oak. Mountain Holly (I. montana) became more abundant toward the top also. Herbaceous species include very abundant Turkey Beard on top with Fly Poison on the dry slope, Wild Indigo, Sweet Fern Black Cohosh, Feather Bells, Hairy Angelica ( Angelica venenosa), Smooth False Foxglove Smilax, Blackberries (very green at high elevation) Ribes and Serviceberries with 3 inch trunks broken by bear feeding. A very heavy thunderstorm greeted us on top.
- Trip by Mike [Jones], Steve [Krichbaum], Nancy? and I to Northern Massanutten Range
Xeric oak forest: Chestnut oak, Scarlet Oak, Black Oak Black Gum White Pine, Virginia Pine, Table Mtn Pine on ridge. Bear Oak on Ridge, Northern Red Oak in coves, some Tuliptree and Hemlock. Much Sassafras and Serviceberry everywhere, also Mt Laurel 2 species huckleberries, blueberries, a little Rhododendron in cove, some Menziesia. Also abundant Dwarf Spiraea (Spiraea corymbosa) (?) on rocky mountain top. St Andrews Cross (Ascyrum hypericoides) common on dry open flat woods. Also on flood plain of SF[ South Fork? ] of Shenandoah we found much Boxelder, White Ash, Sycamore, large cottonwoods
- Steve, Mike and I hiked up big Bald Knob from the N. River
Trail up is mostly xeric Chestnut Oak forest with rich mesic forest including Sugar Maple, Basswood, Tuliptree at start in the N. River Flood Plain. Considerable Service berry, Mt. Laurel, Mt. Fetterbush Witch hazel all the way up. At about 3500 ft Chestnut Oak drops out and is replaced by Northern Red Oak with Red Maple, Black Birch some Black Gum Hemlock Black Cherry and Black Locust. This becomes increasingly "orchard-like and Ilex montana becomes abundant with Serviceberry, larger Mt Laurel, also a little Menziesia and lots of huckleberries and blueberries, Some Bear Oak. Sweet Fern at mid elevation openings. Top is composed of stunted wind-distorted Red Oak, Pitch Pine banner trees, multiple-stemmed Serviceberry, some large Witch hazel, Bear Oak some Mountain Ash, thickets of Laurel, Fetterbush, huckleberry Blueberry, a few stunted Black Gums, Ilex Montana, a few White Pine, Very thick foliaged Hemlocks with branches to the ground. Turkey Beard and Fly Poison abundant in grass and sedge opening. Also some Thornapple, stunted Black Locust and Black Birch o Hazel. Continuing toward the East downslope there were Park-like stands of old contorted orchard Red Oak with abundant Hay-Scented Fern ground cover. We noted markedly cooler temperatures-perhaps more than 15o F cooler-than in the Valley. We noted Red Maple partially stripped of bark-perhaps by Bear? There were old wounds, partially healed but in some cases small trees were dead. Chestnut sprouts were common at mid and high elevations We noted a leopard frog [ likely a Pickerel Frog ]crossing the trail high up!
Mike, Steve and I hike up Crawford Mtn. from Rt 250 First part of route along beautiful stream valley with mesic veg. ( Tuliptree, N. Red Oak, Basswood etc.) with very large beautiful White Pines At upper end on slope above stream were a number of large (18") Magnolia acuminata. Leaving the stream forest becomes very xeric with dominantly Chestnut Oak overstoty and heath (Laurel Huckleberry) understory. Here beautiful Grass-leaved Blazing Star (Liatris graminifolia?) were in bloom, also Southern Bellflower (Campanula divaricata). Along route, particularly near the top on N slope there is much mesic forest with much Northern Red Oak and Basswood (T. americana (?)). Also new [?] to some Ilex montana appears. Top is very mesic with large thickets of Striped Maple, some Mt Maple, Butternut, Hazel, Witch Hazel, a little Ironwood ( Ostrya virginiana). There is much Pignut Hickory ( C. ovalis) (little shaggy). Orchard Northern Red Oak, Black Birch, Alternate Leaf Dogwood Black Cherry, Coral Berry. Toward the south there is a nice grove of Sugar Maple. There are also groves of Basswood (T. americana? ) Ground cover is lush White Snakeroot and Black Cohosh dominantly. There is also much Hawthorn throughout. There are few if any heaths on top. Near top of on north-facing cliff there is Sedum telephioides. Also on the way up, in the xeric Chestnut Oak forest are stands of Table Mtn. Pine and some Pitch Pine.
Elliot Knob Mike, Steve and I hiked up Elliot Knob from RT 688
Most of the way to top through fairly xeric chestnut oak-Red Oak with abundant large pignut (slightly shaggy) and scattered Am. Basswood. At cove talus slopes abundant large Black Birch, Red Oak and Basswood White Ash. Toward the top Northern Red Oak becomes stunted and orchard-like, Ilex montana appears, some Butternut Panicled Dogwood (C. racemosa) Choke Cherry, Choke Berry and abundant Hawthorn in openings Yellow Birch appears, Chestnut Oak drops out at ~3500 ft. as usual. On the way up much Huckleberry, Laurel some Menziesia Blackberry, some Melanthium parviflorum, Melampyrum lineare (Cow Wheat ) Liatris graminifolia (?) Southern Bellflower and unusual high altitude White asters? Mt Maple and Striped Maple. Fly Poison near top. Much Ilex montana?Top has stunted Northern Red Oak, Bear Oak Mt. Ash, Mt Laurel, Menziesia, Choke Berry, Yellow Birch, stands of planted conifers incl. Red Spruce, Larch, large clump of Bleeding Heart (D. exima) Pond with gold fish and other shitty developments!
Mike, Steve and I went to the vicinity of Big Schloss and hiked up Big Schloss from Wolf Gap Campground to the to[p] (~2 miles). The way up is through xeric Chestnut Oak-Red Oak forest with lots of Black Gum, Sassafras Service Berry, Chestnut, Red Maple, Laurel Huckleberry, Menziesia. On top the plant communities are analogous with xeric Laurel-Bear Oak Menziesia mixed with abundant White Ash with some Basswood, Ninebark(!) Black Haw, Ironwood (Ostrya) Butternut, Flowering Dogwood, Juniper Dwarf Spiraea, Chokeberry (Black?) Chestnut and Red Oak are abundant. Black Gum, Mountain Holly, Choke Berry, Pitch and Table Mtn Pines, Serviceberry are from thickets at the highest point (~2964' asl)
Steve and I walked the Little Bald Knob Road from near Reddish Knob to Little Bald Knob. We noted Bear and Bobcat tracks (photos). The first part of the way is through xeric, ericaceous forest with much Pitch Pine, Bear Oak Laurel, Fetterbush Huckleberry, Northern Red Oak, some Chestnut Oak Red Maple, White Pine, Table Mtn Pine, Mountain Ash It then became more mesic with large old "orchard" Northern Red Oaks, Bitternut, some Basswood, Black Cherry, Hawthorn, Alternate Leaved Dogwood. Near top it became xeric and ericaceous again with Laurel, Fetterbush Miniebush Chokeberry, Bear Oak, stunted Red Oak Pitch Pine Fly Poison here seems, as elsewhere, to be confined to the highest elevations. Large, very shiny Huckleberries ( G. baccata?) were very abundant.
Did this [ previous ] again on F. E [ Forest Ecology ]Field Trip after the PAW[ Preserve Appalachian Wilderness ] conf[erence] Discovered several Red Spruce along the trail and that the hickory appears to be Bitternut rather than Pignut Turned over flat rock along trail. Vole with 5-6 young attached to teats scurried from neat nest to other rock. Clever survival ploy against Bear! -and primates.
[ Descent into valley east of Skidmore Fork ] Mike Steve and I picked up Ed Lytwack at Ramseys Draft Wilderness (Where had been camping and drove to Skidmore Fork vicinity just NE of Flagpole Knob and descended into the valley east of Skidmore Fork [ Black Hollow? ] and east of the Knob. The valley was largely mesic with abundant Yellow Birch, Hemlock, Black Cherry, Red Maple, some Sugar Maple, Butternut, Basswood ( T. americana?). White Pine Table Mtn Pine, Cucumber Magnolia (one noted) Northern Red Oak, a little Chestnut Oak lower down. The top (> 4000') consists of large "orchard" Northern Red Oak with abundant smaller ( understory?) of Yellow Birch. Much Ilex montana, some serviceberry, Mtn Ash, Laurel. Ground cover mostly Hay Scented Fern, wiry grass, White Snakeroot and blue asters scattered throughout in mesic areas.
by Mike Jones Steve Krichbaum and I. We camped at the Camp Ground SW of Cherry Knob and hiked down stream NE along the branch of the Tygart R at Kumbrabow. The elevation is ~3000 ft. The forest is 90% Black and Yellow Birch with considerable Sugar and Red Maple, Black Cherry, Hemlock, Great Rhododendron, Northern Red Oak, some White Basswood and Tuliptree*Beech Northern Red Oak, Red Spruce, Fraser and Cucumber Magnolias, also Umbrella Magnolia Mt Holly Witch Hazel Striped Maple, White Ash Viburnum alnifolium. Herbaceous species include Goodyera, Oxalis (sp?)Christmas Fern Partridge Berry, Sphagnum, White Baneberry Begin Holly River State Park->| Holly River SP lies in a rich mesophytic forest with very large Tuliptree, Northern Red Oak, Beech, White Ash, Hemlock, Shagbark Hickory, Pignut Hickory, Black Gum, Sugar Maple, Persimmon (?)
On the way there we also stopped at Gaudineer SA and Knob and at Blister Run along 250s where we observed ducks at the Beaver Ponds. On the way back along Route 20 [?] from Holly River we were impressed by the great wildland of steep forested mountains we crossed.
On ascending Rich Mt from the S.E. from RT 219[?] near Elkwater) one climbs through somewhat dry oak-rich forest but this changes dramatically at the top of Mill Ridge and the entrance to Kumbrabow to mesic birch-rich forest at an elevation of about 3300 ft. The latter appears to dominate south and through Kumbrabow but gradually becomes maple-rich westward.
Steve and I hiked the trail from Bald Mtn on the Blue Ridge Parkway to Green Pond near the St Marys Wilderness and the proposed Kelly Mt. Wilderness. Along this trail the forest is markedly xeric and ericaceous with upland oaks (Chestnut, Scarlet, Northern Red, White and Bear 1, Red Maple, Black Gum Pitch and Table Mtn Pine Laurel, Fetterbush, much Mt. Maple [ do I mean Striped Maple? ] and Rhododendron, Huckleberry, Service Berry, Menziesia Also, one Red Elderberry was seen (large buds).
Green Pond which is mostly a sedge meadow with Sphagnum between the sedges is surrounded by Pitch Pine, Cleck [?], Red Maple forest,, edged by large huckleberry (G. baccata ?) Black Chokeberry, Laurel, Rhododendron, Green Briar. The forest surrounding the pond has the heaviest growth of Tea Berry (Gaultheria procumbens) I ever saw forming almost continuous ground cover. This plant is very abundant in the entire region. The elevation along this route exceeds 3000 ft everywhere and goes to almost 3400 ft In a few places there is mesic forest with American Basswood ( T. americana) but no Tuliptree
The entire area is fairly heavily impacted by the Gypsy Moth with numerous egg masses on some tree trunks.
Activist rendezvous at Hidden Valley. On Sunday 20 we hiked up the road that to the upland from the Warwick "mansion" for about a mile to some clearcuts These were about the worst I ever saw. Scarlet Oak, White Oak forest with some Chestnut Oak, White Pine Red Maple etc. prevails. The soil is light and sandy, site index can't be much over 50! There is much erosion and poor regeneration
-Mike Steve and I hiked to the top of the ridge of Mill Mtn in the Rich Hole Wilderness and also inspected a part of the "Hole. The forest on the way up is fairly standard xeric oak forest with lots of Chestnut Oak, some Black Oak Table Mtn and Pitch pines and increasing Northern Red Oak toward the top. Tuliptree appears to be almost confined to the Brattons Run Valley and other Valley, There is considerable Laurel, Fetterbush and large Catawba? Rhododendron most of the way up. The top is quite mesic and we noted the following
**Northern Red Oak Beech Flowering Dogwood
*Chestnut Oak Black Walnut (` ~one) *Hophornbeam
*White Oak *Black Cherry Hawthorn
*Sugar Maple *Black Locust Witch hazel
Red Maple **White Ash
*Striped Maple American Basswood
*Shagbark Black Birch
Mockernut? Slippery Elm (?)
Bitternut Cucumber Magnolia
*Pignut
The upper "Hole" itself is dominated by very large Northern Red Oaks, White Ashes and smaller Sugar Maple. Shagbark, White Basswood are common. Black Birch, Slippery Elm (?) and Chestnut Oak (?) are scattered throughout and there are a few small Beech. The soils of the entire area appear to be deep friable and rich in organic matter. They are almost black in color. We didn't get far enough down the "Hole" to see Hemlock. At lea[st] one White Ash appeared to have 5' diameter! No Tuliptrees were observed either on the upper slopes or in the part of the "Hole" visited by us. A few Cucumber Magnolia leaves were noted in the "Hole".
Much of this watershed is less than 2500' asl. Mike Steve and I did a walk through Jones Hollow along Jones Run in Shenandoah NP starting and ending at the parking lot. On top the forest is xeric with lots of Chestnut and Black Oak, Pitch Pine, Table Mtn Pine(?), Pignut and Bitternut Hickories, but strangely with much Poke ground cover. It becomes more mesic rapidly downward with increasing amounts of White Ash, Tuliptree Black Birch Shagbark, White (?) Basswood, Northern Red Oak Red Maple some Sugar Maple and increasing amounts of White Oak near the Stream Hophornbeam is very abundant. In some places there are small Yellow Birches Black Locust and Striped Maple are very common as is Flowering Dogwood, Spice Bush Witch Hazel occurs but isn't common. On the return along Brown's Gap Road there is much lush Bittersweet ( Celastrus scandens [?]), also along the Parkway. Hackberry in understory We noted Dryopteris marginalis and Camptosurus rhizophyllus Ferns and an unknown evergreen? probably Senecio obovatus (9-18-94) along the trail. The rock is greenstone. There were large trout in Doyles[?] River just above the Jones Run confluence. A snake and frog were seen. Many Pitch Pines were dying from Bark Beetle infections and Hemlocks were losing needles due to some insect Adelgid? or disease. We noted scattered signs of Gypsy Moths. There are many large Tuliptrees and Red Oaks. Beautiful Shagbark and White Ash are very common. Along Browns Gap Road we noted a large wind thrown White Oak that had exposed a 3 ft. profile of excellent rich, almost black mull soil very high in organic matter, Spice Bush was very abundant and lush in that area. There was considerable understory Hackberry also.
Mike Steve I and 3 U Va students (Green") hiked from Turk Gap Parking lot via Turk Branch Trail Moormans River Road and return via the AT in Shenandoah N P Below 2500' asl It was cold. The upland at the start is typical xeric upland oak but gets increasingly mesic toward the lowland with rich White Ash, Red Maple, Tuliptree Northern red Oak. Shagbark, White Pine etc We noted no Beech or Fetterbush There's a little Bear Oak on top. We ate persimmons. We also encountered some Black Walnut in the lowland. Hemlock here is also thin-foliaged. The rock appears to be dominantly greenstone.
Mike Steve and I went to look at the proposed Par Four Timber Sale South of Williamsville, SW of Campbell Run and NW of the Calfpasture River
The vegetation appears dominated by Black Oak with abundant White Oak, Chestnut Oak. Black Gum Tuliptree, Red Maple, White Pine, Pitch Pine, Virginia Pine are common. Flowering Dogwood, Ostrea and heath vegetation (huckleberry Laurel form the understory) Some Table Mt Pine was noted. Browns Pond (a special management area NE of this area) was visited. The pond which has a heavy fern-sedge growth has a shrub border consisting of Lyonia ligustrina (Maleberry). ,, Black Chokeberry and Winterberry Holly. We noted a number of Pileated Woodpeckers. Black Locust is common on edges of roads and clearcuts.
Driving in we noted a peculiarity of light dry snow about 1/4 " deep on the road and nowhere else. The ground was mostly frozen with thick ice on ponds and stream pools. The entire area has many large clearcuts with ill-formed sprouts and at higher elevations very crooked sapling regeneration. Many of the larger trees appear to be very old with tree rings no more than a millimeter in thick!
Mike Steve and I visited proposed Braely Branch Timber Sale Going up the Branch we noted a somewhat mesic forest dominated by White Oak, Northern Red Oak and White Pine apparently with good site indexes. Large clearcuts ~15 yrs old extended over both stream banks. These showed many multiple sprouts including Scarlet Oak, White Ash hickories
Mike Jones and I met Sherman Bamford and Rodney Webb of South PAW at the N. Creek OA[Opportunity Area ] of the Jefferson N.F. We hiked up Colon [?] Hollow (Large Beech, White Ash, Tuliptree, White Pine, Blue Beech understory) and south over ridge consisting of some fairly large but mostly young Scarlet Oak and White Pine with small Black Gum and understory of Flowering Dogwood and Mtn Laurel. We encountered[?] clearcut with mostly Flowering Dogwood, Black Locust Red Maple Tuliptree, Sourwood. Hepatica americana shows acid soil here in general.
Later we drove to upper N. Creek which along the stream has much quartzite but further up on the slope granodiorite and schistose Chloritic gneiss. Noted many stands of even aged Tuliptree with some N. Red Oak and Sugar Maple, White Ash etc. Large areas are mesic on good soils but practically Tuliptree monocultures. There are many clearcuts, the older showing Sassafras Black Locust, Red Maple, Dogwood regeneration
The following species were noted with * indicating most common. *Tuliptree,*Red Maple, *Sweet Birch *Red Oak (northern) *Yellow Buckeye, *Fraser Magnolia, *Hemlock, *Sycamore, *Great Rhododendron, *Flowering Dogwood, Sourwood White Ash, Am Basswood Striped Maple, Sugar Maple, *Wild Hydrangea *Spice Bush, Service Berry, Chestnut Oak, Scarlet Oak, Beech, Pitch Pine, White Pine, Yellow Birch, *Am Strawberry, *Dog Hobble *Partridge Berry, *Foam Flower, Smilax Hickories (Pignut?) Black Gum, Sweet Gum, Trillium *Solomons Seal, *False Solomon Seal Sassafras Hascented Fern (?) Christmas Fern common too Witch Hazel, Gaylax [spel.], Water pennywort, probably Arabis racemosa (?) Also Black Locust was in bloom. Red Maple is the most abundant maple on the bottomland. I only saw Sugar Maple on the slope and then not large Partridge Berry is very abundant on the bottomland except in certain very mesic sites where herbaceous mesic species dominate Thus its likely that acid conditions explain this dominantly mesic assemblage. The Scarlet Oaks were some of the largest I'd ever seen
Mike, Steve and I hiked far down Rich Hole. We noted that the Valley narrowed into a rocky gorge where Sugar Maple gives way to Red Maple and Hemlock appears Further on at lower' ASL Tuliptree appears with White Oak, also more Beech Catawba Rhododendron was blooming profusely at lower elevations Am Basswood becomes more abundant below the cove (hole) top along the stream
1. Ninebark 30.Wild Crabapple Polygala (polygama?)
2. Leatherwood 31. River Birch Teaberry
3. Spice Bush 32. Red Hickory Wild Strawberry
4. Upland Willow 33. Shagbark Whorrled Rosinweed
5. Silky Willow 34. Slipery Elm Carolina Cranes Bill
6. Male Berry 35. Big toothed Aspen Wild Geranium
7. Mt. Laurel 36. Pitch Pine Ground nut
8. Rhododendron 37. White Pine Golden Alexander[?]
9. Deer Berry 38. Tuliptree Violet wood sorrel
10. Ilex verticillata2'> 39. Red Maple Monkshood (uncertain?
11. Winged Sumac 40. Sugar Maple Tall MeadowRue
12. Hydrangia 41. White Ash May Apple
13. Hawthorn Sp? 42. Butternut Trautvetteria
14. ShrubbySt.Johnswort Sp43. Black Cherry Poison Ivy
15. Pink Azalea 44. Black Locust Mt. Mint (sp?)
16. Flame Azalea 45. Black Gum Carrion Flower
17. Flowering Dogwood 46 Black Oak Wild Yam(sp?)
18.AlternateleavedDogwood 47. White Oak
19. Smooth Alder 48. Scarlet Oak
20. Service Berry Sp? 49. Sassafras
21. Allegheny Blackberry 50. Red Oak
22. Blueberry Sp? 51. Virginia Juniper
23. Black Elderberry
24. River Grape
25. Greenbriar spp?
26. Witch Hazel
27,Musclewood
28. Am Plumb[?]
29. Pasture Rose
Steve and I went to examine the area of the White Rock Timber Sale, We first proceeded down Laurel Branch from FDR 77 Then up the higher ridges along this road are xeric oak-pine forest (Chestnut, Scarlet, White and Black Oaks and Table Mt, Pitch and White Pines with some Virginia Pines Black Gum Red Maple etc.) There is a variety of heaths Huckleberry, Blueberry, Lyonia ligustrina, Menziesia Mt Laurel, Teaberry.Further down stream there are abundant, mostly small White and Scarlet Oak
To the SW along FDR 77 where the South Fork of White Rock Branch crosses the forest is quite mesic over large areas with mostly White and Scarlet oaks but also Am Basswood, Northern Red Oak, Black Gum, Cucumber Magnolia, Sugar Maple, Shagbark etc. The forest floor seems unusually rich in herbaceous species compared with the Laurel Branch.
We drove up RT 613 from RT 460 along the Doe Creek Valley toward Mt Lake. At low elevations the forest is typical mixed mesophyte with Tuliptree, Cucumber Magnolia, Sugar Maple, Red Maple, Yellow Buckeye, Beech, Shagbark Northern Red Oak, Black Walnut, White Ash, American Basswood Sycamore, Sassafras etc. Further up we saw White Basswood Buckeye Black Gum and upland oaks as well as maples. We hiked the loop trail on Salt Pond Mt from RT 613 into the Mt Lake Wilderness to the "virgin timber" just NE of the U Va experiment Sta. Here upland woods consists mostly of Northern Red Oak, some Chestnut Oak, Black Gum Cucumber Magnolia, Sassafras, Hemlock White Pine, Black Birch, White Oak (lots). Understory consists of abundant Striped Maple, Service Berry(sp?), Mt Laurel, Menziesia Blackberries, Black Huckleberry, Flame Azalea, Pink(?) Azalea Rhododendron(little) Witchazel Ground cover has lots of Gaylax [Spel.], some Fly Poison, Teaberry, Hay Scented Fern, Fire Pink, Wild Yam, some Black Juncos (sp?) grasses (abundant under widely spaced trees. ~3600' elevation-> The "Virgin timber" consists of large Hemlock, some Red Spruce (a few small spruce also), large Tuliptree Sugar Maple, Red Maple, Northern Red Oak, Black Birch Yellow Birch White Ash Cucumber Magnolia, Black Cherry, White Oak. Mt Maple is common as is Rhododendron. Ground cover is partly Gaylax [spel.] and Mianthemum[spel.] canadense, sometimes the two are intergrown.Other plants such as Jack in the Pulpit occur.
Vicinity of White Rock Campground Here a little above 3000': Northern Red Oak Scarlet Oak, Black Oak Black Gum, Black Birch Yellow Birch, Hemlock, Tuliptree, Cucumber Magnolia Sugar and Red Maple, Striped Maple, Deer Berry, Pin Cherry, Sourwood, Pignuts (several varieties), lots of Gaylax[ spel.] and M. canadense. An interesting wetland along the stream has abundant Red Maple, Rhododendron, Ilex verticillata, Smooth Alder (lots), Lyonia ligustrina, Spiraea tomentosa [ shrub with glaucous underleaf ], Parnassia asarifolia, Carex intumescens, C. gynandra, Cinnamon Fern, Trautvetteria, Cornus amomum, Flowering Dogwood (see 5-28-93 [?]visit). Much bird life incl. Wood Ducks and Red Shouldered Hawks. No beaver appeared to remain in the pond
Drive from White Rocks Campground to the Appalachian Trail near Wind Rock up Big Mtn reveals a quite mesic forest with much Northern Red Oak, Sugar and Red Maple, White Basswood and other mesic species except no Yellow Buckeye was noted. We saw Red Elderberry near the top.
At the top along the Appalachian Trail at about 4100' we saw much Northern Red Oak, American Basswood, Striped Maple ferns and grasses in the open forest of "orchard" aspect. We also saw some Shagbark Hickory.
Mike J Steve K and I drove to see the Long Run Timber Sale Area West of Harrisonburg Va. There we saw the Gypsy Moth=damaged cove forests consisting largely of *Northern Red Oak, *Sugar Maple, White Ash, Black Gum, Scarlet Oak, Chestnut Oak, Black Birch, Hemlock Pitch Pine Table Mt. Pine Sassafras, White Oak, Black Cherry (*indicate most abundant) No Striped Maple? The most damage and mortality affected large, some very large, Northern Red Oak. Non-oaks show little or no damage. The roadside ( FDR 72) shows an abundance of plant species such as Southern Bellflower' Gellenia[spel.] trifoliata New Jersey Tea?, Woodland Aster, Am Feaver Few (Parthenium integrifolium) Cacalia sp (?) Cow Wheat (Melampyrum lineare) with white and partly yellow flowers, Pinweed (Lechea racemulosa), Lions Foot (Prenanthes trifoliata). a growing on wet rock in small rosettes [ probably Senecio obovatus! (9-24-93). Birdsfoot Violet is very common on the road bank.
First a stop at the Devil's Backbone east of Huntersville, W Va on West Bank of Knapp Creek along Route 39 to observe reported (by R. Hunsucker) *Taxus canadensis. The Yew is very abundant on a very steep Tuscarora Sandstone mountainside under Hemlock and Black Birch. There is Mountain Maple, Elderberry, Red Maple, Wood Nettle a very cool mesic site at about 2410' elevation Some of the Yew is 5' or more high Hydrangea and a number of ferns were also present The rock is in the shape of an anticline at this point.
We found *Taxus canadensis with berries on a steep rocky bank of Tea Creek just upstream on the left bank near the trail from the Campground. The forest consists largely of Black and Yellow Birch, Hemlock, Sugar Maple, Beech, Black Cherry with some Yellow Buckeye, Cucumber and Fraser Magnolia, Northern Red Oak (the only oak observed) no more than a trace in the area, and there are saplings and seedlings, [also] Red Maple. Understory is Great Rhododendron, Witch Hazel, Hawthorn on edges etc, Pin Cherry, Service Berry, Musclewood, Red Spruce* Ilex montana, Alternate leaved dogwood Striped Maple, Black Elderberry Red Elderberry(?) no Tuliptree seen (one small Tuliptree noted on 9-25-93) Aralia racemosa, American Spikenard Partridge Berry Oxalis montana(?) (under deep shade) White Snakeroot, Christmas Fern, Dryopteris sp (?)
Hoagie and I hiked into the edge of the Cranberry Wilderness just south of the Tea Creek Campground. ~3020' elevation on base of steep slope. The forest appears to be about 60 yrs old with many tall, straight single-stemmed trees. It consists of *Sugar Maple, *Black Cherry, *Beech, Cucumber Magnolia Yellow Buckeye *Black Birch, Yellow Birch, Basswood
Understory is largely Sugar Maple and Beech with some Striped Maple and Witch Hazel Aspect is north here
Ground flora is rich with much Hepatica acutiloba, Galium triflorum, Blue Cohosh, Black Cohosh, Viola spp, White Baneberry (one plant of) was noted. White Snakeroot is very common. I also noted Hydrophyllum canadense (possible). *Circaea alpina ( Alpine Enchanters Nightshade) (in bloom) was identified for the first time by me. It grew with much Oxalis montana (?), Dropteris sp? and Athyrium thelypteroides ferns were noted A broad leaved sedge is very abundant ( Carex plantaginea?) Hoagie did some sketches No Yew was noted but plenty of browse evidence of deer. There appears to be a great deal of a low but erect plant (~6") high that may be the basal leaves of an Anemone that didn't flower or the remains of die back after flowering It resembles the basal long-petioled leaves of Anemone canadensis or perhaps A. virginiana or A. quinquefolia. The latter seems most likely. Christmas Fern is also present.
Mike J., Steve K. and I met Dennis Hendricks of Cass, West Va at the Blowing Springs Campground west of Hot Springs Va at the site of the proposed Double Eagle TS. It was our second visit to the site. The site is quite mesic, consisting of scattered large trees of Northern Red Oak, Chestnut Oak, White Oak, Tuliptree in a matrix of smaller Sugar Maple, Red Maple, White Ash Am Basswood, Cucumber Magnolia with an understory of Flowering Dogwood, Witch hazel, Serviceberry, Musclewood, Hophornbeam, Hawthorn, Spicebush. also common White Pine Hemlock Black Locust some Black Walnut
Herbaceous species include White Snakeroot Aralia nudicalis, A. racemosa, Ginseng*, Horse Balm, Asarum canadense, Clear Plant[ Weed ], Polgonum virginianum Lots of Maidenhair Fern and Christmas Fern as well Jack in the Pulpit is very common Hepatica americana is very common in cutting unit 7, a mile and a half east of the Campground In this area Sugar Maple is abundant in all sizes up to about a foot in diameter in the hollow and lower slopes but is largely replaced by similar sized Red Maple on upper slopes. Cucumber Magnolia is also present in the understory as is White Ash. Also abundant is a species of Streptopus (turned out to be Disporum) which we thought is roseus but has the elongate berry of amplexifolius, a very rare (in this area) northern species. Polygonum virginianum is also common.
Steve K. Marti Kovacks and I visited the site of the proposed Felix Timber Sale along Stony Run, near Sugar Grove, West Va on the West slope of Shenandoah Mt. in the GWNF. The area is one of largely slight slope and xeric oak forest. Scarlet Oak, Chestnut Oak, Black Oak White Oak White Oak and a little Northern Red Oak dominate There is considerable Pitch Pine and White Pine in the upland and Hemlock with some Tuliptree and Cucumber Magnolia along watercourses. There are impressive amounds[ts] of old down Chestnut tree trunks in the upland oak forest which appear mostly of DBH~12" trees from the canopy with scattered (~100-150' separation) large (~2.5' DBH) oaks. Understory is Black Gum, Flowering Dogwood Serviceberry, White Pine etc with Mt Laurel and much Black Huckleberry. We also saw some excellent straight, vigorous Chestnut saplings not apparently diseased, one ~50' tall and 9" DBH. We were struck however by the lack of floral diversity it consisting largely of White Snake Root. Clear Pland[t][ weed] along moist areas with TeaBerry and a little Dwarf Spiraea along banks. I saw one patch of Trailing Arbutus Even mosses seemed scarce One unit UnitV consisting partly of planted Red Pine was particularly barren with virtually no groundcover except a few ferns
On the 26 we hiked up the trail on the NE side of the Valley, the same wed hiked last spring in the quite diverse but xeric forest with fire damaged oaks and pines on top On the 27 we hiked up an old logging road on the SW side of the Valley through a more mesic forest and following an intermittent stream through rocky terrain. We were impressed with the numbers of salamanders in perhaps 5 species uncovered under rocks. Some were Plethodon spp others not clear to our untrained eyes. There were also small (~ 1 inch) salamanders in pools in the stream bed.
Steve K, Marti K. and I went to the SE side of the Laurel Fork Wilderness study area of the GWNF west of BlueGrass, Va We hiked along the trail leading NE past the Stamp at around 3800' elevation where the forest is xeric to mesic with lots of Black Oak, Red and Sugar Maple, Black Birch, N. Red Oak some Chestnut Oak (here at unusually high elevation). Also Shagbark and Pignut lots of large White Oak* A quite a few Hemlock and some Red Spruce are coming up under the hardwoods There is little or no shrub or ground cover. We then descended along a trail along an intermittent stream course (Knotweal [spel.??? ] Run(?) where the forest became increasingly mesic with much Black and Yellow Birch, White Ash Shagbark, Am Basswood Beech, Hemlock Sugar Maple Red Maple, still little ground cover and virtually no shrubs except a little Witch hazel. White Snakeroot Clear plant[weed] in talus a few N. Red Oak Eventually much oxalis appeared in the unlikely mesic forest floor which had only a thin leaf cover with little or no resistant oak or beech leaves. In the stream course Oxalis grew up through the thick mosses on boulders and we noted numerous clumps of large deep green Saxifrage (?) probably Saxifraga micranthidifolia. As we approached Laurel Run Rhododendron maximum appeared and became abundant. The forest became more birch-rich and younger (~25 yrs) Scattered Hemlock and some Red Spruce also grew here at ~3000' elevation On wet rocks of the stream bed we found sedges and Clammy Hedge Hyssop ( Gratiola neglecta). We also turned some rocks on the way down and found small dark and light brown salamanders we couldn't identify. We were rained on all the way back. The rocks exposed consisted of much cross bedded sandstone the best examples I ever saw.