The Spruce-Fir Forest, Icon of the Southern Blue Ridge Mountains
A trip along the Blue Ridge Parkway to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is inspiring to say the least. The long, breathtaking vistas across the high peaks forest, whether on a blue-bird clear day or through swirling fog and clouds, seem to present a picture of nature at its best. But, all is not as it seems. It's not easy to see at first glance, but there are forces at work here that threaten this iconic forest.
At the end of the day, the one image that persists in the mind of most travelers along this national treasure of a highway, is the majestic red spruce and Fraser fir. The spruce and fir are the two species that differentiate the high peaks forest from all others. The first hint that there is trouble in paradise is all the skeletons of dead fir that have fallen to the Balsam Wooly Adelgid. A closer look, however, reveals that the perils this unique ecosystem faces are multi-faceted and complex.
The spruce-fir forest is the second most endangered ecosystem in the U.S. and globally unique. It is home to four federally endangered species and others that are species of concern.
- For an in-depth look at this forest and the issues it faces, click here. (Several of these links may take up to two minutes to load).
- Chris Ulrey, plant ecologist with the Blue Ridge Parkway, has spent considerable time researching high peak rock outcrop communities of the Blue Ridge Parkway. He spends a good bit of time hanging off cliffs on ropes. To view his report on these threatened communities, click here.
Click on the links below to view spruce-fir forest endangered species reports from the US Fish and Wildlife Service and NC Wildlife.
- Endangered - Carolina Northern Flying Squirrel
- Endangered - Rock Gnome Lichen
- Endangered - Spruce-Fir Moss Spider
- Endangered - Geum radiatum, Spreading Avens
- Click here, to read the WNC Nature Center's article on the Northern Saw-whet Owl.
- To hear a recording of the saw-whets call, click here. (scroll about 3/4 down the page and click on Aegolius acadicus, Northern Saw-whet Owl. Not in aphlabetical order).
- Many old-timers refer to the red spruce and the Fraser fir as the He-Balsam and the She-Balsam. To find out what this is all about, click here to go to the 'Ruminations from the Distant Hills' blog. This blog is well-written and contains many interesting and off-beat observations about southern Appalachian culture and ecology.