Green River Game Lands

Green River Game Lands, Bishop Branch, NC

Green River Bridge - Oct 2006	Green River Gorge
Green River Gorge	White Pines and Hemlocks - Big Hungry

The Big Hungry river runs along the edge of the forest & Green River runs through a deep gorge which may harbor a small amount of old growth. Last weekend I hiked Pulliam Creek which goes alongside the gorge. Today I found no really large trees but nevertheless some nice ones.

Alien Oak

Oaks dominate the hardwoods and Pines ( Pitch and White ) dominate the conifers.

Adelgid on Hemlock

Chestnut Oak acorns

Hemlocks are present in sizeable numbers here too. As of now they are not in bad shape but over the last year they seem to be " thinning " a bit. The adelgid is present so it is just a matter of time until they start dying en' masse just like is happening in many other places. PNF was green with them only three years ago. Not so now.

Pinus Strobus 7ft. 9 in, cbh

Pinus Strobus 7ft 9 in. cbh

I have attached some pictures from the outing.

Here are some cbh measurements from today's outing.

Tuliptree 8' 1/2" ( MT )

Tuliptree 9' 11" ( MT )

White Oak 7' 11 1/4"

Sugar Maple 7' 9"

White Oak 7' 4 1/4"

Tuliptree 8' 1"

White Oak 7' 4"

White Oak ( Dead Stump ) 10' 9 1/2"

White Pine 7' 9" ( Nice tree! Well over 100 feet tall. )

White Oak 8' 1"

Will just identified an imported Boxwood that I had found near one of the wildlife clearings there. It is an attractive plant but one I had not seen before. It is an attractive evergreen with small glossy leaves.

James Parton

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TOPIC: Green River Game Lands_Bishop Branch, NC
http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees/browse_thread/thread/74463f3c572c14c9?hl=en
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== 1 of 7 ==
Date: Sun, Jan 13 2008 2:44 pm
From: Josh

James, "The Narrows" of the Green River has never been logged. It is
an impressive geologic feature. You can access The Narrows from the
Pulliam Creek Trail just beyond the ford of Pulliam Creek. Take the
extremely steep path on the right down into the gorge below.

You would enjoy L.L. Gaddy's "A Naturalist's Guide to the Southern
Blue Ridge Front". There are several sites from the Green River Gorge
described in that book.

Also, have you ever been to the Carl Sandburg home? There are some
nice white pines around the home and some of the lakes, and Glassy
Mountain has great rock outcrops and old-growth remnants.

Josh

== 2 of 7 ==
Date: Sun, Jan 13 2008 4:18 pm
From: James Parton

Josh,

I used the Pulliam Creek trail to access the narrows back during the
spring of last year. It is a really pretty place. That trip down &
back up was a doozy but well worth it. I hope to do more exploration
in the game lands, especially in the gorge in the upcoming year. I am
also hoping for a trip with an avid hiker I work with to have someone
drop us off at the Green River High Bridge on I-26 and decend into the
gorge from there. That will be a real bust-ass hike. That might even
challenge Blozan!

I overflew the game lands last year with a couple of friends from
church who are licenced pilots with access to a plane. There are a lot
of white pine in that gorge & some look pretty good sized. Linville
Gorge has some old-growth & it has much in common with Green River. It
just needs to be Ents-visited and documented. Linville has been
documented better than Green River has. We need someone with a laser &
clinometer. Are you so equipped? Will, when he gets time would be a
good candidate also.

Yes, I have been to Sandburg a number of times. I need to do a
detailed report on the trees there though. I read on ENTS somewhere
about some being found that was over 200 years old. Blozan told me of
a tall white pine there too.

James Parton

== 3 of 7 ==
Date: Sun, Jan 13 2008 4:33 pm
From: Carolyn Summers

Thanks for the pix. Beautiful country. I think your alien oak looks like a
seahorse, but high and dry. The adelgid picture is excellent. Could I have
your permission to use it in a presentation on alien invasives?
--
Carolyn Summers
63 Ferndale Drive

== 4 of 7 ==
Date: Sun, Jan 13 2008 4:49 pm
From: James Parton

Carolyn,

Boxwood leaves

You welcome and yes it is beautiful country. I hope to do more
exploring in there in the future. Yes, feel free to use my picture as
a presentation on alien invasives. I can send you a picture of the
imported Boxwood if you want to use it as well.

James

== 5 of 7 ==
Date: Sun, Jan 13 2008 4:55 pm
From: "Will Blozan"

James,

Here is the Sandburg write-up:

http://www.nativetreesociety.org/fieldtrips/us_east/north_carolina/carl_sandburg_home.htm

Will

== 6 of 7 ==
Date: Sun, Jan 13 2008 5:13 pm
From: Carolyn Summers

Boxwood pix would be much appreciated. I will credit you for all photos
during my presentation, of course.

Thanks!
--
Carolyn Summers

== 7 of 7 ==
Date: Sun, Jan 13 2008 5:20 pm
From: James Parton

Carolyn,

I am working on a new post now. Several pics will be attached,
including the Boxwood. Feel free to use it.

JP

==============================================================================
TOPIC: Green River Gorge NC Photos.
http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees/browse_thread/thread/3db8cf8a40c145c3?hl=en
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== 1 of 3 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 14 2008 1:05 pm
From: Carolyn Summers

Great shot. Thanks, James. I believe the scientific name is Buxus
sempervivum. Can you confirm? Thankfully, I haven¹t seen it in our woods
this far north (yet). I get very annoyed with nurseries who label this
plant American boxwood and pass it off as a native plant.
--
Carolyn Summers
63 Ferndale Drive
Hastings-on-Hudson, NY 10706
914-478-5712

ENTS,

Josh & Carolyn replied to me in a past post concerning Green River Gorge. I
thought I would post a few pictures from an overflight I had of the area
back in October 2006 and a hike in April 2007. You would'nt get me kayaking
through the narrows!!

James Parton

== 2 of 3 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 14 2008 7:59 pm
From: JamesRobertSmith

>You wouldn't get me kayaking through the narrows!!

One of the most experienced kayakers in the world lost his life in the
Green River Gorge. It's considered one of the most extreme whitewater
stretches on the continent. One ranger was agitating to stop all
kayaking in the gorge.

== 2 of 2 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 14 2008 9:06 pm
From: James Parton

James S,

Yes, I agree. Those hemlocks there are still at this time healthy
enough to be saved but it is only a short matter of time until they
too succumb to the mass hordes of adelgids. I know of a nice grove on
Pulliam Creek that would be wonderful to treat. I just wish I had the
money and resources to do it. As Will has done for parts of
Cataloochee Valley.

Yes, I have recently been to the Sandburg Estate. The hemlocks are
really pretty there. Many look as good as a hemlock should look.

Here are some links on Green River Game Lands and the Green River
Gorge.

http://www.blueridgeheritage.com/NaturalHeritage/StateParksandForests/GreenRiverGorge/index.html

http://www.eco-wnc.org/green_river_brochure.htm

http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/20070919/NEWS/709190342

http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/northcarolina/preserves/art5605.html

Also Big & Little Bradley Falls are within the GRGL. The decent into
them are steep but well worth the views. Big Bradley had two nice
trees near the falls.

http://www.ncwaterfalls.com/big_bradley1.htm

http://www.ncwaterfalls.com/little_bradley1.htm

James P.

== 2 of 2 ==
Date: Tues, Jan 15 2008 8:42 pm
From: Steve G

Carolyn

The boxwood in the photo is common boxwood, Buxus sempervirens. The
name "American boxwood" is due to its historical use in the States
dating back to Colonial days--the boxwoods of Williamsburg are of this
species. I don't think the name was ever intended to misrepresent the
provenance of the plant, any more than "Norway pine", an alternate
common name for red pine, Pinus resinosa, was meant to indicate
nativity. Just names with tenuous associations.

Steve G

==============================================================================
TOPIC: Green River Gorge NC Photos.
http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees/browse_thread/thread/3db8cf8a40c145c3?hl=en
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== 1 of 2 ==
Date: Thurs, Jan 17 2008 3:30 pm
From: Carolyn Summers

Yes, Steve, I think you're right. It's a good idea to stick with the
scientific names over the common names. Much more precise.
--
Carolyn Summers

== 2 of 2 ==
Date: Thurs, Jan 17 2008 3:47 pm
From: "Edward Frank"

Carolyn, Steve, ENTS,

I would encourage people to use both the common name and the scientific
name. The scientific name allows you to know precisely what species you are
talking about, while the common name makes the discussion more accessible to
people who do not know the scientific names for hundreds of species of
plants, shrubs, and trees

Ed Frank

"I am not bound to please thee with my answers."
William Shakespeare

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