| Santeetlah
Creek, NC |
Jess
Riddle |
|
Sep
08, 2004 07:07 PDT |
Approximately 10 miles south of the western portions of the
Smokies,
Santeetlah Creek flows from the Tennessee-North Carolina state
line to its
mouth of Santeetlah Lake, and ranges between 2000 and 5500 feet
elevation.
The forests and ruggedness of the terrain give the area a feel
similar to
much of the NC side of the Smokies. Apparently, the timing of
the
construction of the lake combined with the ruggedness of the
terrain to
limit the activities in the area of the major timber companies
that
denuded much of the southern Appalachians in the early 1900s.
The large
tributary of the north side of the watershed, Little Santeetlah
Creek, is
well known for the 5000+ uncut acres in that drainage now
protected in the
Joyce Kilmer Wilderness. The rest of the watershed did not
receive
similar protection, and large sections look like the Forest
Service clear
cut them about 40 years ago, although some of the second growth
in the
lower reaches appears significantly older. Commonly, the Forest
Service
cut areas extending up slope from a road following Santeetlah
Creek or one
of the streams tributaries leaving corridor of uncut forest
between the
road and the stream. Several stretches along the main stream
have steep
slopes and old crowns on the slopes opposite the roads indicate
the
corridor extends much higher on those slopes.
Coming down through a cove on one of those slopes along I was
impressed to
see the soils were rich enough to support mixed mesophytic
forest with
white ash over three feet dbh even though the cove was not deep
and was
inclined at 35 degrees. Eagerly anticipating what lay in the
north-facing
flats down below, I continued descending the cove, but I soon
found myself
standing atop high eroded banks in the midst of a multitude of
coppices
with no single stem over 10 inches dbh. Judging by the branch
whorls on a
pin cherry growing out of a roadbed, the Forest Service
clear-cut the
entire lower section of the cove in the 1980s. At know point
in time
would this site have been among the most appropriate to cut on
the
National Forest. The stature of the trees and general quality of
the
forest would have clearly distinguished this site from the bulk
of the
Nathahala NF, even in the eyes individuals lacking experience
with
old-growth. The explanation for the unwholesome event that
initially
leaps to mind is a desire to maximize board-foot output overrode
all other
concerns and reasoning.
The watershed has been forced to endure not only continued
logging
pressure but also assaults by exotic diseases. Hemlock woolly
adelgid is
ubiquitous in the area, and individual hemlocks range from
ostensibly
healthy to having completely defoliated upper crowns. Typically
the large
hemlocks in the area have a gray appearance and the tops are
sparse with a
mixture of live and bare twigs. I encourage anyone who has the
opportunity to visit western NC in the next couple years to
visit either
this area or Cataloochee in the Smokies for easy viewing of
forest
dominated by ancient hemlocks before heavy mortality occurs.
Gravel
forest service roads in good condition, easily navigated by my
Honda
Civic, provide easy access, and in a couple of areas follow the
edges of
the stands for over a mile. Many of the hemlocks exceed 300
years in age,
and I have not seen any other area with as great a concentration
of
complex crown structures; high forks, upturned branches, and
generally
gnarled crowns are abundant in the upper sections. All of the
trees
listed below under either Johns Branch or Santeetlah Creek are
visible
from the roads. Michael Davie and Will Blozan also included
descriptions
of the hemlocks in the area in postings this spring on Joyce
Kilmer.
On a more positive note, Indian Creek, a northward following
tributary,
still supports approximately 718 acres of old-growth forest,
delineated by
Rob Messick and Don Debona. Also Santeetlah Creek remains one
area in the
Appalachians thus far not impacted by beech bark disease.
Picturesque,
wind sculpted forests of stunted beech and yellow birch still
grow atop
Stratton Bald at the edge of the watershed, and beeches still
grow next to
the old hemlocks in the upper portions of the stands. In those
areas,
yellow birch is probably the most common species. Basswood grows
intermixed among the other species, and richer patches support
sugar
maple. Lower elevation parts of the stands also include northern
red oak
and tuliptree. Rhododendron, while covering the vast majority of
the
stands, generally does not rich the densities achieved in parts
of the
Smokies. Ramps and thigh high stinging nettle cover areas
lacking
evergreen understory.
Indian Creek enters Santeetlah Creek at approximately 2750,
and the
largest trees along the creek grow in the uncut forest below
3050.
Hemlock dominates that area over rhododendron understories with
tuliptree,
sycamore, and yellow birch also often reaching the canopy. When
Rob
Messick led a survey of the Nanthahala-Pisgah NF for old-growth,
the
largest diameter tuliptree, hemlock, sycamore, and white ash all
occurred
in this area. I believe I was able to relocate the tuliptree and
white
ash in addition to a larger sycamore, but I could not find the
61.5 dbh
hemlock unfortunately. Farther up the creek, the east side of
the stream
looks undisturbed, but selective logging likely occurred on the
east side.
Most of the tallest hardwoods I encountered occurred in the
latter area,
which varied from open understoried to rhododendron cloaked.
Basswood and
a mix of other hardwoods made up the canopy with hemlocks
persisting along
the stream and on the opposite slope. Jack-in-the-pulpit, foam
flower,
stinging nettle, black cohosh, American cohosh, and ramps all
occurred
widely in the forest. Intermediate wood fern, partridgeberry,
round
leaved violet and shining club moss were more common in the
adjacent
hemlock dominated forests, while alumroot and running
strawberry-bush were
restricted to rocky areas under mountain maple.
Stratton Gap (Tennessee side)
Ash, White 116 x ~116
Maple, Mountain 15.5 x 41.1
Johns Branch
Hemlock, Eastern 122.6
Hemlock, Eastern 1311
Hemlock, Eastern 159.5 x 114.7
Santeetlah Creek
Cherry, Pin 411 x 83+ (Beside road)
Hemlock, Eastern 131 (Beside road)
Hemlock, Eastern 111.8
Hemlock, Eastern 117.9
Hemlock, Eastern 118.2
Hemlock, Eastern 119.5
Hemlock, Eastern 120 x 119.0
Maple, Red 119 (Short)
Tuliptree 145.5
Indian Creek
Ash, White 127.5 x 127.2 (located by Rob Messick)
Ash, White 105 x 139.7+
Basswood, White 80 x 118.2
Cherry, Black 95 x 115.8+
Cherry, Black 70 x 127.7
Cherry, Black 59.5 x 134.2
Hemlock, Eastern ~136.1
Hemlock, Eastern 1311 x 154.8
Hickory, Bitternut 62.5 x 139.3
Magnolia, Cucumbertree 811 x 147.3
Maple, Red 82 x 127.3
Maple, Sugar 78 x 120.1
Oak, Northern Red 99 x 124
Oak, Northern Red 137 x 132.5
Sourwood 42 x 89+
Sycamore 1611 x 136.8
Tuliptree 136.3
Tuliptree ~136.9
Tuliptree 170 x 154.5 (located by Rob Messick)
I think the sub-par height of the hemlocks and unusual
complexity of the
crowns is closely related, but I cant fully explain the
relationship.
The hemlocks listed were some of the easiest to measure ones,
and probably
fairly representative of the area. The basswood is likewise more
typical
than representative of the full capacities of the area. The
taller white
ash grows ten feet from the cucumbertree, which obscures the top
of the
former. The sugar maple grows in the area with the greatest
concentration
of tall hardwoods, but I did look at many sugar maples along the
creek.
The sycamore is the same one I previously reported at 140,
which may
still be accurate, but I could not locate a top that high with a
poor
summer-time view. The tuliptree is absolutely columnar with the
first
branch at 92.8. The Rucker Index for Indian Creek is now
138.65.
Jess Riddle |
|