Laurel Fork   Jess
  May 05, 2002 10:39 PDT 
     Laurel Fork flows into Lake Jocassee in the mountains of northern South
Carolina. The stream is best known for the large cascade at its mouth and
the beds of Shortia galaxifolia (Oconee bells) that grow in flats along the
creek. The flats also support white pine stands with hemlock understory
and hardwood stand dominated by tuliptrees. These forests and the stands
on the surrounding slopes are generally young since the watershed has been
heavily cut for the past few decades. The watershed was owned by Duke
Power although the state may now own most of the land. The area set aside
as a state heritage preserve on two headwater streams now supports some of
the most interesting forest in the watershed. One stream contains hemlocks
that were left when the area was originally logged while the other stream
supports a dense second growth tuliptree stand.

Species   Cbh Height
Basswood 5'6" 132.3'
Hemlock   NA   134.4'
Locust, Black 5'5" 129.0'
Oak, N. Red    6'7" 143.8'
Pine, White    6'0.5"    134.0'
Pine, White    10'3"     149.4'
Sweetgum NA   126.3'
Sweetgum 7'4" 134.2'
Sycamore 7'10"     ~132'
Tuliptree 7'8" 152.9'

     All of the hardwoods with the exception of the sycamore and the taller
sweetgum are in the same cove. The measurement on the basswood was rushed,
but shooting vertically with the rangefinder puts the height at more than
128'. The hemlock height is typical for older individuals in the area, and
circumferences are generally in the eight to 12' range. The target I had
on the northern red oak's trunk was not reflective, but the height should
otherwise be good to the limit of my equipment's accuracy. Most of the
pines in the creek side flats are under 9' cbh and in the 130s. There are
probably several other tuliptrees in the stand of comparable height.

Jess Riddle