trailhead

Rare open areas along the Trail provide much more than bucolic views
Natural Balance
Text and photos by Matt Drury
We have all heard the “green tunnel” analogy regarding the A.T., and it is accurate, most of the time. However, approximately two-to-three-percent of the Trail passes through open areas along its course. Examples of open areas include Hudson Farm, New Hampshire; Chestnut Ridge, Virginia; and Big Bald on the North Carolina/Tennessee border. Open areas take many forms and serve a variety of functions along the Trail, most notably for their iconic vistas, but also preserving historic cultural landscapes and providing critical habitat for rare, threatened, and endangered species like Gray’s lily, the rusty-patched bumblebee, and the golden-winged warbler.

There are two main origins of open areas along the A.T.: cultural and ecological. Most cultural open areas are relicts of an agricultural past, such as the open areas in the bucolic landscape surrounding Tyringham, Massachusetts. This part of the Berkshires was first settled in 1735 as an agricultural community and contains some of the largest open meadows within the A.T. corridor. These open areas are managed as priority habitat for grassland bird species like the bobolink and for pollinators, but also for grazing livestock to maintain the historical context of the area.

One of the most notable ecological open area types along the A.T. are the extremely rare and critically imperiled Southern Appalachian Grassy Balds. These grassy balds are relicts of the last ice age and exist only in Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia. The most commonly accepted theory on the origin of these balds is: as the earth warmed, the climatic treeline disappeared in the Southern Appalachians and woody vegetative growth began. Many of the prehistoric large grazers went extinct due to factors related to the warming climate, others like elk were hunted to regional extinctions. As these events played out, many of these balds slowly disappeared. However, some of the best remaining examples still exist along the A.T. While some of these sites may have more recently been maintained by Native Americans with fire, many were subsequently or additionally grazed with livestock. The most well-known occurrences of Southern Appalachian Grassy Balds exist along the Roan Mountain Massif. According to U.S. Forest Service botanist Gary Kauffman, the grassy balds of the Roan Highlands have lost about three quarters of their former range due to the encroachment of trees, shrubs, and invasive plants. Today, these balds are being maintained and restored with machinery by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC), Trail clubs, partner agencies and organizations, and volunteers.

ATC staff and members of the Carolina Mountain Club plant native perennial wildflowers at Max Patch
From top: View from Big Bald looking north on the Trail — this critical migratory bird stopover habitat is part of the Southern Blue Ridge Important Bird Area; ATC staff and members of the Carolina Mountain Club plant native perennial wildflowers at Max Patch while stabilizing a closed, unsustainable social trail and benefiting pollinators, hikers, and birds.
Max Patch is an iconic example of an open area that is cultural in origin, but today management is more ecologically focused. This former cow pasture has experienced adverse impacts from increasing visitor use; in response, the ATC, Carolina Mountain Club, and U.S. Forest Service have teamed up to address these impacts, while increasing the ecological value for wildlife. Specifically, improved signage, native plant installations for birds and pollinators, and planting shrubs that wildlife depend on helps to protect the areas and deter hikers from accidentally harming them.

The open areas programming along the A.T. is continuing to evolve and grow through ongoing scientific research, expanding partnerships, robust support from the Appalachian National Scenic Trail office, and the work of Trail clubs and volunteers. The ATC will continue to manage these open areas to reclaim and preserve the iconic views along the A.T., while considering their ecological role in the greater landscape.

trailhead

Rare open areas along the Trail provide much more than bucolic views
Natural Balance
Text and photos by Matt Drury
We have all heard the “green tunnel” analogy regarding the A.T., and it is accurate, most of the time. However, approximately two-to-three-percent of the Trail passes through open areas along its course. Examples of open areas include Hudson Farm, New Hampshire; Chestnut Ridge, Virginia; and Big Bald on the North Carolina/Tennessee border. Open areas take many forms and serve a variety of functions along the Trail, most notably for their iconic vistas, but also preserving historic cultural landscapes and providing critical habitat for rare, threatened, and endangered species like Gray’s lily, the rusty-patched bumblebee, and the golden-winged warbler.

There are two main origins of open areas along the A.T.: cultural and ecological. Most cultural open areas are relicts of an agricultural past, such as the open areas in the bucolic landscape surrounding Tyringham, Massachusetts. This part of the Berkshires was first settled in 1735 as an agricultural community and contains some of the largest open meadows within the A.T. corridor. These open areas are managed as priority habitat for grassland bird species like the bobolink and for pollinators, but also for grazing livestock to maintain the historical context of the area.

One of the most notable ecological open area types along the A.T. are the extremely rare and critically imperiled Southern Appalachian Grassy Balds. These grassy balds are relicts of the last ice age and exist only in Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia. The most commonly accepted theory on the origin of these balds is: as the earth warmed, the climatic treeline disappeared in the Southern Appalachians and woody vegetative growth began. Many of the prehistoric large grazers went extinct due to factors related to the warming climate, others like elk were hunted to regional extinctions. As these events played out, many of these balds slowly disappeared. However, some of the best remaining examples still exist along the A.T. While some of these sites may have more recently been maintained by Native Americans with fire, many were subsequently or additionally grazed with livestock. The most well-known occurrences of Southern Appalachian Grassy Balds exist along the Roan Mountain Massif. According to U.S. Forest Service botanist Gary Kauffman, the grassy balds of the Roan Highlands have lost about three quarters of their former range due to the encroachment of trees, shrubs, and invasive plants. Today, these balds are being maintained and restored with machinery by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC), Trail clubs, partner agencies and organizations, and volunteers.

ATC staff and members of the Carolina Mountain Club plant native perennial wildflowers at Max Patch
From top: View from Big Bald looking north on the Trail — this critical migratory bird stopover habitat is part of the Southern Blue Ridge Important Bird Area; ATC staff and members of the Carolina Mountain Club plant native perennial wildflowers at Max Patch while stabilizing a closed, unsustainable social trail and benefiting pollinators, hikers, and birds.
Max Patch is an iconic example of an open area that is cultural in origin, but today management is more ecologically focused. This former cow pasture has experienced adverse impacts from increasing visitor use; in response, the ATC, Carolina Mountain Club, and U.S. Forest Service have teamed up to address these impacts, while increasing the ecological value for wildlife. Specifically, improved signage, native plant installations for birds and pollinators, and planting shrubs that wildlife depend on helps to protect the areas and deter hikers from accidentally harming them.

The open areas programming along the A.T. is continuing to evolve and grow through ongoing scientific research, expanding partnerships, robust support from the Appalachian National Scenic Trail office, and the work of Trail clubs and volunteers. The ATC will continue to manage these open areas to reclaim and preserve the iconic views along the A.T., while considering their ecological role in the greater landscape.

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