Sandy Mush Learn and Burn
The Sandy Mush Learn-and-Burn has been postponed to Spring 2023. Our burn window will open up in February, and there will be updates as we get closer. Please let me know if you would like to join the distribution list.
Join NC Wildlife Resources Commission and the Forest Stewards Guild for an opportunity to observe a live controlled burn at the Sandy Mush Game Lands. We will be burning in a shortleaf pine savanna ecosystem to maintain the diversity of native warm season grasses and restore small game habitat.
Please register for this event by this link.
Burn window: February 1 - 28, 2023
Controlled burns, or prescribed fire, is the planned use of fire under predetermined weather and fuel parameters to obtain specific management objectives. And sometimes, even after hours of planning, the weather decides to not cooperate. Burn managers know at least a few days in advance if fire weather is going to be good to burn. Our current plan is to keep you all in touch and notify you of the burn day as it comes.
Please note that signing up for this email list is not your registration to attend the burn. We will be keeping in touch via email. Please check your email often as the burn window approaches. For questions, contact dakota@forestguild.org
Jackson and Swain County Forest landowner Workshop
Join us for a morning of learning from local experts in forestry. We will learn about how to manage your forest, what resources are available to landowners and have conversations about how active stewardship can offset the challenges facing our forests.
Forest Landowner Workshop: Forest Management 101
Join us for a morning of learning from local experts in forestry. We will learn about how to manage your forest, what resources are available to landowners and have conversations about how active stewardship can offset the challenges facing our forests.
Sandy Mush Game Lands Field Trip
Join us after the Landowner Workshop for a tour of the Sandy Mush Game Lands to learn how active management has restored wildlife populations. The Game Lands are an incredible resource for Buncombe County residents to enjoy hunting or bird watching. Join NC Wildlife Resource Commission Conservation Technician Chris Henline and EcoForesters staff on a tour that will highlight restored areas of the Game Land that are seeing a rebound in wildlife populations and native species.
For those wanting to attend, we will meet at the Game Lands main parking area located at 472 Cedar Hill Road. Please register for this event as parking will be limited.
The event is free, register today!
For those interested in learning more about how the NCWRC manages the Sandy Mush Game Lands, check out their management plan that guides their work.
Forestland Owners 101: Opportunities for funding forest stewardship
Join us for a morning of learning from local experts in forestry. We will learn about how to manage your forest, what resources are available to landowners and have conversations about how active stewardship can offset the challenges facing our forests.
Hemlock Treatment Demonstration
The Hemlock Restoration Initiative of WNC Communities will demonstrate a variety of hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA) control techniques using the majestic hemlock trees that grace the Bent Creek Experimental Forest campus in Asheville. HWA is an invasive insect that is slowly killing the trees, but there are simple and inexpensive chemical treatment methods that anyone can use to keep their hemlocks healthy. Along with the treatment demo, we will discuss applicator and environmental safety considerations and when to hire a tree care professional.
Non-Timber Forest Products Workshop
Join us for a day of hands-on learning from local experts in non-timber forest product (NTFP) cultivation. We will learn about what NTFPs are, their general history, ecology, and economics and have conversations about the role we all play in their stewardship.
First Annual Sandy Mush Forest Restoration Gathering
The Restoration Gathering on January 25th will include educational sessions on forest stewardship and hands-on learning opportunities with local organizations such as the Madison County Soil and Water Conservation District and MountainTrue.
Coalition Meeting - Session 2
Join us for the second Coalition meeting!
Sandy Mush Community Center, in the gymnasium upstairs
Doors open at 5:45, Meeting 6 - 8pm
First Coalition Meeting
In this first Coalition meeting we will build relationships and share stories about why you value forests in Sandy Mush, the fears and hopes about having a coalition, and what is most needed in this community when it comes to forest restoration.
