US Forest Service temporarily closes roads, campground in Pisgah and Nantahala national forests

Even though it’s feeling a bit non-wintry lately, and Western North Carolina has had no appreciable snow so far this season, the U.S. Forest Service is taking seasonal precautions by closing roads susceptible to winter damage throughout the Pisgah and Nantahala national forests.

The Forest Service will also temporarily close Davidson River Campground on U.S. 276 in the Pisgah National Forest, starting Jan. 15, to remove hazard trees, said Dave Casey, Pisgah District Ranger.

The popular, 160-site campground for tents and RVs, about a mile west of Pisgah Forest in Transylvania County, will be closed to the public through Feb. 15. Small sections of the Exercise Trail/No. 344 and North Slope Trail/No. 359 will also be closed.

During this time, select pine trees will be removed from the campground for public safety.

“A fungus that is in the roots of primarily white pine and yellow pines can grow through the roots about 5 feet a year. It has been on that site for a long time. It grows relatively quickly through root grafting — moving underground traveling from one root to another,” Casey said.

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These pines were planted on what was essentially farmland in the 1960s, and some are 80-100 feet tall. During windstorms, trees that looks healthy on the outside, but are actually infected, have suddenly fallen into campsites, creating a dangerous situation, Casey said.

“People are paying to come and use these campsites. If the trees come down on a tent or on somebody, we have an increased responsibility to make sure they’re safe,” he said.

The tree removal will be scattered across approximately 4 acres of the heavily wooded campground. A contractor will be removing diseased trees from the Sycamore, Apple Tree, Dogwood and Laurel loop areas of the campground.

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Cleanup and planting will occur after tree removal, but the campground will look very different when it reopens. The area will be less shady, stumps will be visible, and there will be some remaining debris on the ground.

After the campground reopens, the Forest Service will plant more trees that are more suitable to a campground, such as white oak and hemlock, and shorter trees like dogwood, which are less prone to disease and windfall, Casey said.

Forest Service road closures

The Forest Service has also enacted seasonal road closure on five of its six districts in WNC, excluding the Pisgah District, which encompasses the Bent Creek and Davidson River corridor areas.

Any closures on the Pisgah District are mostly weather-related, said Forest Service spokeswoman Cathy Dowd.

The two current closures on the Pisgah District (828-877-3265), are Lickstone Road/FS97, which reopens Sept. 1, and Ivestor Gap Gate/FS816, which is closed to motor vehicles through Aug. 15.

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Other road closures are meant to reduce damage and disturbance to wildlife, Dowd said.

“These are some roads that might have wildlife in the area and we want to decrease disturbance to wildlife,” she said. “Other roads are sensitive to damage to vehicle travel from winter into spring weather. The freeze-thaw action will harden and then soften them. This is a time you’re likely to see a lot of ruts, so we close the roads to prevent damage and maintenance costs,” Dowd said.

One popular road is Wayah Bald Road in the Nantahala Ranger District. Dowd stressed that people can still hike these roads, they are just closed to motorized vehicles.

“Remember not to park in front of gates in case law enforcement has to have access. If you park in front of a gate, your car will be towed,” she said. “You can park on the side of road any place (in the national forests) as long as there’s a sign telling you not to do it and you have all wheels off the road.”

Dowd said visitors might see some people opening gates to access closed roads, but these are people who have private property off of Forest Service roads and need to access their homes.

Following are seasonal road closures by district:

1. Appalachian Ranger District (828-689-9694) will close the following roads (with the road numbers in parentheses) to motorized vehicles through April 2: Big Ivy (74); Stony Fork (63); Cataloochee (3549); Hickey Fork (465); South Toe River (472); Neals Creek (2074); Flat Top (278); Hurricane Gap (467); Rich Mountain Fire Tower (467A); Long Arm (287); Mills Ridge (113).

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2. Grandfather Ranger District (828-652-2144) will close the following roads through April 1: Curtis Creek Campground and Road (482); New Ginger Cake (496); Thunder Hole (4071); Steels Creek (228); Lost Cove (464A).

The following roads close through Sept. 1: Dobson Knob (106) - western half of the road at the second gate; Pearcy Creek (4101); Carrol Creek (4096).

The following recreation areas and associated roads close Jan. 6 through April 1: Brown Mountain OHV Area (299) and Table Rock Picnic Area (99).

The following roads remain closed to motorized traffic due to storm damage: Schoolhouse Ridge (4068); Jarrett Creek (4030); Marks Mountain (451); Big Chestnut (198); Craig Creek/Mortimer-Piedmont (982).

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3. Nantahala Ranger District (828-524-6441) will close the following roads through March 15: Boardtree (FSR 388); Upper Nantahala (FSR 67); Deep Gap (FSR 71); Shingletree (FSR 713); Shope Fork (FSR 751); Ball Creek (FSR 83); Connelly Creek (FSR 86 through Alarka-Laurel); Wayah Bald (FSR 69); Winding Stairs (FSR 422); Little Yellow Mtn. (FSR 367); Big Creek (FSR 4567); Cold Spring Gap (FSR 4663); Moses Creek (FSR 4651); Old Bald Road (FSR 4652); Sugar Creek (FSR 4665); Gage Creek (FSR 4648); Wolf Mountain (FSR 4663C); Charley Knob (FSR 4654); Beech Flats (FSR 4668).

4. Cheoah Ranger District (828-479-6431) will close the following roads through April 1: Big Fat (FSR 62); Farley Cove (FSR 407); Tatham Gap/Long Creek (FSR 423); Long Hungry (FSR 1127); Santeelah Creek (FSR 81).

5. Tusquitee Ranger District (828-837-5152) will close the following roads through April 1: Bear Paw (435); Beech Creek (307); Cherokee Lake (313); Chambers Creek (2071); Deep Gap (71); Derreberry Gap (614B); Nelson Ridge (351); Panther Gap (85A); Perry Gap (350); Persimmon Creek (651); Powerline Cove (6020); Stateline Loop (420-6); Tellico River (420-5); Tuni Gap (440).

For current road conditions and status, contact the corresponding ranger district 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m Monday through Friday.