CASRI

Action Plan of the Central Appalachian Spruce Restoration Initiative

casri-admin — Tue, 26 Mar 2024 19:45:33 +0000

The Central Appalachian Mountains provide multiple natural resources for our society making them assets of inestimable value. Ecological restoration of the forests of the Central Appalachians will not only help sustain these essential ecosystem functions, but ensure future generations continue to enjoy the beauty and recreational opportunities of this landscape.

This document describes CASRI’s action plan for landscape restoration in the Central Appalachian region. View here.

Restoration Approach of the Central Appalachian Spruce Restoration Initiative

casri-admin — Tue, 26 Mar 2024 19:42:00 +0000

This document describes CASRI’s approach to red spruce-northern hardwood ecosystem restoration in the Central Appalachians. View here.

2022 Accomplishments Report

casri-admin — Thu, 07 Dec 2023 22:38:58 +0000

In total, CASRI partners planted approximately 218,337 trees, including red spruce and native hardwoods, conifers, and shrubs, on over approximately 474 acres in Central Appalachia. 19 species of native seed were spread on 64.5 acres of land at restoration sites. There were 58.1 acres and 11 miles of non-native and invasive species treatment, 7.1 acres of wetland creation and 8.1 acres of stream restoration. Finally, partners completed over 543.9 acres of spruce release and deep-ripped 186 acres and 13.2 miles of land for habitat restoration. In addition to the above, CASRI partners engaged in extensive research, monitoring, and outreach, including salamander surveys, journal publications, and newspaper articles. The stories and accomplishments highlighted in the report give a small glimpse of all that CASRI partners accomplished in 2022.

View our 2022 Accomplishments Report.

2021 Accomplishments Report

casri-admin — Thu, 07 Dec 2023 22:37:07 +0000

In 2021 CASRI partners planted approximately 235,000 trees, including red spruce and native hardwoods, conifers, and shrubs, on over approximately 500 acres in Central Appalachia. Restoration teams spread 175.5 pounds and 50 gallons of native seed at restoration sites. And, partners completed over 460 acres of spruce release and deep-ripped 218 acres of land for habitat restoration. In addition to the above, CASRI partners engaged in extensive research, monitoring, and outreach, including salamander surveys, journal publications, and newspaper articles. The stories and accomplishments in this report give a small glimpse of all that CASRI partners accomplished in 2021.

View our 2021 Accomplishments Report.

Monongahela National Forest Ecologist, Mike Elza, works with a video crew to create some public outreach materials for their work on Cheat Mountain.

Olivia Miller — Fri, 04 Aug 2023 21:54:52 +0000

Cranesville Swamp Preserve holds annual Red Spruce Tree Planting

Olivia Miller — Fri, 04 Aug 2023 21:52:50 +0000

The Nature Conservancy held it’s Red Spruce Tree Planting event at the Cranesville Swamp Preserve on Earth Day.

This year is the twentieth anniversary since they started planting Red Spruce trees at the Cranesville Swamp in 2002.

The organizer said they had over 100 people signed up for the event and this was the most they have ever had sign-up, and even had Boy Scout Troop 1780 from Waldorf, Maryland in attendance.

Read the full story.

2023 CASRI Annual Meeting

casri-admin — Thu, 06 Jul 2023 22:37:04 +0000

The 2023 CASRI Annual Meeting will be held at Blackwater Falls State Park on Nov. 15-16. The annual meeting is open to all.

Restoring Red Spruce Forests

Olivia Miller — Fri, 02 Jun 2023 02:14:30 +0000

As cool, moist air kisses your skin, the very ground beneath your feet feels less than solid. A squelchsound accompanies every step, as spongey soil grabs at your feet. The vibration you felt first in your chest soon fills the air, and you realize your heart is fine, but there’s a ruffed grouse nearby on the forest floor, drumming its wings.

“It’s really a magical feeling,” says Kathryn Barlow, restoration manager for The Nature Conservancy’s Central Appalachian Program. Barlow is describing the experience of walking into a Central Appalachian red spruce forest, especially on a summer day.

Thousands upon thousands of people seek out these sensations every year. From West Virginia’s renowned Dolly Sods Wilderness to Virginia’s storied Clinch Mountain, some of our most scenic and popular mountain destinations are the highest. In such places, traveling up is like traveling north—to the boreal forests of New England and Canada. And the habitat that creates this otherworldly experience is the red spruce forest.

Read the full story from Nature Magazine.

A Boost for Red Spruce: Helping a Keystone Species Adapt to Climate Change

Olivia Miller — Fri, 02 Jun 2023 02:09:55 +0000

By looking at spruce growth in research gardens and spruce genes in the lab, the project is investigating how P. rubens declined in abundance and shifted its range in response to climate change during the last 20,000 years, and how we might expect those shifts to continue in the future. The shifts occur in tandem with local adaptation, the Keller lab’s main area of research: the process by which populations within a species vary genetically and evolve over generations in response to their local conditions, be that on a regional scale or the bottom versus the top of the same mountain.

Read the full story.

Red spruce saplings planted at Finzel Swamp

Olivia Miller — Thu, 01 Jun 2023 01:07:14 +0000

A project that began with the killing of some trees aims to help thousands of new saplings survive.

Read the full story.