Press Release
USDA Forest Service
ASHEVILLE, N.C., March 4, 2014 – The USDA Forest Service plans to conduct a prescribed burn tomorrow (March 5) on 43 acres of forest in the Bent Creek Experimental Forest.
The prescribed burn is part of a multi-year research study by the Bent Creek Experimental Forest, a research location of the Southern Research Station that studies upland hardwood ecology and management. The project will help researchers better understand the effects and benefits of prescribed fire in mountain-hardwood forests.
The following roads and trails will be closed during fire activity: Ledford Branch Road parking area (will be used as staging area by Forest Service personnel); Ledford Branch Road; Rice Pinnacle Road; Deer Lake Lodge Trail; Wolf Branch Trail; and Ledford Trail. Visitors should avoid the burn areas and heed all signs.
Click here to learn more about restoring fire to the mountains.
EDITOR’S NOTE (for media only): Media can gather at Rice Pinnacle parking lot, off Wesley Branch Road, at 2 p.m. tomorrow to interview and photograph Forest Service personnel.
For more information, contact Stevin Westcott at 828-257-4215 or visit http://www.fs.usda.gov/nfsnc.
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