We had a record number of volunteers come out on March 10th for our Trail Crew Work Day. Twenty-seven volunteers cleared more than 20 drains including some that required major rebuilds. Thank you to all who came out including several folks from Pisgah Area SORBA. We appreciate all the hard work you do to keep our trails pristine.
To volunteer with the DuPont Trail Crew, join Friends of DuPont and sign up.
On National Public Lands Day, Saturday September 22, 2018 Friends of DuPont Forest will launch the first ever DuPont Forest Festival, an event celebrating the adventure, wildness, and beauty of DuPont State Recreational Forest.
“We envision a schedule of events that weave in guided tours – hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding, educational lectures, and hands-on demonstrations. I think of it as an outdoor conference that shows off DuPont Forest and teaches our communities about the importance of our public lands and their role in protecting them,” says Sara Landry, executive director of Friends of DuPont Forest.
Friends of DuPont Forest is now accepting proposals for Forest Festival activities. The organization invites members of the community to share their outdoor knowledge and lead a demonstration, tour, or lecture. To put your name in the hat, submit your Forest Festival Activity proposal. The deadline to submit your proposal is March 16th, 2018.
Possible activities include:
Science Experiments
Wildlife Hike
Tree Identification Hike
Forestry Demonstration
Fly Fishing Demonstration
Horseback Riding Tour / Demonstration
Map / Compass Demonstration
Outdoor Gear Demonstration
Optimizing Avenza Map App
Mountain Bike Demonstration
Mountain Bike Tour
Demo Day at Lake Julia
Yoga at Big Rock
History Tour
Movie Tour
For questions about the proposal process and / or sponsorship opportunities, please contact Sara Landry at 828.713.2368 or saralandry@dupontforest.com.
While November marks the time we prepare our tables for season of Thanksgiving, the NC Wildlife Resource Commission has prepared food plots for wildlife in Western North Carolina.
Friends of DuPont Forest is pleased to present A Bounty for Wildlife, a presentation on the benefits of wildlife food plots. David Stewart, Land Management Biologist with the NC Wildlife Resources Commission will discuss wildlife food plots and other habitat management activities in DuPont State Forest and elsewhere in the NC Mountain region.
Please join us on November 14th to learn more about how these important food plots help protect wildlife such as bears, turkeys, deer, rabbits, doves, grouse, and various songbirds.
November 14th @ 1:00PM
Cedar Mountain Community Center
This event is free and open to the public and made possible by the Friends of DuPont Forest. To join Friends of DuPont Forest or to make a donation, please visit dupontforest.com or call 828.713.2368.
As President of Friends of DuPont Forest, I would like to explain the reasons why our Board of Directors made the decision to cancel the Fall 2017 Tour de Falls.
The Tour has been our signature event for over ten years, and has served thousands of residents who are not able to walk or ride to the waterfalls. We appreciate our hundreds of dedicated volunteers who have generously given their time over the years to make this happen. Clearly, this is not a decision that could be taken lightly.
The Friends of DuPont Board is fully committed to our public service goal that people unable to walk to the falls are given an opportunity to visit them. However, we decided that we needed to stop and re-examine the most efficient way to make this happen.
The first Tour was held in 2003 during my first term on the Board, at a time when Friends of DuPont was trying to promote visitation at the Forest. Within a few years, demand surged to see the “new” waterfalls. But there were still few people on the trails to compete with the buses.
Today, demand has dropped significantly, the trails are teeming with weekend visitors, and the event stretches our volunteer capacity a bit tighter each year. The Spring Tour consumed 400 volunteer hours, and consumed approximately two months of our Executive Director’s time in planning and preparation.
Friends of DuPont leadership is working on a large number of new projects that will provide outreach to new audiences, collaborate with the newly hired staff at the Forest, and establish new forms of fundraising. As President, I realized that we needed our Executive Director focused on these important goals over the next three months.
In July, the Board of Directors made the decision this summer to defer the tour to make time for all these important projects. We are forming a sub-group to discuss ways to rework the Tour and meet our service objectives in the most efficient way possible.
If you have questions or comments about this issue, you can contact me at president@dupontforest.com.
Sincerely,
Jeff Jennings
President, Board of Directors
Friends of DuPont Forest
Speaking as past president of Friends of DuPont here is my two cents on canceling the fall Tour de Falls.
There are many exciting changes in the Forest this year. New staff hires, managing the newly-acquired “donut hole”, and Friends of DuPont’s hiring its first Executive Director (ED) are among the changes. Declining attendance at the last few Tours has forced the Board of Directors to take a hard look at the tour. Perhaps it is time for something new or different? Sara Landry, our ED, is working on some new projects.
The Tour was begun as an event to offer access to DuPont for those unable to hike, bike, or ride a horse. FRIENDS OF DUPONT WILL CONTINUE TO OFFER SUCH EVENTS. A version of our popular “Bring Your Own Bus” (BYOB) is in the works. So, faithful, hard-working volunteers, enjoy your break this fall. Much thanks for your continued support of Friends of DuPont and DuPont State Recreational Forest.
Bev Parlier
Former President, Board of Directors
Friends of DuPont Forest
Tuesday, August 1, 2017 @ 7:00PM
Transylvania County Library Rogow Room
22 South Gaston Street, Brevard, NC
Lynn Frierson Faust is the author of the new field guide, Fireflies, Glow-worms , and Lightning Bugs: Identification and Natural History of the Fireflies of the Eastern and Central United States and Canada.
The presentation and book signing is sponsored by Friends of DuPont Forest and Transylvania County Library .
Highland Books will have Ms. Faust’s book available for sale at the event and thereafter at their store in Brevard.
Free and open to the public.
Western North Carolina boasts 50 species of salamanders including the endangered green salamander found in DuPont Forest. On July 13 Friends of DuPont Forest will host a Green Salamander Walk and Talk.
When? July 13, @ 9:30am
Where? Aleen Steinberg Visitor Center Classroom at the High Falls Parking Lot
The event will start with a presentation on the green salamander by Alan Cameron, Friends of DuPont Forest Board Member and 12-year volunteer with the NC Wildlife Resources Commission. Attendees will then carpool to a spot near Bridal Veil Falls to see a female green salamander protecting her eggs.
Please RSVP to Alan Cameron at adcamer77@bellsouth.net. This event is open to Friends of DuPont members only and limited to 15 people. First come, first serve.
Photo courtesy of the Haywood County History Collection.
The progress of national and local efforts to develop blight-resistant chestnut trees will be outlined Friday, June 23, at 1:30 p.m. at the Cedar Mountain Community Center. The event is open to the public and sponsored the Friends of DuPont Forest.
Don Surrette, a native of Transylvania County and board member of the Carolina chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation, will describe the 35-year-old campaign to save the iconic hardwood and its current momentum in this area.
In particular, he will report on the experimental plantings of several hundred of the fungus-resistant hybrids begun in 2010 in DuPont State Recreational Forest.
These experimental plantings are being maintained and monitored by volunteers who trim competing vegetation and check each tree for growth and signs of infection by the blight fungus.
Cedar Mountain Community Center is located at 10635 Greenville Hwy in Cedar Mountain, just west of the Cedar Mountain Fire Department near the intersection of US Hwy276 with Cascade Lake Road.
***Photo Courtesy of Rowell Bosse NC Room, Transylvania County Library
National Trails Day this Sat (6.3.17). To celebrate Friends of DuPont Forest is hosting Dupont Trails Day and you’re invited.
Our parking lot hosts at Corn Mill Shoals, Lake Imaging, and Guion can answer questions about the Forest and how you can get involved. They will also have National Geographic maps, suggested routes booklets, and souvenirs for sale. All proceeds and donations will go towards purchasing much needed trail tools.
Our amazing Trail Crew will be working on Micajah Trail (near Rock Quarry Road). If you’d like to lend a hand met at Corn Mill Shoals parking lot at 9am. Come be a part of Trails Day!
DuPont Images
Join us at Sanctuary Brewing for Friends of DuPont Forest Night.
10% of proceeds go to Friends of DuPont Forest because the folks at Sanctuary Brewing Company are awesome!
We’ll use that money to help maintain the 80+ miles of trails in DuPont Forest and to launch edcuation and research projects. #science!
Everyone is welcome – members, nonmembers, kids, dogs – we’ll see you there!