Shortly after the vegetation was removed, a new partnership formed in the community. Representatives from Macon County Schools, Macon County Soil and Water, Coweeta Long-Term Ecological Research Program, Mainspring Conservation Trust, Penland Construction, Winding Stair Nursery, Duke Energy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Highlands Biological Station, and members of the school and community joined together to rekindle the vision of the full restoration of the Cove Branch.
Starting in June 2024, we will be contracting with Forest Stewards from Western Carolina University, a non-profit that provides internships to students to learn about resource management. These students will be working with Forest Stewards to remove the exotic and invasive species such as Bradford pear and multiflora rose from the site and will be identifying native plants that we would like to keep. They will be doing some herbicide treatments of these exotics to prevent them from growing back. They are licensed to use herbicides and will be using treatments that will not harm the water or environment and are safe for public spaces. In the Fall, they will return and will be planting native trees and other plants in the space. The last step of the project is to install a split rail fence, signage, and a trail that the students and teachers can use to access the stream.
It was understood that a vital portion of this project needed to educate the community about the importance of stream buffers and vegetation that provides shade along stream channels. It was also understood that recognizing the design aesthetic for the new plans needed to include both maintained spaces and wild spaces. We needed to show the community that the space could support native plants and wildlife, protect stream buffers, shade stream channels, and be beautiful. The team began the work of writing grants, re-surveying the space, and working on the vision of Research, Restoration, and Education. Please check the project updates section to see where we are in this process.
If you would like more information about the project, please contact Jennifer Love
