May 28 Bluff Mountain Preserve

 

One of the starring roles at Bluff Mountain Preserve is played by Pink Lady's Slipper. They occur throughout the 3 mile hike which the Nature Conservancy uses to showcase the Preserve. Although, now 3000 acres, we probably stayed within a 300 acre area, hiking a big loop. Our tour began after a bumpy 1 mile ride up a steep and rocky one lane road. My AWD Honda Accord did ok but it was close to its limit. Others in our group rode up with Kelly Clampitt, the Nature Conservancy's Ashe County Steward. I've gotten to know Kelly fairly well, after 4 tours with her.

After parking our vehicles near the fen, we began hiking in a meadow of Scarlet Indian Paintbrush. I have never seen them anywhere but here. Melissa, one of our group said it was like walking on sacred ground. So many rare and beautiful flowers and plants are located here. 

We took a side tour to see some Yellow Lady's Slippers. They were still in bloom but on the way out. 

Scarlet Indian Paintbrush

On a previous visit we saw a Yellow Indian Paintbrush but not today. 

Our first major viewing spot is on an exposed rock at about 4500'. On a previous visit, we were able to see some Spreading Avens here. It was too windy to climb out on the rocks today to spot them. They are in the rose family and found only in 15 locations along the NC and TN border. Its species status is G2 - Imperiled. 

Out of the wind, we made our way to the Edwards' cabin for our lunch break. The Edwards family sold the property in 1987 to the Nature Conservancy but retained the rights to access their cabin. The small pond nearby empties into a creek which within a very short distance plunges 400 feet down. The waterfall is not visible other than a glimpse of the top and bottom. 

There are only 3 High Elevation Mafic Glades in the world. The other two are on Mt Jefferson and Buffalo Mountain. High Elevation Mafic Glades are very rare glade communities of high elevation amphibolite or hornblende gneiss outcrops. They have patchy shallow soils that support a mosaic of grass and shrub vegetation alternating with bare rock and lichen cover. They tend to be dry due to the shallow soil but often the surrounding area is wet and fertile as the water and nutrients seep off the rock. 

Stepping stones in the fen

The Bluff Mountain Fen is a 2.5 acre high elevation Southern Appalachian Fen. This globally rare wetland type is only known to exist at this location in the Southeast United States. The Fen is located on a 25 acre high plateau and fed by a number of springs and seeps forming a headwater catchment to the New River. An unusual combination of circumstances led to the development of Bluff’s fen - a high plateau with a shallow depression, a hard bedrock that resists erosion, extreme climate, and a constant supply of nutrient-rich water draining from the upper slopes of Bluff’s main ridge. These extreme fen conditions have probably prevented the invasion of shrubs and trees, and have fostered the development of at least 13 distinct herbaceous plant communities. 

 Over 140 species of vascular plants and mosses have been recorded from the fen, including more than a dozen species considered rare or endangered in North Carolina. Northern fen species reaching their southern limit intermingle with southern species reaching their northern limit - a unique association. Ecosystems surrounding the Fen include an intact Carolina Hemlock Forest, a dwarf red oak – white oak forest, and a rare High Elevation Mafic Glade community.

The 400' vertical drop

I think this is an Eastern Newt swimming in the Edwards' pond. Newts start out in the water but then have a terrestrial period as an Eft but end up back in the water as adults. 

The High Elevation mafic Glade is next to the Hemlock Forest. The Hemlocks here look so healthy they don't even seem like Hemlock trees. The needles are so brilliant and look alert. Named Hemlock because its foliage when crushed smells like the poisonous hemlock plant of Socrates fame. Socrates was accused of impiety, found guilty and sentenced to death by drinking a Hemlock beverage. 

Named for the 3 stripes on its body, the Garter snake is a harmless and beneficial snake to have around. We saw 3 today. 

Bluff Mountain Reindeer Lichen occurs in the glade and nowhere else on earth. 

Insectivorous Round-Leaved Sundew is found in the fen. Crystal's camera makes it look pretty big but it is a tiny plan that you would never know is there unless you are looking for it.