The U.S. Forest Service is using aerial seeding to regrow vegetation lost to landslides during Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina.
Channel 9’s Dave Faherty visited some of the hardest-hit areas in Yancey County and the Pisgah National Forest.
Not far from the Black Mountain Campground, visitor Terry Hill showed Channel 9’s Dave Faherty a landslide that wiped out a large portion of the mountainside. The U.S. Forest Service is working to rehabilitate slides like this one to prevent further damage and erosion along the South Toe River.
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“It’s a good idea because if they don’t fix it, it’s just going to get worse. I couldn’t believe it. It’s that big. I mean, it’s a big one. The helicopter is about the only way to get in there,” Hill said.
In partnership with the National Forest Foundation, the U.S. Forest Service was awarded a contract to begin spreading 30,000 pounds of native seeds across 900 acres of landslides.
The work is focused along streams and rivers in the Grandfather and Appalachian ranger districts of the Pisgah National Forest. The U.S. Forest Service shared video of the work being done in western North Carolina this fall.
“It prevents more landslides, but more importantly it prevents erosion, which is a big issue. You don’t want that sediment running off in the streams and then destroying habitat for native wildlife,” Dana Hodde, with the U.S. Forest Service, said.
It will most likely be early next spring before some of the growth returns.
The seed mixes being spread are made up of different native herbs, shrubs, and trees, along with annual, fast-growing cover crops. The goal is to stabilize the soil in the short term while native vegetation becomes established, minimizing erosion and the introduction of invasive plant species in the future.